tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10612868722862851592024-02-06T21:42:29.004-05:00I Can Has AutismFrom a non-verbal, severely autistic two-year-old little boy to a happy-go-lucky, social, verbal and friend to everyone fifteen-year-old teenager. Add in the little brother who struggles with ADHD and we've got some craziness going on! The journey has been well-worth the ups and downs and the heartbreaks are all worth it when I see my sons overcome the "impossible" and defy all odds. I couldn't be more proud. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-51731775862761598302015-08-21T15:43:00.002-04:002015-08-21T15:51:53.955-04:00#OnePerfectDay - Surfers Healing 2015!#OnePerfectDay has become the hashtag, the moniker, the real & beautiful meaning behind Surfers Healing and it's surf camps for children with Autism.<br />
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2015 was (<i>you're not going to believe I'm saying this for the <b>SIXTH</b> time in a row, are you?</i>) the <b>Best. Surfers Healing Experience. EVER!</b><br />
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From volunteering again, having my sister and her kids and grandson here, to Ashton surfing and to David, Holden and Ashton racing (wait? what?! Did I just say Ashton <b>raced?!</b> why, <b>YES</b> I did! More on that in a bit) - the entire experience did not disappoint.<br />
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So here goes....... this will somewhat chronicle the entire weekend, not just Surfers Healing, so please bear with me.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">*** <span style="color: red;">VERY PICTURE INTENSIVE </span>- worth the wait!! ***</span></b></div>
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So the cousins and my sister arrived a few days before Surfers Healing. My 4yo nephew, Jacob was diagnosed 2 years ago with Autism. It was quite a trip having two autistics in the house! Lots of fun, lots of giggles, and some trying moments but overall, everyone had a great time!<br />
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As you can see, Ashton LOVED his baby cousin, Chrystopher</div>
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(his "THIRD baby cousin in law";</div>
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love how he describes the relationship! ;))</div>
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Chrystopher turns a year-old on Aug 30th, so Auntie Jenn had to make sure to have an impromptu party for him! He proved to be good for some giggles and laughs! :) </div>
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Happy early 1st birthday to Auntie's little monkey!</div>
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So, one of the reasons why my sister came when she did was so that Jacob could experience Surfer's Healing. Boy was he NOT happy about getting his lifejacket on, but as you see, he LOVED surfing!</div>
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Kelcie, my niece also got to experience a few waves! :) Look at her go! Jacob also got to surf again the next day, and he was MUCH more comfortable with it the second time around! </div>
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So remember that 5K I mentioned? You know, the kid who didn't walk until he was almost 2? The one who has never shown any interest in physical activity or exertion? The who really hadn't ran since his 1-mile race back in June?! Yea, <b>THAT</b> kid! Ashton was SUPER excited race morning as you can tell! He was running around the Team Hoyt VB & Ainsley's Angels of VA groups, "stretching" on the boardwalk guardrails and was in amazing spirits! This race would also be a first for Holden; the first time he would push for the <b>entire</b> race! </div>
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LOVE my big, LITTLE sister!! <!--3--></div>
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As you see, Jacob was ready for Holden's fast legs to push him!!!</div>
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Team Ashton (Michael, Ms Gina, Ashton & Mr Chris!) were ready to GO GO GO!</div>
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Ms Tv was running with Holden to assist if he needed it.</div>
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She looks like a super hero in this pose! ha! :)</div>
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Think Jacob is ready to go?! LOL!</div>
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....... and there they go!!</div>
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As usual, Holden's FLYING into the finish line! </div>
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Ms Tv said his sprint at the end should be named "the killer"! HAHAHA!</div>
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Here he comes!! Almost at the end of his first 5K!!!</div>
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So, yes - Ashton finished his 5K. 53:33! He didn't come in last; in fact, 12 people finished <b>after</b> him! AMAZING job!! He actually started out at a 5:30/mile pace for the first 1/4 of a mile or so! Speedy legs! Of course, he can't keep that pace up for long distances but he did his usual sprint a bit, walk, sprint some more and walk, etc. He promptly plopped to the ground at the finish and said "I'm done! No more running!" LOL! :) But he's said he wants to do it again, so we'll see!</div>
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Ashton with two of his biggest fans - Mr. Rooster & Michael!</div>
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They were (and are) very proud of him!</div>
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Some tears may have been shed on a couple of people's part, but I'm not telling who! ;)</div>
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Ashton & Izzy - one of his favorite people! </div>
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So, for whatever reason, Ashton got to tandem surf this year!</div>
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Levi was AMAZING with all the kids I saw him surf with, and with Ashton, he didn't disappoint. Ashton thought Levi was super cool despite him telling Levi he sounds funny (lol - gotta love the autistic mind - they speak what they think! lol). Levi is from New Zealand so of course, has an accent that Ashton was not used to. He <b>did</b> probably sound funny to Ashton! Levi took it in stride and helped Ashton ride quite a few waves and didn't panic when Ashton wiped out. Ashton will usually stand right up and be ready to go again, but if the surfer or assistants he is with panic, all bets are off and he is done. Thankfully, Levi took his cues from Ashton and it went amazing!</div>
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Love this picture of Levi & Ashton that my sister took... </div>
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<span id="goog_73389325"></span><span id="goog_73389326"></span>Looks like they're planning out their surfing strategy!</div>
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High 5s make any wipeout SUPER cool!</div>
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Thanks again Levi! Hope to see you again next year!</div>
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Mr Christian (who Ashton has surfed with in the past) came up and asked Holden if he was ready! lol Holden kind of was like "nah, I don't want to", but I kind of pushed him into doing it and he had a blast he said! ;) My little anxiety-ridden kiddo doesn't like doing new things but once pushed into doing them, he has fun as you can tell! Christian is great with both of my boys!</div>
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So, as soon as Ashton was out of the water from surfing with Levi, Ms Sonya came up to him and asked why he didn't surf with her! LOL! He said "Oh, I'm sorry" and off into the water he went again! LOL :) This boy would stay in the water ALL DAY LONG if we let him!!! :) :) </div>
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I know, these are some majorly Autism stimmy moments... but WHO cares!! It's a part of how Ashton regulates his sensory system and I love that he has this outlet that lets him calm himself or regulate himself in a manner that is safe for him to do so. LOOK AT THAT SMILE!!</div>
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What Surfers Healing experience would be complete without the dolphins! :) :)</div>
If I didn't know better, I would say the SH foundation team have dolphins brought in JUST for this event! There are ALWAYS dolphins, EVERY year!!! :) SO beautiful!!!<br />
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So Surfers Healing 2015 <b>WAS</b> the <i>best. one. ever</i>! That One Perfect Day (or in our case, two days) of community, friendship, understanding, calm, peace and acceptance.... but most of all, the love. The love these surfers and the volunteers bring to all of the families (over 400 children surfed at this year's event!) who live with Autism can sustain you through some of the toughest times. I'm so glad for our community. So very blessed and thankful for all of the surfers, both local and the far-away ones too! Ever year we walk away with knowing that if we had to be a part of a community, that we are so very thankful this is the one God placed us in to. Thankful for our friends and family. Thankful for acceptance and love.<br />
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<!--3--><!--3-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-52113291025498846852014-08-18T20:05:00.002-04:002014-08-18T20:05:47.778-04:00Surfers Healing VB 2014 = One Perfect Day<br />
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<i>Before I start trying to put Ashton's 5th year of Surfers Healing into words, I want to share the links to his previous experiences:</i></div>
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<i>1st year: <a href="http://icanhasautism.blogspot.com/2010/08/surfers-healing-camp-2010.html">2010</a></i></div>
<i>2nd year: <a href="http://icanhasautism.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-difference-surfers-healing-2011.html">2011</a></i><br />
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<i>3rd year: <a href="http://icanhasautism.blogspot.com/2012/08/surfers-healing-vb-12-awesomeness-x-1000.html">2012</a></i></div>
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<i>4th year: <a href="http://icanhasautism.blogspot.com/2013/08/one-perfect-day-surfers-healing-2013.html">2013</a></i></div>
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Yes, you read that right.<br />
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Ashton participated in his fifth year of Surfers Healing. We've been blessed and tenacious enough to sign him up for this amazing experience, every single year since 2010. I'm so glad. <b>Yes</b>, each year truly gets better and better. <b>Yes</b>, we live for this day, every summer. It's that one day a year that there is no staring, no rude comments, no pity looks and no judgement whatsoever. You combine the warm & salty sea air, with an amazing population of kids and their families and mix it together with an amazing group of volunteers and professional surfers and you truly do get, <i style="font-weight: bold;">ONE. PERFECT. DAY!</i> </div>
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From the tears that are flowing at the water's edge from the on-lookers comprised of parents, friends, families and others to the smiles, giggles, high 5s, thumbs up and hugs that are being shared amongst the surfers and kids in the water, you can tell that this is a truly special day for so many that are there witnessing the magic. The magic isn't just the kids' alone, nor is it just the surfers. The magic is witnessed by every single person in attendance. </div>
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This year's event was even more waves, excitement and magic - it was <i style="font-weight: bold;">two full days</i>! So for the first time in the last 5 years (this year, being year 5), I made the decision to volunteer <b>and</b> Holden volunteered with me! It was such a wonderful experience, getting to dedicate our time to a cause that blesses our family with such an amazing experience every year. We helped gather up goody bags and give them to the kids on Friday, as well as handed out some medals to the amazing kids as they came out of the water from their surf experiences. It was such an amazing experience to see the smiles on these kids' faces and the tears in their parent's eyes as the watched their kid do something so amazing and so cool! That was truly the best part of volunteering - watching the transformation of the kids. They are all so strong, so brave, so courageous and <b>so</b> amazing! I'm so proud that we are a part of the autism community.<br />
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Here's Holden, taking a break around lunch-time. So many people asked how old he was and of course, we laughed when they guessed around 8 or 9. He <b>IS</b> twelve-years-old after all! HAHA! He was a good sport about it though and well, he is on the smaller side. The best things come in <b>small</b> packages, right buddy?! He was such a huge help and had a lot of fun he said.<br />
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His favorite thing to do though was, by far, handing out the medals. A friend of ours, (mentioned in a previous Surfers Healing post) Emily Peat, captured this image of Holden giving her son his medal.<br />
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What you don't know is, that when we were handing out medals, Holden gave out probably two to three times as many as I did because he got such a thrill out of handing these kids their medals and, for the few that would let him, placing it around their neck. On our car ride home that night, I asked him if he wanted to do it again next year and he said "<i>most definitely </i><b style="font-style: italic;">YES</b>!" I'm blessed with such a giving kid who didn't even ask to look at his phone (I had it with me), who never complained about being at the beach early (8am) and staying all day (til 2:30). He didn't even want to stop for lunch, but realized he had to when all the surfers were out of the water!<br />
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Holden, I know I'm <b>just</b> your mom, but I was (and am still) so proud of your attitude and love for those who are different. You took to volunteering like you've always been doing it and then, when given the chance to hand out medals, declared it the most fun thing ever! You were eager to watch all the other kids surf, you were the first to clap your hands for them catching the waves, and you were running up and down the water's edge trying to give as many kids as you could their medals. Thank you for being so awesome and for being so giving of your time. Not many twelve-year-olds would have been so eager to give of their time to others. Thank you dude. I love you with all of my heart!<br />
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<b>Saturday</b>: Ashton's SIXTH surf experience, as he had just surfed the previous weekend with another organization, Life Rolls On. Surfers Healing though, holds a super special place in our hearts. But first, we had a little race to tackle, you know, just a little 5K! :) Ashton got to race with his super cool friend, Amory and Holden raced with a dear friend of ours, Heather. Unfortunately, Holden got sick the week leading up to the race, so adding that with not a lot of running this summer and he definitely didn't run anywhere near his best effort. But, he placed SECOND in his age group! Amory, who despite not being in his top running shape (his words, not mine!) placed FIRST in his age group!! Way to go guys!!!!<br />
