Hello everyone!!!
Before I get started I would like to say that I hope everyone had a great holiday break. While you are reading this post, I suggest that you listen to this song at the link below. It is called Solitary Shell by Dream Theater and is an absolutely amazing song about Autism. If you cannot concentrate while reading the post and listening to it then please do so before or after reading. This really is an amazing song that describes Autism greatly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FVp2rw1BFQ
My favorite part of this song is:
"He learned to walk and talk on time
But never cared much to be held
And steadily he would decline
Into his solitary shell"
What's yours?
It's BACKKKKKKKK!
So, Billy's Tic's are back again. What does that mean? He has strep again! And what does that mean? Most likely I do too! It's great really....I love being sick on my vacation away from school.... :(
Billy is very cute when he is sick though. He says/does the weirdest things. Earlier today we got him dressed for the day. Well, he went down the hallway into his new bedroom (news about that after) and when he came back....his pull up and pants were off and he was laughing. Why he does this? I don't know but, it's really funny for right now.
"Blana Wake Up!"
Yesterday, the house was rearranged. Billy and Madelyn used to share a room so that I could have my own room. Now, I am living in the playroom in the basement, Billy is in my old room and Madelyn is in the same room she was always in. Well, Billy was very upset when we started to clean up his toys yesterday. As we moved the couches we somehow touched his car mat and he flipped! Billy had tears running down his face because he wanted his toys downstairs. He wanted this so bad that he came up to me and say "Blana go home!" Too bad I was already home. So I laughed and said "Billy I am home!" He then gave me a very evil look and said "Blana get out! Blana no home! No Blana home!"
It's official...I've been kicked out of my own house by my 5 year-old Autistic Baby Brother. Now, that's something to be proud of!
Billy's really liking the new arrangements now though. He likes to wake me up. I went to sleep at 4 in the morning on Sunday night and Billy decided to wake me up at 8. So how does he wake me up you ask? Well, I felt something really hard hit my head and touch my eyes so I wake up and what do I see? Billy opening my eye lids and the Nintendo DS next to me along with a little boy using his little puppy eyes asking "Blana play Spider-Man game?". How do you say no to that? So he gets up on my bed and plays Spider-Man with Blana.
His new favorite game is also to come into my room and shut off my television if he doesn't like the channel.
It's almost like he's trying to angry. He knows whats he's doing of course because he's not stupid so, he runs away laughing thinking it's the funniest thing ever. Classic Billy move.
Christmas
Billy's Christmas was very good though. He got a scooter and loved it! He likes to try to ride it down the stairs to see if he can make it. He still hasn't been able to succeed with getting within a foot of the stairs on the scooter. Since he knows he won't be able to go down the stairs on the scooter now, he tries riding it off the kitchen table chairs. Once that wasn't gonna happen, he decides to ride them one my parents bed. This boy just won't give up!
Pillow Pet
For Christmas I got a Bumble Bee Pillow Pet. Billy really likes it. Apparently, he's seen the commercial for them a few too many times though. As I write this he is looking in my mirror with the bumble bee as a pillow saying "It's a pillow," then folding it "It's a pet," Now unfolding it "It's a Pillow Pet!" Over and over again. Very, very cute.
Until Next Time,
Brianna
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas!
Hello Everyone!
I know I said that I would be updating regularly but, with school work catching up...its really hard to update this and do school work. I will be updating my blog as much as I can. Don't worry! Anyways, above is a video I made with pictures of Billy. The song is called Solitary Shell by Dream Theater and it's an amazing song about Autism. All song rights belong to them of course! The second video is a video to my best friend Lainee who has helped me through a lot with Billy.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Billy!
I know I said that I would be updating regularly but, with school work catching up...its really hard to update this and do school work. I will be updating my blog as much as I can. Don't worry! Anyways, above is a video I made with pictures of Billy. The song is called Solitary Shell by Dream Theater and it's an amazing song about Autism. All song rights belong to them of course! The second video is a video to my best friend Lainee who has helped me through a lot with Billy.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Billy!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Day 8:Autisim Discoveries, Saying of the week, Book sneak peek.
Hello, readers!
Christmas is this week are you as excited as Billy and I? Billy can't wait for Santa Claus and opening presents. He is very good at opening presents. This weekend I found some really interesting Autism articles online. Here is my imput on them.
Autism Discoveries
Can Living Near A Highway Cause Autism?
According to TIME, if you live approximetly 1,000 feet away from away at birth you have a higher chance of getting Autism. Here's my reaction:........*crickets*......
Seriously? Seriously? A highway? The only interesting thing about this article is how far people are going to sell their merchandise. If