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So then, the moment we had been waiting for....... SURF TIME! Ashton's surf-time was relatively early in the day and we went directly from the race to the welcome and prayer, to the surf time basically. Also, even <b>Holden</b> got a chance to surf; he was <b>SO</b> stoked! Too bad his knee was scraped from a fall last week, because he only rode one wave in, but he said he wants to do it again next year, so we'll see :) So, onto the surfing pictures......<br />
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Prayer circle before the start of surfing - loved hearing the Christian blessing, the Hawaiian blessing and the Spanish blessing. It cleanses your soul and helps your body and mind accept the healing of the salty sea-air and waves. Somehow, even the kids know this is a time to relax, be calm and listen..... it's amazing and beautiful.</div>
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Before surfing started for the day, Ashton wanted to see Mr. Izzy, Pito and 'little' Kalani. We didn't get his picture taken with Pito (seriously Pito, we have to get one next year!!!) but he got one with Izzy and some with Kalani and some of the other surfers. </div>
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For anyone that has any doubt that Surfers Healing mission is one of happiness and peace.... check out the smiles on Ashton's face! Some of the surfers who have surfed with him multiple years (Kalani, Kalani, Christian, Sonya, Izzy and others) have noticed such a huge change in him from year to year! His smiles get bigger, his ability to listen to directions and wait have gotten better, and he's grown so much! He absolutely loves every moment of this day! He would stay out in the water, riding wave after wave, if they would let him! Thankfully his Ms Sonya and his Mr. Christian adore him and kind of let him take the lead. He lets you know when he's done :) </div>
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Then, Holden got a chance! I truly didn't think he'd actually go through with it, but he did! He squashed his anxiety about it and <b>DID</b> it! YEA!! Maybe next year he'll have more confidence now that he knows what to expect. I'm <b>SO</b> proud of him! </div>
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Y'all see that super huge smile on Ashton's face, right?<br />
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What you may not see captured in these pictures are the grins that he and his surfer Sonya shared. I think they were sharing secrets out in the water as neither has told me what all the smiles were about! The secrets, the laughs and the grins are something to be cherished and treasured. The waves caught and rode are a chance for Ashton to feel <b>free,</b> <b>happy,</b> <b>accepted, and </b><b>at peace</b>.<br />
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Ashton is truly a water baby. Seeing his smiles out in the water over the last two weekends has given me some ideas for his 16th birthday in April. <b>YES</b>! He's going to be sixteen-years-old. He won't be getting a driver's license or a new car as so many sixteen-year-olds will/would be getting. We've considered taking him to get his Virginia state I.D. as that seems a logical step in his growth process.<br /><br />Maybe a trip to a different beach for spring break? Maybe some surf lessons? Maybe swimming lessons! Or maybe, we can work it out so we can do all 3!<br /><br />But for now, we live with the happiness and peace that Surfers Healing brings us. We live with the knowledge that if we have to have special needs in our lives, that it brought us this community along with it. We live with the love of the people who make our lives better, by just being placed in it for one day a year. We are better people because of them. We love them as family, and are so happy that they've been brought into our lives... Thank you once again Surfers Healing and everyone and everything that goes into making this one (or in this case, two) days a year <i style="font-weight: bold;">ONE. PERFECT. DAY! </i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-59925788962202298542014-06-12T09:38:00.000-04:002014-06-12T09:38:11.731-04:00School's DONE!! Hip Hip Hooray!! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">The boys could NOT be happier!!!</span></b></div>
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10th grade and 7th grade?!? That doesn't even REMOTELY seem possible!!! Y'all do realize this means Ashton will graduate in THREE years?!!?!?!? YIKES!!! I'm not ready for that!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">These pictures were taken at the beginning of the year:</span></b></div>
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(seriously - they are ALL smiles the first day!)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">These pictures were taken today, at the end of the year:</span></b></div>
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(but NEITHER of them were happy & smiling the last day - What's up with that?!?! LOL!)</div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">~ HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR ~</span></u></b></div>
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1. Holden's TOP highlight was probably finishing his VERY FIRST 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours with a time of 1:50:06!!!</div>
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2. Ashton's TOP highlights were probably when he got to see Marc (in person) after periods of time of not getting to see him. At least, judging by his expressions and happines/flappiness, that's what I think. </div>
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3. FIRST (and subsequent) report cards of the year were ALL As and Bs for both boys - HIP HIP Hooray!<br /><br />4. The feeling of validation after the first 9 week periods that moving Ashton to high school was INDEED the best decision for him!<br /><br />5. Ashton's connections he's made with friends at school. One of his friends at school is a 19yo young lady by the name of Megan. He ADORES her!! Lots of hugs and high 5s!!<br /><br />6. That Ashton participated in every. single. CBI trip - WITH NO ISSUES!!!!</div>
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7. Holden successfully joined both the middle school wrestling AND track teams and even started as a 6th grader in the FIRST track meet of the season!<br /><br />8. Holden successfully dropped his 1-mile times from 7:09 (last spring) down to 6:25 this year. His coaches want him to drop it down to 5:30 before the start of next track season - good thing he likes to run! there's work to do!<br /><br />9. Ashton completed his 2nd 1-mile race and is getting ready to run his 3rd 1-mile on Saturday!<br /><br />10. Holden has successfully completed 9 races (race # 10 is this weekend, an 8K) all with his "I run 4" buddy, Calder. Calder is a 5month old ADORABLE baby boy with Spina Bifida. While Holden hasn't actually ran WITH Calder, we hope we can make that a reality at some point in the future :) (*hint hint Danya & Zach). This has helped Holden to push himself and think of others while having a blast!<br /><br />11. Ashton's vocabulary has picked up so much that I actually find myself saying, "PLEASE! Be. Quiet!" WOW! Non-verbal to telling him to hush?? Never imagined that day would come!<br /><br />12. Holden received an iPhone for his birthday - FIRST cellphone! YAY!<br /><br />13. Ashton received an award for being the "Most Considerate" in his class - again, a teenager WITH Autism no less getting that award... pretty remarkable if you ask me!<br /><br />14. There has been a complete and total turn-around in Ashton's behavior this year. With the exceptions of one or two times, he's been easy to manage and reason with. Again, his comprehension levels have really picked up and it makes it easier to both communicate WITH him and helping him understand the world around him.<br /><br />15. the most exciting highlight for me?! That my "babies" have done SO well this year! Receiving awards, accolades and press coverage is always amazing!! I am SO proud of my boys!!<br /><br />MOM LOVES YOU BOTH VERY MUCH! Now, let's have an amazing summer this year!!!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-65891757912069172062014-05-06T21:30:00.002-04:002014-05-07T10:04:31.601-04:00Holden became a full-fledged half-marathoner!Yes, Holden (who at the time, was eleven-years-old!) became a half-marathoner earlier this spring, on April 12, 2014 to be exact; just four days before his twelfth birthday. <i>Yes</i>, that means he ran 13.1 miles at one single time. Not only that, but he had a time goal in mind and he <b>beat</b> that time goal by <b>ten minutes</b>!! More on that later in this post.<br />
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What most people don't realize is how long Holden had been preparing for this. Or, how we'd consulted with his doctors and his allergist (who also manages his asthma) to be assured that he was up to this enormous task and that he was healthy and in shape and was properly prepared. It's not every day that a youngster will run this distance, though he certainly wasn't the youngest or first, and won't be the last.<br />
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The most important fact for everyone to know and realize though, is this is something <b>Holden</b> himself wanted, not something we pushed on him. He had decided last summer he wanted to try and start running longer distances, as in 10-miles or so. What this means is, he started preparing in September of 2013 for the Surf-n-Santa 10-miler in early December. He prepared for over 3 months to get ready for that race and had a time goal in mind. 1:30:00! An incredible 9:00/mile pace. While he didn't quite make his goal, he did run a very impressive 1:35:26, considering the rainy, cold, and <i>very windy</i> conditions, he had nothing to be ashamed of.<br />
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A few days after that race, he said he was ready to sign up for his first half-marathon, he chose the <a href="http://dismalswampstomp.mettleevents.com/">Dismal Swamp Stomp 1/2 Marathon</a> held in April on the beautiful Dismal Swamp Canal trail. He/we chose this one as his first half as we'd heard it was a very flat and fast course, a <i>very good </i><b>first</b> half-marathon for anybody, let alone a youngster.<br />
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His goal?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>To run the half-marathon in two hours</i>!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>As I told you previously, he <b>beat</b> his goal time by <b>ten minutes</b>!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">He ran an astonishing <b><i>1:50:06</i></b>!</span><br />
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That's an incredible half-marathon time to begin with, but when you add it the fact that it was his first half-marathon <b>and</b> his first-time ever running that exact distance <b>in addition </b>to only being eleven-years-old, he ran an incredibly amazing race! I want to pause a moment and say a <b>huge</b> thank you to Amber Pratt. She had been instrumental in helping prepare Holden for this half-marathon craziness and had taken him on many, <i>many, </i><b>many</b> long runs with her. They started these longer runs in late September or early October of 2013 and over the course of the six months leading up to the half-marathon, spent countless Sundays doing long runs around her neighborhood, etc. Holden never questioned it. He knew he had to put in the hard work and time if he wanted to have a successful half-marathon. He knew that if he didn't properly prepare, we would pull him from the race, something he didn't want to have happen. Amber encouraged him along with these long runs - progressively lengthening each run every weekend to where his last "longest" run before the race was 12.5 miles. He would never actually run 13.1 miles before the race, which is kind of frightening but we and he knew, that if he could run 12.5 miles, the last .6 miles should be a piece of cake. Keeping in mind that his 12.5 mile run was 1:52:43, we were pretty sure that given race-day adrenaline kicking in, and barring any unforeseen obstacles happening, that Holden should have no problem meeting his goal. Fortunately, a few days before the race, Amber decided to run the race with Holden and signed up as well. I will forever be indebted to her for that, because I know it made Holden feel a lot more comfortable, knowing that his long-run buddy was running beside him. It was all he'd known the entire time of training, so I'm glad that worked out. I would also like to thank Steve Sheppard, Dennis Welch, Aric Martinez, Heather, Thomas Hicks and all the many friends and family that supported Holden's journey towards his goal. The running community in this area is amazing and just knowing that my son is getting to grow up knowing so many amazing individuals, is a beautiful and inspiring thing. I know we probably had some nay-sayers initially who thought we were nuts to let him attempt this. But, we had faith in his abilities and knew that he wanted to do this and that he was willing to prepare. Also of note to thanks, Darrin Snyder. An amazing friend and truly inspirational athlete. He is a hand-crank athlete and after doing an amazing race with his young protege, Rebecca Rollick, he went back out on the course to locate, encourage and finish again with Holden. It was amazing to watch all of his hard work pay off. All those long run Sundays and drives out to Suffolk? They helped prepare him for that moment at which he crossed that finish line, ten minutes faster than he had trained for!</div>
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I later heard that he had a mild panic attack and started to hyperventilate about 12.5 miles into the race. I think he had realized at that point that he <b>was</b> going to accomplish his goal and he got excited and a little nervous. When I saw him nearing the finish line, he looked as though he'd just begun, not like he was just finishing up 13.1 miles! Easy-going, amazing form and just ready to get it done. He didn't even look exhausted or anything! I was so proud of him, and I know he was proud of himself too, as he should have been.<br />
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So.... to wrap up what had already been a fantastic day with his race, he got honored as the 2014 Inspirational Story of the race! The video below is from the race, and his story was also featured on the race's website at <a href="http://dismalswampstomp.mettleevents.com/race-info.html">http://dismalswampstomp.mettleevents.com/race-info.html</a>.<br />
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Because of the coverage, he also got interviewed by Wavy10 news reporter, Ariane Aramburo, for the Hampton Roads Show segment "I Am Hampton Roads". They did an amazing job with the interview and Holden was very confident and well-spoken during his segment. That interview can be viewed at the following link, <a href="http://wavy.com/2014/04/11/i-am-hampton-roads-holden-mccormick/">http://wavy.com/2014/04/11/i-am-hampton-roads-holden-mccormick/</a> - I urge you to watch it! :)</div>
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So, now for the fun part - the PICTURES!!! :)</div>
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Check out the amazing surprise Holden got from his little "I Run 4" buddy, Calder, and family!</div>
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What a sweet way (literally, lol) to commemorate such a HUGE event for him!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FLAT HOLDEN!<br />
(he decided the morning of the race to wear a different s/s shirt instead of the one picturedLOL)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the shirt he decided to wear :)<br />
Supporting his IR4 buddy, Calder<br />
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spreading Spina Bifida Awareness!</td></tr>
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Getting ready before the race by fueling with Island Boost, Yum!</div>
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Also showing off his bib number, 939!</div>
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Getting ready to race with Ms. Amber - THANKS AGAIN Amber for training and running with him! You made his first half-marathon a wonderful experience!! :)</div>
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Now for the EXCITING part........ Holden's race results/splits!</div>
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How incredible is it that he kept a nearly even pace the <b>entire</b> race?! I was told, even when he started to have pains in his ankles, etc that he didn't really slow down at all. AMAZING!!!</div>
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Imagine my relief when I saw that tiny little speck come towards me in front of Chessie the bear! I had been, of course, tracking him the entire race, but couldn't hardly believe he was going to do it, he was going to break his goal by such a large margin! AMAZING! That's Mr. Darrin, to Holden's left, the amazing hand crank athlete that I mentioned earlier.... he rode him all the way to nearly the end :) Ms Amber is in behind Holden as she let him have his glory and let him finish ahead of her and by himself!</div>
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I want to be like him when I "grow up"!</div>
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AMAZING push to the FINISH little man!!!</div>
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Look at the air he got in his final strides!! WOW!!!</div>
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I don't think the crowd knew what to think! LOL</div>
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They certainly didn't expect to see this tiny body crossing the finish!</div>
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Holden and a friend of ours, Felix Tanh.</div>
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He came down from Ashburn, VA to run the race.</div>
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Holden tried to catch up to him (and very nearly did; Felix ran a 1:48:52!)</div>
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but Felix ran an amazing race!</div>
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Post-race silliness! Way to run little man!!! </div>
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Here's Holden getting his age-group award (he was 1 of 1 in the 12 & under male group, LOL)</div>
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However, if the age group had been 15 & under he still would have placed first and if</div>
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it had been 19 & under, he would have placed THIRD! AMAZING!!!</div>
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Probably the highlight of Holden's day, aside from actually finishing in well under his goal.....</div>
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The elite male runners were very enthusiastic about his inspiring story and shook his hand after he exited the stage. They were even more amazed at how well he'd ran. I asked if Holden could have a quick picture taken with them and they very happily obliged. Holden looks a little star struck and wasn't sure what to think :) AMAZING DAY, AMAZING RACE and AMAZING KID!</div>
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So proud to call him ours! :)<br />
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We can't forget - the adorable, amazing and most inspirational tiny buddy ever, Calder!</div>
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This tiny one is Holden's little IR4 buddy. This group pairs able-bodied runners with special needs children and adults through an online Facebook group called "I Run for Michael". Holden got paired up with this little cutie pie a couple of weeks before his half-marathon and our whole family is in love with this cutie. He's 4 months old and is showing Spina Bifida who is boss by being a little rockstar and defying all odds! We're so blessed to have him and his family in our lives, even if only virtually for the time being. Holden hopes we can meet this little one and his family someday! This tiny little guy has pushed Holden to think of others, given him self-esteem that we can only help support, and has given him the inspiration to keep doing for those who might have a harder time than he has.</div>
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Thank you Danya & Zach for allowing my "tiny one" to run for your tiny one! :) </div>
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For more information on I Run for Michael, go to: <a href="http://www.whoirun4.com/">http://www.whoirun4.com/</a></div>
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or look them up on Facebook at: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/irunformichael/">https://www.facebook.com/groups/irunformichael/</a>.</div>
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There are currently over 2900 runners waiting for their special buddy match. If you are the parent or caregiver of a special needs child or adult, please consider joining this amazing group. As the mother of both a special buddy and a runner (typically the runners are adults but there are a few children who are amazing enough to have their own buddies, Holden being one of them), I love this group. <br />The family it allows everyone to be a part of and the premise behind it; to support and love everyone, without hesitation.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-82681535734030821502014-04-29T16:22:00.001-04:002014-04-29T16:24:55.038-04:00Geez.... AGAIN?!?! Campaign to END the R-WORD!<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.030000686645508px;">SERIOUSLY?!?!?!<br /><br />AGAIN?!?!<br /><br />In less than a week, Ashton's "cover" (if you will) of Brian Hull's cover of "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen, got 2 comments using the R-WORD! ARGH!!<br /><br />*seriously banging head on her computer*<br /><br />Do people not realize how cruel sounding that word really is?! Can people not learn a little netiquette and use the old saying "if you've got nothing nice to say, then don't say it all?!"</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.030000686645508px;">Just from doing a little YouTube digging, I'm going to assume that the two users who posted the mean comments on Ashton's video are children, or at the very oldest, teenagers.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.030000686645508px;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><u>THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT ANY MORE RIGHT!!</u></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.030000686645508px;">Just because you are not an adult does not mean that you shouldn't know better than to call people names or to say that things are rude and inconsiderate and degrading. Let me ask you a question ("general audience of my blog" you, not a specific person). Would you like it if YOU were called a "retard", or that something you posted online was referred to as "retarded"? My guess is you would not, and it would, at the very least, hurt your feelings.<br /><br />While you did not call ME specifically a retard or say that something I posted was retarded, you DID say those things in reference to my son. My amazing and handsome son whom has overcome many obstacles and challenges in his life. Many that you (*specific to the people who posted mean comments*) probably have no idea of, and I truly hope, you never will. He's struggled to make friends. He's struggled to fit into a world that is not meant for those differently-abled. Ashton faces struggles every day, learning to cope and live in a world that is oftentimes mean and cruel. We've been very fortunate that we've been able to surround him with love, attention and compassion. He's surrounded by family AND friends who absolutely adore him. We've got a great "team" at school that makes sure Ashton is able to learn, grow, and mature right alongside his peers. We have great physicians who are always available to answer questions and help us figure out the next steps in our life.<br /><br />You mean people who keep posting comments on Ashton's video are just that, *mean*. But, while you hardly register a blip on our radar, I've made it my mission TO END THE R-WORD! Please, just stop. STOP using the word, in ANY fashion. It's degrading, mean and quite honestly, very cruel. You may think "oh I'm just joking", but to someone who may happen upon the comment (or in this case, the MOTHER of the child in said video), it hurts their feelings to see their child, one has struggled to fit in for most of his life, being called names. I realize you probably don't care about my feelings, nor my son's. I also realize that you (the specific people I'm referring to) will likely never see this post. But the next time you go to comment on something, whether it be on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, or any other social media site, stop and think ... "Is this really a necessary comment? Is it constructive? Does it help the person in any way? Would I want someone to talk to, or about, me this way?" If the answer is no, than maybe you should leave well enough alone and move along. I'm not saying all comments need to be happy, flowery, positive comments all the time (I actually appreciate constructive criticism or comments that just merely say "I don't like this"), but let's not degrade others just to make ourselves feel better.<br /><br />Once again, I'll post a link to Ashton's video, as I truly am very proud of it. He did a wonderful job, all things considering, and who knows, maybe he'll have found another "thing" thats interesting to him, singing. Aren't we all a little happier with some music and song in our lives? </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 17.030000686645508px;">and here was Brian Hull's response to Ashton's video :)</span><br />
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</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.030000686645508px;"><br />Thank you for taking the time to read this post.<br /><br />With utmost respect,<br />Jenn, Ashton's Mom</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-90824595645827679212014-04-22T15:26:00.000-04:002014-04-29T15:40:32.491-04:00The dreaded "R-word" came up in our life.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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First off, let me apologize for being so incredibly absent on my blog. 2014 is proving to be a very interesting and fulfilling year! It's amazing everything that has gone on and there's so much to tell you all. But that all needs to wait.... I need to "get this off my chest" so to speak....<br />
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So this story starts back in December, when Ashton and I went to see the new Disney movie, "Frozen". He absolutely fell in love with it (as did I) and requested to "watch it again" as soon as the credits started to roll. Well, Marc and his girlfriend, Kaylie, were home on holiday break from Georgia Tech, so they took Ashton to see it again on New Year's Day. We bought the soundtrack and listened to the music quite a bit, so Ashton quickly picked up on the lyrics to all the songs from the movie.<br />
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Of course, one of the songs from the movie is absolutely lovely, a favorite of all of ours.... "Let It Go". You've probably heard/seen many covers done of it as have we. Well, I came across my absolute favorite cover done by a young man by the name of Brian Hull. Ashton immediately fell in love with it. He recognized the music from the movie and he adores the Disney character voices that Brian is able to do. 21 of them in all, which is astounding. Ashton watched this video probably 10 or so times the first time I found it and requested it almost every single time I sat down at the computer. So it played endlessly for a few days.<br />
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Pretty catchy, huh? This guy has AMAZING talent! Now you can see why we all love it so much.<br />
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Well, one night while waiting for bedtime to roll around, Ashton requested to watch the video again. Imagine my surprise when Ashton starts to SING along with the video! He NEVER sings, in fact, whenever we would ask him to sing he would say "I don't want to sing. Singing is boring!". HAHA! I asked Ashton if I could record him singing along to the video and he said yes! So I got my iPhone ready and sat him down and this is what I recorded:<br />
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Pretty amazing from a kid who thinks singing is boring! hehe<br />
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I uploaded it to YouTube and posted it to Facebook and got lots of awesome comments. I decided to send Brian a message via YouTube with a link to the video I had made and explained to him a little bit about why I was sharing it. You all know the schpeel - formally non-verbal, severely autistic 2-year-old who we were told might never speak. Brian responded back, and little did I know at the time, he had shared it on his Twitter account. Ashton's video now has over 3000 views on it.<br />
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HOW could I forget - I wanted to post the video message that Brian Hull sent to Ashton a couple of weeks after he saw Ashton's video. He thought it was so cool! I, unfortunately, cannot get the video to come up as a viewable video here, but here's the link to it. :)<br />
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So to lead up to what the point is..... I've never, in my life, ever had anyone use the words <i>retarded, retard, tard</i> - to describe Ashton. If it's happened behind my back, I'm unaware of it, but I've never had those words used in relation to Ashton on Facebook, YouTube, the many online communities I've been a part of, nothing. NEVER in the 13+ years we've been dealing with Autism and it's place in our life. I should have KNOWN it was coming. Nobody ever escapes that nasty word's wrath.<br />
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Well, it happened - a comment on Ashton's video. I was absolutely heart-sick and devastated. I posted to Facebook and sent a message to Brian (who I hope doesn't think I'm some crazy mom! lol) and he actually replied back to me as well as commented on the twerp's post on the YouTube video. We've gotten many positive responses back from it and in the grand scheme of things, it's just one twerp that was placed in our life to cause a stir in our relatively easy-going life. These moments happen, but this first time just absolutely took my breath away and I was absolutely enraged. I wanted to lambast the idiot and tear them limb to limb. But, I stayed calm and replied back (with what I hope comes across as stern kindness) and a few others have replied as well.<br />
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It just goes to show you that you're never immune from this kind of stuff. Thankfully, Ashton's got amazing friends and family who rallied around us with this twerp's unkind response to his video.<br />
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Just know, that if I EVER hear that word being used to describe my son again, or any other person, I will absolutely call you out on it. It's not a word that should be used. It's an "old"term used to describe mentally challenged people that now comes across as derogatory and rude and cruel. If you don't like something, say that. There's no need to be rude and callous. Or better yet, stick to the old saying "if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all". Really, sometimes things are better left unsaid.<br />
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Thanks for reading this rambling post and thanks to EVERYONE for their support!<br />
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MommaBear Jenn :) (don't mess with my babies!!)<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-63183865038995761622013-12-31T13:29:00.000-05:002013-12-31T13:29:59.301-05:00As we think back on 2013..... 2014 will be different ..... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So many wonderful moments in 2013..... many of which I've posted about here on my blog and don't need to be repeated. Also, some heartbreaking moments and reliving of past heartbreaks.<br /><br />2014 is looking to be an inspirational, amazing and INCREDIBLE year!<br /><br />Happy New Year's Eve (and New Years!) to you all!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-90886991547579329472013-11-13T10:40:00.001-05:002013-11-13T10:40:39.709-05:00It's nearly Christmas!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ok - so Christmas is still like 6 weeks away (from today.... YIKES!) but for me that means "Oh my goodness. I have to get my cards ready, get the baking started, buy gifts and start wrapping them, get the house decorated, etc!" However, what's already happened in the name of Christmas is heart-warming.....<br />
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So, the boys and I went out to the mall over the weekend to get some much needed winter clothing and jeans for Holden and for Ashton, it was just an experience to get out and walk around a new place (a mall we'd never been to). We saw Santa Claus, and at my boys' ages, 14 and 11, I thought nothing of it. As we walked past where Santa Claus was sitting, Ashton waved at Santa Claus and kind of started walking in that direction. I told him that if Santa Claus was still sitting there on our way back through, that I'd let him stop and say hi. Well, Santa Claus wasn't there and that was that.<br />
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The boys and I then went to a different mall on Monday and lo and behold, Santa Claus was there! Ashton got really excited and wanted to talk to Santa Claus. As there was no line and no one in visiting with Santa, I told him to go ahead. He happily walked over to Santa Claus and when Santa Claus asked him what he wanted for Christmas, I wasn't surprised by Ashton's response.<br />
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<i><b>"I want Marc to come home for Christmas and to go get donuts!"</b></i><br />
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I will admit to a small giggle for the donuts comment; the boy loves himself some donuts! Especially O'doodleDoos! I'm also not ashamed to admit a few tears at Ashton wanting Marc home for Christmas, though it's not surprising that's what his response was. I explained to Santa Claus that Ashton has Autism and that Marc is his super cool best friend who is away at college. When Santa Claus asked "where does Marc go to college?" Ashton quickly responded "Oh! Georgia Tech! He's a Yellowjacket!" Santa Claus then told Ashton "I bet that Marc will be home before I even get to your house on Christmas Eve!" - Ashton just kind of stared like "whoa! how did he know that?" Too cute!<br />
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Fortunately, Ashton will get his Christmas wish .... and yes, he'll get it before Santa Claus comes, on December 14th as a matter of fact! He's excited for big hugs and double high 5s! He's promised Marc that he'll be extra good so he can get donuts, and maybe even go racing and if Marc can work it out, Michael Phelpsing (a term coined by Marc, who would probably spend hours in the water with Ashton, if Ashton so desired).<br />
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Watching their friendship remain as strong as it's ever been, despite the 500+ miles that separate these two, is a beautiful and amazing thing to witness. The two miss each other very much and I know each has had their moments where they want to be around the other more than anything else. That's okay and it shows the bonds of friendship can remain strong, even when months go by and distance separates. Fortunately with technology being what it is, a Facebook chat and a Skype call can cure the blues nearly every single time! Many letters and drawings have been sent back and forth as well, and there has been no lack of communication between the two.<br />
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I for one, can't wait to see the smiles on their faces when they get to see each other in person again and see Ashton's Christmas wish come true! :)<br />
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Happy Holidays EVERYONE!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-51589609587408926212013-10-05T08:00:00.000-04:002013-10-05T08:00:04.942-04:00Speechless Saturday (10/5/13)<a href="http://www.faithit.com/this-guy-writes-a-confession-letter-to-his-down-syndrome-daughter-that-will-break-your-heart-in-100-ways/">Heath writes Confession letter to his his daughter, Paisley who has Downs Syndrome</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-41788163112609726062013-09-28T06:00:00.000-04:002013-10-04T10:09:11.153-04:00Speechless Saturday (9/28/13)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-62287761333981847592013-09-21T00:45:00.000-04:002013-10-04T10:09:25.803-04:00Speechless Saturday (9/21/13)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-28395738610059827792013-09-19T10:59:00.001-04:002013-09-19T10:59:21.160-04:00Thankful Thursday: The "puzzle" of Ashton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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LOVE this picture/drawing Marc sent Ashton. What's even more amazing, is when I explained it to Ashton (though he was able to pinpoint each word/phrase indicated in the puzzle) he <b>got it</b>! He said <i>"it's a puzzle about me! It's not finished yet because I haven't put it all together yet!"</i> He understood THVB (Team Hoyt Virginia Beach), WBHS (Western Branch High School) and GT (Georgia Tech) and he figured out what the rest of the pieces of words were as well.<br /><br /><b>AMAZED!</b><br />
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The amount of social growth and understanding this boy is displaying recently is nothing short of miraculous and mouth-dropping. I couldn't be more proud of him! It takes a lot to understand what this actually meant, and with very little insight/input from me, he got it.<br /><br /><b>Thankful Thursday</b> <i>indeed</i>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-91827671176881487012013-09-17T09:20:00.000-04:002013-09-17T09:20:16.100-04:00Skype Silliness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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How can you <i>not</i> laugh at these two?! LOL!<br /><br />It was <b>hilarious</b>!<br />
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Ashton had a blast chatting with Marc last night and when they started making funny faces at each other, I had to take a couple of pictures! So many giggles, laughs and silly faces make for a fun night.<br /><br />Best Skype chat ever!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-73855511987980640192013-09-14T11:01:00.003-04:002013-10-04T10:09:38.717-04:00Speechless Saturday (9/14/13)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
akin to the typical blogging trend known as "Wordless Wednesday", but this is the weekend version..... (ok, so it's not so speechless today, give me a break, it's the first one and I wanted to explain it :))</div>
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<b>Speechless Saturday</b> just simply means <i>I will post a picture or link to article, etc with no words from me. Just something for my blogger friends to view and comment on (if they so wish).</i><br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-88380996633316919692013-09-13T15:37:00.003-04:002013-09-15T12:06:53.838-04:00Friendships from afar....So, I've had a few people ask me (email, messages, etc) how Ashton's handling Marc being away at Georgia Tech and how he's adjusted.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Honestly?</span></i><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Far better than I could have hoped for!</span></b><br />
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These are just a few moments that I've been able to capture in the last 4 weeks since Marc left. The first is a picture of Ashton's first letter he received. He's since received a couple of more letters, and one time, even got 3 letters at one time (also pictured), WOW! He's talked to Marc on the phone after the Rock'n'Roll 1/2 marathon (pictured) and he's Skyped MANY times and has gotten quite a few "double high 5s"! Ashton even gave up his usual morning tablet time one morning, to sit down and write Marc a letter so I could get it in the mail that day for him.<br />
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Ashton doesn't get upset anymore when Marc and him "hang up" after a Skype call, and he really, only got very upset, <i>once.</i> Marc got back on Skype and Ashton was fine after hanging up that second time. Ashton's gotten into the habit of writing letters if he hasn't gotten to talk to Marc in a few days, which is really helping with his handwriting. He's started writing smaller with each individual letter <b>and</b> is writing longer letters too. He's even taken to sending a few drawings here and there, which I know Marc enjoys. I like to call Ashton's morning ritual of messaging Marc, Kaylie (Marc's amazing, and in Ashton's words "she's pretty", girlfriend) and Amory with silly messages and smilies, his equivalent of a morning cup of coffee. Whether he gets a reply right away or not (today for instance, he and Marc got to chat for a few minutes), doesn't seem to matter. It's just part of his morning routine now and he loves reading the responses whenever he gets them. Ashton's also gotten a bit of a crush on Kaylie, which is so precious! Ashton even told me at one point that he wanted Kaylie to take him for pizza, but has said Marc can come too! <i>Bahaha</i>! Ladies man, that one is! :)<br />
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Marc has done everything he can to include Ashton in his college life. I know he's got pictures of him and Ashton up in his dorm room and I know Ashton's a well-known figure in Marc's life. Ashton loves talking to Marc on Skype, but the smile he gets on his face when Marc starts introducing him to whatever group of friends is around, is so sweet. It's like he realizes he's being included even from 9hours away and he loves the attention, smiles, waves and high 5s he gets from all of Marc's "cool college friends". It makes him feel <b>a part of things</b> which is amazing.<br />
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<i><b>Yes</b></i>, Ashton still misses Marc very, very much and will say so a few times a week. I realized a couple of weeks after Marc left, that maybe a good thing for Ashton would be a countdown calendar to when he'll get to see Marc again. So I printed out the calendars for September to December and wrote down the countdown in the boxes for each date. Ashton gets to place a sticker each day to help him count down the days. We're at 92 days now and counting down.<br />
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Ashton chose the Spongebob stickers and loves them, so no judging! :) It keeps him happy and it gives him a concrete date to count down to. <strike>Marc also surprised Ashton a week or so ago with the news that he (Marc) will be pushing him in a race when he comes home in December! Ashton can't wait!</strike> I will say that Ashton's adjusted to not having Marc push him in the past 2 races pretty well. While the last race was slightly crazy for me (it was just a longer ride for Ashton and I didn't know the guys who pushed him as well as we, obviously, know Marc). It worked out, Ashton had a blast and that's all that really matters in the end. <b>He</b> had fun and these races are about him.<br />
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Ashton has also adjusted to high school fantastically, much better than I had expected. I think that's helping with the whole transition. I don't expect every day to be rosey-posey days, but the amazing start he's had leads me to believe that this was very much, the <b>right</b> decision to make moving him back to our home district for high school. </div>
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So all in all, the transition has went far better than I had hoped. Ashton received 2 Georgia Tech surprises this week in the mail, a Georgia Tech t-shirt and a really cool hoodie. He can't wait to wear them! He knows he can message Marc whenever he wants to and that he can Skype with Marc as long as he's not too busy. Even the other day when Marc <b>was</b> busy, they got to Skype for a few minutes - I think they were both missing each other a lot so they needed that face to face time. Two happy smiles emerged from that quick Skype call, so it worked. :)</div>
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Ashton's got 3 more months to go until he seems Marc again. I figured this first month would be the hardest, but it went so much better than I had hoped, so I assume the next 3 months will hopefully fly by. He's keeping busy with school and his New Energy P.O.W.E.R. running group and that's helping. Thank you for anyone who has asked and wondered! :) Fortunately, I'm happy to report that he's doing AWESOME! :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-73225531582335602552013-09-08T16:38:00.002-04:002013-09-08T16:38:49.438-04:00Gone and now......<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Gone</b> are the days of tiny little newborn fingers and toes. </div>
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<b>Gone</b> are the days of smelling the sweet baby smell that all babies seem to have. <i>Best. Smell. Ever.</i> It needs to be bottled and millions of dollars need to be made.</div>
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<b>Gone</b> are the whispy tendrils of soft brown hair that adorned their sweet little heads when they were born. Holden would quickly lose his while Ashton's just thinned out. Holden's hair would turn curly and wavy around the ends when it got longer and he got older, while Ashton just had a ton of hair, <i>period</i>. Even his standard <b>short with a little bit of hair</b> haircut shows how thick his hair really is.</div>
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<b>Gone</b> are the days of just sitting with a baby in my lap, snuggling them to sleep, and watching their sweet little faces scrunch up as they dreamed about whatever little babies dream of.</div>
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<b>Gone</b> are the days of the babies learning how to eat real food, drink out of a real cup and learn all of the other amazing milestones that we take for granted <i>(smiling, cooing, sitting, crawling, standing, pulling up, and lastly, WALKING!)</i>.</div>
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<b>Gone</b> are the days of gorgeous <span style="color: blue;"><b>blue</b></span> eyes for Ashton, though they were replaced with the most entracing <b style="color: #38761d;">green</b> color of eyes. Holden's eyes quickly went from that normal newborn "slate <span style="color: #666666;">grey</span>"color to the luscious chocolate <b style="color: #783f04;">brown</b> that they have remained since he was 4months old.</div>
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<b>Gone</b> is the worries of whether Holden too, would be autistic like his brother, though later, there would be other worries when we received a dual diagnosis of ADHD and Anxiety.</div>
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<b>Gone</b> are the days of wondering whether Ashton would ever be able to interact with the world as we know it. <b>Square peg, meet round hole.</b> Fortunately, in the last 15months he's really come into his own and found a niche that he loves being a part of. Piece by piece, he's learning to be an amazing contributor to society. People love him wherever he goes and he's just a joy to have around. I can't foretell what his future holds, but if the last year is any indication, his life will be enriching, peaceful, loving, funny and fulfilling all rolled into one.</div>
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<b>Gone</b> are the days that the boys let me pick out their clothes for school. I got to have input into their first day of school clothes, but by and large, they pick their own clothes every morning. </div>
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<b>Gone</b> are the days that they painstakingly let me take oodles and oodles of pictures for me to share. I had to strong-arm them to get the few good ones I got on their first day of school. The only reason why I got them? I <b>bribed</b> them with <i>donuts</i>!</div>
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<b>Now</b> I am the mom of a 9th grade high school freshman; <i>a</i> <i>high schooler?!?</i></div>
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<b>Now</b> I am also the mom of a 6th grade middle school student; <i>middle school?!?</i></div>
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<b>Now</b> I no longer have any children that will again grace the halls of a primary or intermediate school.</div>
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<b>Now</b> the battle begins to start figuring out what sort of plans we need to start putting in place for Ashton, for his post high school transition. <i>Did you know you need to start worrying about that, so soon into their high school careers?!</i> <b><i>I didn't! YIKES!</i></b></div>
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<b>Now</b> the real work begins in teaching Holden organizational skills that will hopefully carry him through middle school and on into high school. It's been a tough first week of school, but I have faith that he'll manage. He's getting from class to class and to lunch, PE and his electives just fine. It's making sure everything comes home that needs to. I'm tempted to make a list for him to keep in his locker, but not sure if that'll go over well with him or not.</div>
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<b>Now</b> the worries begin about round two of preteen hormones, attitudes and behaviors. We've been very lucky with Ashton and now, at 14.5years old, he's really sailing through puberty quite well. A few, minor issues but nothing like I was expecting. If anyone is going to cause us major problems, I think it will be Holden. He's so determined and <strike>headstrong</strike> <i>stubborn</i>, that we are already starting to butt heads and he's only 11.5years old. A lot of his attitude I think is coming from his impulsivity due to ADHD, but I have to believe that some of it is just normal, preteen stuff. Granted, if I remember correctly, this was the age Ashton started giving us more issues, so long as we get through the next couple of years with our sanity intact, we should be good to go. The key is really keeping Holden busy (check!), keeping him well-rested (check!) and keeping him involved with active things (check!). </div>
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The boys had an incredible first week of school and I couldn't be more proud. Ashton is walking independently from first bell to second bell and leads his teacher to his third and fourth bells. He's doing his lunch independently (go figure! if there's anything this boy knows how to do, is to make sure he's fed and <b>EAT</b>!). So proud that the transition to high school has went far better than I had imagined it would. Middle school is going well for Holden, if we can just get him to remember to bring everything home that he needs to bring home. It's a huge transition from elementary school to middle school so we'll see how well things fall into place this second week of school before I start panicking. He's got his first test in his math class tomorrow and he feel pretty confident. We'll see.<br /><br />So, <b>gone</b> are my babies and in their place <b>now</b> are these two young men who are incredibly handsome, funny, smart and the lights of my life.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-17806561645436288712013-09-05T21:33:00.000-04:002013-09-05T21:34:14.777-04:00Favorite Pictures from the storySo I had asked the photographer, Vicki Cronis-Nohe, if I could get a copy of the pictures from the article about Marc and Ashton. She happily told me yes and I picked up a copy of them yesterday. There are so many amazing moments that she captured and I'm so glad I now have a real copy of them for us to look back on. She caught some amazing moments that I didn't, so I'm glad to have them and very thankful she shared.<br />
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So here they are. I'm going to leave them a bit smallish here, but you can click on each individual one and see the larger image.<br />
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HUGE HUGE HUGE thanks Vicki! Your photography skills are AMAZING!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hands down, my absolute favorite! Ashton's favorite too :)</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NSJrS8FikQA/UikuyaTzIGI/AAAAAAAACsI/3NrO4R9ufHQ/s1600/vc+hgashton+29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NSJrS8FikQA/UikuyaTzIGI/AAAAAAAACsI/3NrO4R9ufHQ/s200/vc+hgashton+29.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Give me eyes, Ashton" - words of wisdom from a 17-year-old, this is one of my other favorites</td></tr>
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Thanks again for letting me share these, Vicki! :)</div>
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PLEASE DO NOT COPY, EDIT, DOWNLOAD ANY OF THE ABOVE IMAGES!</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-524464122429253592013-08-30T10:47:00.002-04:002013-08-30T10:47:44.125-04:00School preparation is underway<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">WOW</span></b><br /><br />4 more days and I will officially be able to call myself the mom of a high schooler and a middle schooler. That freaks me out! I'm not ready!<br /><br />Ashton's going to HIGH SCHOOL?! 9th grade, here he comes!<br />
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Holden's going to MIDDLE SCHOOL?! 6th grade, here he comes!</div>
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I am so incredibly proud of both of my boys. As nervous as I am for both of them to begin these new chapters of their lives (middle school and high school <b>are</b> big deals, no matter what anyone says!), I know that they will each meet the new, higher expectations and challenges set forth for them. Moving up to a new school is always a source of nerves and anxiety for both boys. They seem to be taking it in stride though. Ashton surprised us yesterday when we went to the high school to meet his teacher/case manager and he walked us all the way around the school and directly to her classroom without us telling him how to get there! We've only been to the school a couple of times and only walked by her classroom once the day before, so I was pretty amazed. The boy has an internal compass like no other, that's for sure! He seemed pretty happy and content in her classroom, other than putting his head down on the desk a lot. I explained to her that he doesn't like bright lights and she assured me that all of the overhead lights would be off on Tuesday except one. She's a very "out of the box" thinker and after meeting with her yesterday and such, I think Ashton will have an amazing year. We'll see how he does with his electives; adaptive art and adaptive business consumers technology class. </div>
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Holden seemed to grasp the concept of moving from one classroom to another for his schedule at the middle school. We met all of his teachers and the subs for 2 of the teachers (who are, or will be, on maternity leave soon) and he said they all seem nice. :) I think the first week will be a little confusing but once he gets the hang of things, he'll do just fine. I'm more concerned about his lack of organizational skills (he comes by that honest, I am <b>NOT</b> a very organized person) and how he'll manage to keep everything straight in his locker, etc. I know middle school is a time of huge transition and hormones, etc kicking. I just hope he keeps his head on straight and pulls through the first few weeks with flying colors. His schedule is a bit more relaxed this fall than in previous years as he's not playing fall soccer. He is still running with the New Energy group out in Suffolk, but as we've told him, school comes first. If he's not done with homework, he's not going to practice. That simple. He has to make a concerted effort to make sure he's accomplishing everything in a timely manner. We've set the stage for that in that he comes home from school and immediately starts his homework. I'll be in touch with his teachers after the first week to see if they've noticed any issues, and I'm hoping Holden relieves all fears I have by just being awesome without little follow up on my part. Part of middle school is teaching these kids to be responsible for themselves, etc but we know how that goes. :)<br /><br />Can't wait to see how the first day and week of school goes! Onwards and upwards! </div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-67705493354266081512013-08-25T07:31:00.001-04:002013-09-16T00:43:25.602-04:00Because We CanRemember that <a href="http://icanhasautism.blogspot.com/2013/06/letter-to-newspaper-we-have-our-son-back.html">letter to the newspaper</a> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(link takes you to my original posting about the letter I wrote)</span> I wrote back in late April? Well, what came of that letter became much larger and much more touching than I could have ever imagined. A <b>huge</b> thank you to Vicki Cronis-Nohe for your amazing photography and videography skills. Another <b>huge</b> thank you to Hattie Brown Garrow for putting a friendship into words that I couldn't even begin to describe.<br />
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Below you will find the video interview that was done with Marc and Ashton, it's currently up on YouTube and I believe is also viewable through the Virginian-Pilot's "Evening Pilot" app, available only on iPad. On August 23rd, the story about Marc and Ashton was the highlight cover story for the app and it was so cool to get an early read of the story. Made for an amazing birthday surprise since it was available 2 days early! You will also find the links below for the actual story on the Virginian-Pilot's online website, and a link to the photo gallery.<br />
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<a href="http://hamptonroads.com/2013/08/star-runner-autistic-boy-form-unexpected-friendship"><span style="font-size: x-large;">An Unexpected Friendship</span></a><br />
The link above will take you directly to the article which will give you access to the video and the photo gallery :)<br />
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With all of that being viewed and said.....<br />
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<i>Don't believe that you can change someone's life?</i><br />
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<i>You may never know that you, yourself, are missing from someone's life, or that you're missing someone from your <b>own</b> life until you take a chance with a new experience. S</i><i>ometimes stepping out of the box of everyday comfort can be difficult, but what happens when you do so, may change <b>your</b> life forever. <b>You</b> may change someone else's life forever. You may be the <b>one</b> person who can unlock the windows and break down the walls of someone's tough facade. Marc did just that, 14months ago. I think I can speak for him and say that what happened in the months since then, was not something he had expected. Nor was it something that we, as Ashton's family, expected. But we are forever grateful and blessed to have been open to change, open to meeting new people and experiencing new things. For without the amazing experiences these two incredible young men have gone through over that time, we would have never realized so much was going on in Ashton's heart that he couldn't tell us.</i><br />
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<i>As I said in my letter to the newspaper four months ago </i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>"</i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><i>Thank you to Marc. You've given us our son back. You've opened the doors and windows to his soul and we're finally learning things about Ashton that before we never knew about. You've made me a true believer in the youth of today. With so many horror stories about children with Autism being bullied, it's a true breath of fresh air to see the polar opposite in the loving friendship you and Ashton share. You two make an incredible team and we couldn't be more happy and blessed to know you and your incredible family. Thank you for being exactly the friend Ashton needed at the moment we least expected it . We'll never be able to forget it.</i></span><b style="font-style: italic;">"</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: italic;">This is all been a blessing; an amazing, beautiful and wonderful experience for all involved, both families and all the friends and extended families of those of us immediately involved. Thank you for letting us share their story with you.<br /><br />Much love and gratitude,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The McCormick & Leber families</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-25331708376601670632013-08-22T16:49:00.001-04:002013-08-22T16:49:15.771-04:00To "One Pissed Off Mother"<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
By now, I'm sure most of you have seen this rather nasty letter that was slipped under the door of an Ontario, Canada family's home. When I first read this letter, I was pissed off. Actually, I was more than pissed off, I was thoroughly enraged that someone could be just so mean to write such things. Telling a family to donate the "non-retarded parts to science" and to "euthanize their child"? How cruel. To top it off and to be so cowardly as to do so anonymously? Do they really think they won't be found out? As most know, we too, are a family that lives with Autism on a daily basis. While my own son doesn't have the same behaviors and characteristics as the child referenced in this letter, my heart breaks for this family to have been exposed to such hatred and vengeance and yes I'll say it, flat out ignorance and stupidity.</div>
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But now, a few days later, I'm filled with pity for this <i><b>one pissed off mother</b></i> and filled with happiness and peace knowing the community has rallied around the family and their amazing child. But I ask, why does it take such a heinous act to bring out the <b>good</b> in people? I know there are good people in this world. We've been blessed ourselves with an amazing group of people who not only support our choices for our son, but accept him for the incredible human being that he is and want only the best for him. They worry right alongside us when he's having a bad time, and they rejoice in every milestone reached, no matter how long it's taken him to achieve such milestone. They understand his quirks, his mannerisms are just a part of what makes him who he is.<br /><br />To <b>One Pissed Off Mother</b>,</div>
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I can only hope that your children (if you are really, indeed, a mother) have been sheltered from the hatred and ignorance that you spewed in your letter. I hope that despite having such a vile human being as their mother, that they turn out to be amazing individuals who seek out those less fortunate and those with special needs and do everything they can to understand and live beside these people as a community. I hope they learn to accept that no one person is better than the next, and that their life is not to be valued any more than anyone else's. We are all humans living on this great planet, and everyone deserves a chance to be understood. Everyone deserves to be accepted. Everyone deserves a chance to be loved.<br /><br />I wanted to hope that you'd get a chance to walk in this family's shoes, for just one moment. To live life as they have to, worrying about their child with Autism. Worrying what the community around them thinks. Worrying about the educational worries that goes along with having a special needs child. Worrying that your child may never fit into a world not meant for them, but knowing that they have to learn. Worrying about what happens when they themselves die? Learning to live with the mantra that "I need to live one day more than my child." But, you don't deserve that chance. You would throw away that blessing like a used up paper towel without ever realizing that your life would have been forever changed, <b>for the better</b>. </div>
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Being the mom of a child with Autism, I can assure you, that this life is not always an easy one but we are infinitely blessed to be given the gift of raising our child. He's the biggest blessing we could have ever hoped for or been given. I love my son more than life itself, and I hope that he knows that. I also have what you would probably consider a "normal" child (I hate that term with a passion, by the way). My "normal" child is far wiser, far kinder and far more understanding of special needs than you will <b>ever</b> hope to be. He is one of his big brother's biggest fans, and he will do anything for him. He has gotten upset when people have stared and made comments directed towards his brother, as he understands just how wrong it is to do so. He's the younger "big brother" and he plays that part very well, without ever being asked to. He <b>just does</b>, because he knows that without us, our son wouldn't have the support system that he has. His family is the most important part of that support system and if we fail him, than so does that support system.<br /><br />I hope only that with time, you will learn to feel remorseful for the hatred you spewed. That you will come to see how ignorant and vile you were. I hope you will apologize to this family <b><i>and</i></b> that you will truly mean it. I hope you will take it upon yourself to learn more about Autism. You need to be educated. You need to be aware. Most of us never asked to be the parents of special needs children, be it Autism or anything else. But most of us will also tell you, we have learned far more from our children's courage and dignity than we can ever hope to teach that child. I can promise you that your life will be infinitely blessed and enriched if you can rid yourself of the hatred that you have deep inside and learn to accept those with differences.<br /><br />Come forth, accept the consequences of your actions and then let yourself be free to acceptance and forgiveness.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-69635853416376530992013-08-21T12:58:00.000-04:002013-09-16T10:04:48.252-04:00One Perfect Day: Surfers Healing 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: left;">Our fourth <a href="http://www.surfershealing.org/">Surfers Healing</a> experience with the <a href="http://www.surfershealingvb.org/">Surfers Healing VB crew</a>.</span></div>
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Our second Surfers Healing VB 5K experience.</div>
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Our first race without Ashton's best friend and favorite Team Hoyt VB pusher, who is away at college.<br />
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All of that equalled one amazing experience, literally, <b>One Perfect Day</b>.<br />
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<i>One. Perfect. Day. </i><br />
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That was the theme of this year's Surfers Healing experience. August 17, 2013 did not disappoint. Nor did the night before either. On August 16th, there was an amazing Welcome Luau for the surfers of Surfers Healing on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Amazing food, great entertainment (the boys enjoyed watching the dancers) and the opportunity to connect with members of the Autism community is always a major plus. Meeting the Surfers and reconnecting with some of our favorites from years past is always a blessed moment. We trepidatiously watched the weather forecase all day and were overjoyed when the Surfers Healing VB folks decided to go ahead with the luau.<br />
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We arrived at the Oceanfront for the luau and immediately started running into friends that we knew. The boys were <b>starving</b>, and were so ready to eat dinner. Luckily, shortly after we got there they started serving food and the dancers and entertainment started. The girls looked beautiful in their costumes and were wonderful dancers.<br />
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Then the introduction of the surfers took place. Ashton was thrilled to see his past favorites, Kalani Brown, Kalani Kahalioumi, and Izzy Paskowitz as well as meeting some of the others. </div>
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I knew I was in for a treat when Ashton started wondering around looking for his favorites, wanting to say hi. What a little social butterfly he's become! He was thrilled to see both Kalani's as well as seeing Izzy again. It's always heart-warming to see how these "big surfer dudes" interact with this amazing population of children and families. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ashton and "<b>little</b>" Kalani Brown</i><br />
I was shocked Ashton remembered that this was "little" Kalani upon seeing him!<br />
Kalani had surfed with Ashton on his second time out last year and Ashton <b>loved</b> it.<br />
One of those heart-warming moments that shows Ashton <b>is</b> "aware" and not just plodding through life.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UOczDfQFVQM/UhTgJ3nRekI/AAAAAAAACkU/Y8BRtBTpUzg/s1600/IMG_7738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UOczDfQFVQM/UhTgJ3nRekI/AAAAAAAACkU/Y8BRtBTpUzg/s320/IMG_7738.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ashton and <b>the man</b>, Izzy Paskowitz</i><br />
Always a pleasure to see how Izzy relates to these kids. Izzy's way of connecting with these kids and getting eye<br />
contact from even the most stubborn of kids. He even complimented Ashton in his "good talking" and social skills! Izzy even asked Ashton where his sunglasses were! He remembered that conversation from a<br />
couple of years ago! <b>Amazing</b> considering the number of kids Izzy comes in<br />
contact with every year. Thank You for remembering!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W1xIoIV9w90/UhTgJ5K8qrI/AAAAAAAACkY/P-uFnnM5RJQ/s1600/IMG_7739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W1xIoIV9w90/UhTgJ5K8qrI/AAAAAAAACkY/P-uFnnM5RJQ/s320/IMG_7739.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ashton, the '<b><span style="color: blue;">blue surfer'</span> </b>Kalani Kahalioumi and Holden</i><br />
Kalani was Ashton's first surfer back in 2010. He is one of those special souls that Ashton just connected with,<br />
at a time that he didn't easily connect with strangers, or even those outside of his immediate family.<br />
Fortunately, we consider Kalani an extended member of our family now and we even exchange<br />
holiday cards and such at Christmas. Ashton was also thrilled to realize he's nearly<br />
as tall as Kalani now! You know, priorities! :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We left the luau after meeting new friends, connecting with some previously "Facebook-only" friends and having seen some old friends from various Autism groups and running groups that we're a part of. Ashton even found a little-bitty cute baby that he absolutely adored meeting. He went up and introduced himself to baby Jacob and his family. What was so sweet was the interaction between Ashton and this family. Blair and Jacob, thank you for being so understanding with Ashton's impulses and letting him give the baby kisses and hugs. I've only heard about Baby Jacob about <b>a million and one times</b> since we met you on Friday (hahaha), and Ashton has loved seeing your pictures on Facebook. I'm so glad Aydin had a wonderful time surfing! What a little cutie pie she is!<br />
<br />
It was interactions like that one, that lets me know that we've got an amazing and supportive autism community in this area. People are so understanding and forgiving. Not many people would take too kindly to this big 14-year-old boy running up to them and wanting to impulsively touch their baby and give them kisses.<br />
<br />
We left the luau with the promise of waves and a fun time the next morning. Ashton was super stoked for the Surfers Healing 5K race and then to surf again. Home for meds, bedtime and packing out stuff up for a fun day at the beach the next day.<br />
<br />
I was only slightly worried about how Ashton would do in this first race with Marc being away at college. Fortunately, Marc had helped arrange for his friend, Amory Langley, to push Ashton in this race. I later found out it was a mutual decision between Marc and Amory for this to work out, and for that gentlemen, I am grateful. It helped would <b>could</b> have been a traumatic experience for Ashton, be very pleasant and a lot of fun. Also pushing Ashton in this race was Michael Davis, a fellow Team Hoyt VB runner and dear friend of ours who had pushed Ashton with Marc in last year's Surfers Healing 5K race.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_0MNC7IGZlo/UhTouoENfjI/AAAAAAAAClE/H105LJD-t8M/s1600/IMG_7740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_0MNC7IGZlo/UhTouoENfjI/AAAAAAAAClE/H105LJD-t8M/s320/IMG_7740.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ashton and Amory, pre-race</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MYdC_0blAbo/UhToNk1qcbI/AAAAAAAACk0/FYdfgQi8HiE/s1600/IMG_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MYdC_0blAbo/UhToNk1qcbI/AAAAAAAACk0/FYdfgQi8HiE/s320/IMG_0003.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Amory, Ashton and Michael, pre-race</i></td></tr>
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Fortunately, nothing could dampen the excitement surrounding the Team Hoyt VB group on Saturday morning the 17th, not even the cool, windy and dreary looking weather. This was to be Amory's first race with Team Hoyt VB and his excitement was a bit catching! Ashton had an amazing 5K race thanks to Amory who finished with a time of 22:58 and also with Michael who finished with a time of 23:37. Amory wanted to make a final push for the finish line so him and Ashton crossed the finish line without Michael. The look of determination on Amory's face was kind of hilarious, seeing as how I'd never really gotten to see him run before. I can see now why he and Marc get along so well. Two peas in a pod those two. David and Holden also ran this race and finished with times of 47:21 and 28:23, respectively. Impressive times by all of them!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eEgVuoez8NU/UhTo5Aqw1pI/AAAAAAAAClM/ZG7vZjue2-Y/s1600/IMG_3913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eEgVuoez8NU/UhTo5Aqw1pI/AAAAAAAAClM/ZG7vZjue2-Y/s320/IMG_3913.JPG" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nearing the finish line - Way to run!</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2pwaVZV09KU/UhTo5tOpu8I/AAAAAAAAClQ/WknKPZ_w1pY/s1600/IMG_3915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2pwaVZV09KU/UhTo5tOpu8I/AAAAAAAAClQ/WknKPZ_w1pY/s320/IMG_3915.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Team Ashton <b>ROCKS!</b></i><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OboaYLNxR3Q/UhTpddaprHI/AAAAAAAAClk/uWP1WuGd-7w/s1600/IMG_3931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OboaYLNxR3Q/UhTpddaprHI/AAAAAAAAClk/uWP1WuGd-7w/s320/IMG_3931.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><i>Holden nearing the finish line! As always - perfect form! :)</i></td></tr>
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<div>
<i>David, smiling after walking his 5K this time around.<br />Not sure <b>I'd</b> be so happy after a 5K, even if I <b>was</b> walking!</i></div>
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Then it was time to scope out our place on the beach. We had my inlaws (hubby's parents and his brother) as well as Amory hanging out with us, and a little later, Ashton's former teacher would arrive to hang out as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T4EmNGISSz8/UhTwCHG2AlI/AAAAAAAACn0/GYHTHwixzJg/s1600/IMG_7756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T4EmNGISSz8/UhTwCHG2AlI/AAAAAAAACn0/GYHTHwixzJg/s320/IMG_7756.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ashton got his baby fix - baby Jack!!! :)</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lW3MvZqG3Lg/UhTwFDEeqsI/AAAAAAAACn8/YqBAmemfvO0/s1600/IMG_7755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lW3MvZqG3Lg/UhTwFDEeqsI/AAAAAAAACn8/YqBAmemfvO0/s320/IMG_7755.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>He didn't even mind sharing his hat with Jack :)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Ashton's surf time was scheduled for 10am and it wasn't long after we got settled that they started calling for Group 3, 10:00am surf time kids. Following in Marc's footsteps from last year, Amory led Ashton over to the line of kids to wait and get his life jacket on.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iVlgI5LgZxM/UhTrJyc9wSI/AAAAAAAACl4/pTRefv_1rRg/s1600/IMG_3936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iVlgI5LgZxM/UhTrJyc9wSI/AAAAAAAACl4/pTRefv_1rRg/s320/IMG_3936.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashton had a blast hanging out with Amory!</td></tr>
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Ashton decided once again to surf <b>SOLO!</b> This always freaks me out a bit initially, and slightly disappoints, only because when he's asked a question, he nearly almost always answers yes. I know he'd enjoy surfing with someone steering him through the waves probably even more than he does surfing alone. But, he was determined, so off he went, and went he did. He had a <b>BLAST</b>!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>hand in hand, he walks off with a volunteer</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BVsNZvWD0tk/UhTrrhKifMI/AAAAAAAACmI/LnwfAudV9jM/s1600/IMG_3940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BVsNZvWD0tk/UhTrrhKifMI/AAAAAAAACmI/LnwfAudV9jM/s320/IMG_3940.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>quick lesson before he gets in the water</i></td></tr>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwD5BJBmlRO3UW0V_VfWeaYGVOG9VNRaOdKDp9xfcINe1WbUzpq5uriyFvgY4CqQSQXd3WA7xn0R5H5GwF3Ww' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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A quick little video of Ashton surfing..... :)</div>
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Then, I came across this <b>amazing</b> image of Ashton surfing, from Danny Holland, a local professional photographer. This image is actually copied off his Facebook page, so it's not the greatest of quality, but that winning smile makes it my absolute favorite image of Ashton surfing, <i>ever</i>!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DdYFnTeEqeQ/UhTuYEorqTI/AAAAAAAACnY/VKJ6WeGpUGE/s1600/1097197_10151860449460820_2086246524_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DdYFnTeEqeQ/UhTuYEorqTI/AAAAAAAACnY/VKJ6WeGpUGE/s400/1097197_10151860449460820_2086246524_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank you Danny for capturing this amazing picture!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fFivoDiJd0A/UhTuxuzyG4I/AAAAAAAACng/2_-hm7MFvoQ/s1600/IMG_7745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fFivoDiJd0A/UhTuxuzyG4I/AAAAAAAACng/2_-hm7MFvoQ/s320/IMG_7745.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thank you again to Mr. Christian and Ms. Sonya for assisting Ashton in the water<br />and making his second solo surfing experience so enjoyable and fun!</i></td></tr>
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That was it. Ashton had a blast! His fourth experience with Surfers Healing had been his best one yet. His first race with Marc being away had went off wonderfully due to Amory's willingness to step in for Marc and with Michael's help, Ashton had a great 5K. His social growth was apparent, his connections with people was apparent and he just had a blessed and wonderful time. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>We're number 1! Hanging out at Tini's frozen yogurt bar. </i></td></tr>
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But that wasn't the end of his day.... oh no, there was still a surprise in store for him! Marc and Ashton got to Skype Saturday evening, the first of what I'm sure will be many such conversations while Marc is away at Georgia Tech. Just the interactions, even over the computer was so cute and typical of these two. We met Marc's roommate, Andrew (hope I got that right! lol) and Marc's girlfriend, Kaylie. But what warmed my heart, more than anything, was how Ashton and Marc gave each other double high 5s over the computer, just as they would normally do in person. So sweet. Ashton was excited to see and talk to Marc and luckily Marc took Ashton's constant jumping up from the computer very well. After we got done talking to Marc and hung up from the Skype call, Ashton kept looking over at my computer to see if Marc was still there. So cute.</div>
<br />
One perfect day. One day away from judgement. One day where Ashton could be as impulsive as he wanted to be and no one would stare. One perfect day with friends, new and old. One perfect day, racing with his favorite group of people. One perfect day surfing. One perfect day of summer.<br />
<br />
Yes, it was quite simply, <i><b>One Perfect Day</b>.</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-55720445398168274832013-08-16T00:00:00.000-04:002013-08-16T00:00:03.584-04:00Never say Goodbye......<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 16px;"><i>"Never say goodbye, because saying</i></span></span><br />
<i style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">goodbye means going away,</span></i><br />
<i style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">and going away means forgetting."</span></i><br />
<i style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><br /></i>
<i style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">How true is that quote....</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First off I want to say sorry that I've been "away" in the land of blogging. We've had an incredibly busy, but fulfilling summer this year making lots of amazing memories with friends and family. I'm posting this just to kind of give a heads up on what's been going on.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are blessed beyond measure to have met Marc and his parents, Andrea and Ernie Leber last summer. I don't want this to dwell on the sadness that Marc's departure to Georgia Tech today leaves us with, but I did want to post about some of my own feelings with him leaving.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">First off, it's amazing how you never know something or someone is missing from your life, until they've walked in, left their mark on your life and in your heart, and then leave for new experiences. Marc, you are such a person. We didn't know that you were missing from Ashton's life, but we certainly feel it with your departure to Georgia Tech today. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">Marc has been an instrumental person in helping Ashton come out of his shell of Autism. Those who knew Ashton prior to June 16, 2012 can tell you that Ashton is not the same child now as he was back then. Back then he was just coming out of the huge regression that had plagued him for his entire 6th grade year and part of his 7th grade year. He was finally on an upswing behaviorally, but was still falling behind socially and it was heartbreaking. He didn't really seem to care about others, wasn't yet reading facial expressions and emotions and just lacked awareness of others around him. He didn't seem to care about being or having friends. The morning of June 16, 2012 changed his life and little by little over the last 14months, I've seen Ashton come back to life. His amazingly happy-go-lucky personality has come back, he's social and verbal and he loves being around people.<br /><br />To say that Ashton adores Marc and worships him is a huge understatement. I've never seen Ashton ask for someone with the same longing that he does with Marc. I don't think he quite understands yet what 'Marc being away at college' means but I hope with patience, love and understanding that he'll realize that just because Marc is further away, doesn't mean that he's any less his friend or big brother. Yes, I said it.... Ashton calls Marc his big brother. I've never seen Ashton forge such a close bond with someone as he has with Marc. Ashton loves high 5s and double high 5s, but the smiles that he gives when he gets them from Marc is on a whole different level than when he receives them from someone else. He's just <i>different</i> when Marc is around, and different in a wonderful and beautiful way. I hope that sticks.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Ashton smiles nearly all the time now and when he poses for pictures (you do see his cheesy grin and poses above, right?! :)), he's just relaxed and well, </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">happy</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">I don't want to lose that super happy part of his personality. Going to high school is a huge transition in and of itself but he's also coming back to our own home community that was sorely lacking in knowledge and compassion when he was at the middle school level. I'm hoping and have faith that the high school level will be better. Having Marc move away is another big change for him and one that I think may actually be harder for him than changing schools. Maybe I'm over thinking it all. But Ashton's level of social awareness is what scares me. He realizes the dynamics of things around him are changing and he sometimes feeds from that which can be both good and bad. I will take the fact that he's aware of what's going on around him any day over the little boy who for so long lived in his own little, closed off world and wouldn't let anyone in.<br /><br />Hoping for some peace and and happiness for my boy... that's all I want. For him to be happy, progressing and making new friends. Thank you Marc and family for blessing us with your friendship and love! Andrea and Ernie, if you ever want to borrow a kid, Ashton's ready! ;) You know he loves your comic book collections and just hanging out at your house. He'll even eat you out of house and home, just like he does us here at home! lol :)<br /><br />Seriously, I'm hoping the best for everyone involved with this transition ..... and to Marc, have a BLAST at GA Tech! :) You should have received your first letter from us upon your arrival :) Best of luck to you in your new adventures and remember, study hard, make lots of new friends and most of all, remember Rule #3: HAVE FUN!!! :) We are excited to see what this new chapter of life brings you and can't wait to be a small part of it. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Marc, thank you also for allowing Ashton one last chance to hang out with his favorite person doing his most favorite thing ever, swimming at the beach and Michael Phelpsing (a phrase coined by you and Ashton). I'm glad we were all able to give hugs and say "See You Later" with smiles on our faces and remember all of the amazing experiences you two have had together. I know the future will bring new memories, new moments and lots of new experiences for you both and I can't wait. Until we see you again kid! Remember, we are only a letter, call, text or Skype chat away!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">And I will leave this post with the "We Will Miss You" movie that I made for Marc. It was an extremely cathartic experience putting this video together, picking songs, what to caption, what to say, etc. You may want to turn your speakers up ALL THE WAY initially as Ashton does some speaking/talking in the very beginning of the video. Below the video is the text for what Ashton said.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><object height="360" width="640"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/Y8e4Z10INO8?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
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<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/Y8e4Z10INO8?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="360" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[5]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;">Hi Marc. It's me Ashton.</span><br data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[6]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;" /><br data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[7]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;" /><span data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[8]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;">I want to say thank you for being a super awesome best friend and big brother. Being around you makes me happy. You and I have lots of fun together. We race (and you run super fast), we hang out (and laugh and act silly) but most of all, you let me be exactly who I am.</span><br data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[9]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;" /><br data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[10]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;" /><span data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[11]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;">No matter if I'm flapping my hands, saying silly things that make no sense or just kind of staring off into space, you accept what I am and what I do and realize it's just a part of what makes me the super cool guy that I am.</span><br data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[12]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;" /><br data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[13]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;" /><span data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[14]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;">I will do good work in high school and I know you will do good work in college. I will make new friends and so will you. I know we will still talk on Skype and on Facebook and I am already working on my first letter to you. </span><br data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[15]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;" /><br data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[16]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;" /><span data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[17]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;">I will miss giving you high fives, double high fives and I will miss your big hugs. I will miss racing with you and coming in first. I will miss our random conversations about whatever is on our minds. I will miss just hanging out and being silly. But most of all, I will just miss you.</span><br data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[18]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;" /><br data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[19]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;" /><span data-reactid=".r[4kq7j].[1][4][1]{comment10151821358901635_29577417}.[0].[right].[0].[left].[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[20]" style="background-color: #fafbfb; color: #4e5665; line-height: 14px;">Thank you for being my super awesome and fun best friend and big brother. I hope I see you soon and I love you. For now, I will say "see you later".</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-15617748107284082072013-06-04T08:40:00.000-04:002013-06-04T14:14:24.662-04:00Letter to the newspaper..... "We Have Our Son Back!"<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Around the middle of April, I decided to write a letter to one of the local newspapers and outline what I thought would be an interesting "special interest" story for them. It was about the friendship Ashton and Marc share (which I've posted about a couple of times previously) and how much Marc has changed Ashton's life over the last year. I went back and forth with one of the editors a few times, but last week got a response from one fo the reporters. She's interested in covering the story and will be observing the guys this week before she actually writes the story sometime in mid-late June. Below is what I wrote in......</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our
son, Ashton McCormick, is a 14-year-old eighth grade student at Hugo
Owens Middle School in Chesapeake. He is a rider-athlete for a local
running group known as Team Hoyt of Virginia Beach. This group pairs
able-bodied runners with children and adults that have disabilities
to compete in various road races and events. Nearly a year ago, we
met Marc Leber, a now 17-year-old senior at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy
in Suffolk. Marc, along with his mother, Andrea are competitive
runners and had heard about Team Hoyt from a friend of theirs. The
2012 CHKD 8K race would be their first race with Team Hoyt and as
fate would have it, they were paired up with Ashton. This first
chance meeting between these two young men in June of 2012, would be
the start of us getting our son back and would forever change the
lives of both our family, and that of the Lebers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You
see, Ashton has Autism which causes him to show little to no
emotion, he has poor communication and social skills and very often,
he's in his own little world. Ashton also displays self-stimulatory
behaviors that can be upsetting to someone who hasn't been around him
before. He's never been a child who showed an interest in making
friends with others.
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However,
something clicked between Ashton and Marc after that first race, and
they've now completed 10 races together (with more to come!), ranging
in distances of 5Ks up to a couple of half-marathons. But their
friendship is about far more than the number of finish lines they
have crossed together (many times in first place!), it's the special moments and experiences in
between that has forged a friendship that will last a lifetime. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
very fact that my son knows what a friend is, identifies someone as
being his best friend, and can reciprocate the friendship in turn, is
a testament to the patience and compassion Marc has displayed in
getting to know Ashton. Marc has brought Ashton out of the shell of
his Autism and we're catching glimpses of his sweet, humorous and
amazing personality each day. Ashton is now, nearly a year after
meeting Marc, a very happy and social kid. He enjoys going to school,
he loves meeting new people and most of all, he loves to run and
participate in races with Marc! He's found his niche in society and
is enjoying himself, but more importantly, he's found that one true
friend that will do anything for him. Marc has truly changed Ashton's
life for the better, and we know Marc feels the same about Ashton.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So
for all of this, we have to say Thank You to Marc. You've given us
our son back. You've opened the doors and windows to his soul and
we're finally learning things about Ashton that before we never knew
about. You've made me a true believer in the youth of today. With so
many horror stories about children with Autism being bullied, it's a
true breath of fresh air to see the polar opposite in the loving
friendship you and Ashton share. You two make an incredible team and
we couldn't be more happy and blessed to know you and your incredible
family. Thank you for being exactly the friend Ashton needed at the
moment we least expected it . We'll never be able to forget it and
will spend the rest of our lives showing you our appreciation for
giving us our son back!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-45198716543644999412013-04-14T05:00:00.000-04:002013-06-04T14:15:24.204-04:00Happy 14th Birthday to my favorite teenager!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY ASHTON!!!</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TXqb7vPYLKU/T5hAPe10cHI/AAAAAAAABNY/QHL-bCuSmgY/s1600/babyashton.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TXqb7vPYLKU/T5hAPe10cHI/AAAAAAAABNY/QHL-bCuSmgY/s640/babyashton.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quite possibly my favorite picture of Ashton as a baby......<br />
Proof that he wasn't 'born' autistic... look at that amazing eye contact and that gummy grin!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Oh my sweet boy.... what an amazing year you have had! You've participated in 16 races (4 1/2 marathons, 2 8Ks, 1 14K, 1 10K, 1 10-miler, 1 RSR5K, and 6 5Ks) races with Team Hoyt VB since your last birthday, only 5 of them without your favorite person, Marc. You've went from this quiet, soft-spoken young man to a VERY happy, VERY social and talkative TEENAGER! (as you keep reminding us.... "I'm a teenager, not a little boy!") You participated in Surfers Healing again last summer and....... you surfed ON YOUR OWN!! It was AMAZING! You did a 1/2mi run in November with Marc besides you ... it was INSPIRING!<br />
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While many times, people don't think of children being amazing and inspiring, YOU most definitely are! You continue to defy all odds, knocking down the walls and windows of Autism.<br />
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Last year, I was told your hand strength would never improve and neither would your handwriting and that your upper body and core strength would never improve. HA! You laughed (figuratively) in the face of defeat and your hand strength HAS improved (you can actually throw a ball now and not just plop it in front of you), your high 5s have some major strength behind them.... and GUESS WHAT?! Your handwriting HAS improved! The neo you were given by Assistive technology continues to sit and collect dust because you don't like using it.<br />
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I've watched you start running with your brother. While you don't have the endurance to push through multiple miles at a time yet, you are getting better. Your stride has improved, you can do multiple laps around a track without stopping now (you used to stop 1/2 way around the track on the first lap!), and you now seem to ENJOY getting out there and running.<br />
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Academically? Again, knocking those walls of Autism down big boy! You weren't really into participating much last year and wouldn't do ANY group work and hardly ever did any of your individual work. You were in class, but weren't really participating. Wow how that's changed! You love interacting with your classmates & friends, you go to and participate in group work and you can do your independent work, well.. independently! You've received all As and A-s this year, with an overall average of All As :) Way to go! First time EVER! :)<br />
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Your physical growth is apparent. You've grown about 4inches in the last year and have actually gained/lost enough weight that you weigh the same as you did last year. You're slimming down and growing up! You are such a handsome young man! You love having a "short with a little bit of hair" hair cut and I can always tell when it's time to get you in for another, as you start pulling on your hair. You are in the throes of teenager acne (this has just gotten really bad in recent weeks) but you handle the face washing, treating, and everything so well.<br />
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You are an incredibly easy-going kid. You go with the flow and not a lot phases you anymore. You're not so routine-oriented that you can't handle a change in routine, as long as we tell you about it as soon as we can. Even spur of the moment changes don't seem to phase you as long as it's a change that involves lots of prompting and reinforcers for you.<br />
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Basically, you're amazing AND an inspiration to many. You've grown so much in the last year, that I can't even begin to hazard a guess as to what you will be like as an adult. You've matured in so many ways that I can't hardly recognize the young man you are becoming. A few years ago I had lost hope for what I thought you might be capable of as an adult, and I can see how wrong I was to lose that hope. You can be absolutely anything you want to be, do absolutely anything you want to do, because you are that kind of kid. You are loved by so many people that just want to see you happy and successful in whatever life hands you. You take it all in with a smile.<br />
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I love you more than anything, Ashton! I may not always be the best mom, but I do try my hardest to be everything that you need. I love that you still snuggle up in a chair with me, I love that you want us around still (so many teenagers do not), and I love that you are exactly who you are meant to be. An amazing kid, with amazing people in your life and an amazing outlook on what your future holds.<br />
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Happy 14th Birthday sweet boy! Have fun today at your birthday party and getting your BIG SURPRISE #2!!! :)<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061286872286285159.post-27185901882361468122013-04-01T16:16:00.001-04:002013-04-01T16:16:31.461-04:00Autism Awareness - Gift of Friendship<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZwJbho_uW50/UVnA88ujwoI/AAAAAAAACSM/LAlIhzEHiHI/s1600/IMG_1163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZwJbho_uW50/UVnA88ujwoI/AAAAAAAACSM/LAlIhzEHiHI/s640/IMG_1163.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marc and Ashton - hanging out and being silly a few weeks ago! :)<br />
This is probably one of my favorite pictures of these two ..... such personalities and happiness! :) </td></tr>
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So this post will either make Marc laugh, or cry ... or possibly both. But, it will show what the gift of friendship can do for a child with Autism, and their family as well as the other individual involved in the friendship.<br />
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We met Marc and his family last year .... in June at the CHKD 8K Run/Walk for Kids. Marc now knows how apprehensive I was when I first found out a "kid" was pushing my kid in a running race. Ashton (at the time) was not the easiest kid in the world to engage in conversation with, or approach in any social manner. Kids with Autism oftentimes seem like they don't really care about others, nor do they show much interest in others, at least, not outwardly. Having an adult push Ashton in a race is not a big deal. An adult (well, most of them) can handle dealing with a child who may not communicate much (if at all), and are not off-put when a child displays behaviors that are atypical or deemed "weird". Ashton flaps his hands (both when he's happy and when he's upset), and he makes "noises" as well and very oftentimes wouldn't be social with those he doesn't know.<br />
<br />However, something clicked with these two at that first race. This was Marc's first race with Team Hoyt VB and other than one race since, he's pushed Ashton in all subsequent races that he's done with Team Hoyt VB. These two have now completed one 8K, three 5Ks, one 10K, a run swim run 5K, two half-marathons, one 10-miler, and one 1/2mi fun run together. Many of these races, Marc has given Ashton the ride of a lifetime and the two have managed to come in as the first Team Hoyt pair across the finish line multiple times. Not to mention the two school visits Marc made, us visiting one of his XC invitationals, and various other visits we've made.<br /><br />To say that Marc has changed Ashton's life (and our lives, Ashton's family, too) is an understatement. I've seen Ashton go from a quiet, "in his own little world" kid, to one who seeks out others and tries his very hardest to be social. Ashton seeks out and asks for Marc, when there's been a while that the two have seen each other. Ashton has shown recently that he can get VERY excited when Marc makes an unexpected visit to our house. (Ashton was flapping and clapping in excitement so much that his hand caught the lamp and it fell over LOL!). I've NEVER seen Ashton get so excited over someone coming over, truly. The gift of friendship that Marc and his family have given us is something that none of us will forget. I will never forget the look on Ashton when Marc has surprised him on various occasions. I will also never forget the look on Marc's face when he sees Ashton's excitement over a race, a new experience, etc. Marc's parents, Andrea & Ernie, have done an incredible job raising a young man who is so self-giving to others, even if those others can't always say thank you or reciprocate. David, Marc's brother, got a double-dose of Autism Awareness when he ran with Ashton and Marc on their most recent 1/2 marathon, the Shamrock half. He got to see what Marc has learned over the last few months, Ashton can struggle to communicate, with less than ideal circumstances. But, over these last few months, Marc has also learned to interpret Ashton's non-verbal signs of communication and was able to easily pick up on Ashton's distress. <div>
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I know also that Ashton has changed Marc's life and changed Marc himself. I've gotten the pleasure of watching this young man learn how to best approach Ashton, learn how to interact with Ashton, and not only that, he does it willingly and happily. I've never met a young man who is so willing to go out of his way to make another kid so happy. Ashton's smile when he sees Marc is probably one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. Ashton lights up and gets so excited. Marc willingly comes up to Ashton and gives the requisite high 5s and of course, the hugs! Ashton LOVES hugs! I've seen Marc go from not knowing how to read Ashton's facial expressions and body language, to sometimes understanding Ashton way better than I do, even. Marc has gone from not understanding Autism to thinking about all of the little details that can make an experience go from a good one, to an absolutely amazing and memorable one for Ashton. He's learned that Ashton is very sensitive to loud sounds, and crowded spaces. He knows Ashton is not fond of the sunlight in his face. There are lots of little things that Marc does that makes me realize he's learned much from Ashton, just from watching him and being around him.<br /><br />So, amid all of this mumble jumble..... Marc has been an amazing person for our family to know. He's let us know that our special guy IS likeable, CAN make friends, WANTS to be friends, and WILL and DOES change people's lives. Ashton has taught Marc to not judge people so much by outwardly appearance, and that just because a kid has a "label", to look beyond that label AT the person inside. Ashton's an awesome kid as is Marc, and I'm so glad the two of them have each other as friends. Ashton proclaimed Marc his favorite runner, shortly after meeting Marc, and soon after, proclaimed Marc his favorite person ever! Marc and Ashton have more of a big brother/little brother relationship now, and we're all a little worried how Ashton is going to take Marc's going off to college this summer. I know, ultimately, having friends move away, etc is a part of life and growing up. But Ashton's very attached to Marc and will ask about Marc frequently when he hasn't seen him in a while. But, the good thing ..... Ashton shows excitement and understanding far more than he used to. We're taking measures to make sure the two of them stay in contact when Marc is away at college. Ashton has a Facebook page now (he loves it!) and has used Skype (not to talk to Marc but others) and Ashton has started writing more and more. They will stay in contact in whatever means possible.<br /><br />Ashton and Marc have changed each other and each other's lives.... for the better. Together, they are an amazing team and have an amazing friendship. They're both better people for having each other in each other's life. Love them <b>both</b> very much! There's a reason I call Marc my third "son". He's one of us and loves Ashton just as we do and understands him like no other. Thank you Marc (and your wonderful and amazing family) for loving Ashton and being there for him! Your friendship over the last year has been an amazing one and one that we will always treasure! Thank you for being Autism Aware and showing you care!<br /><br /></div>
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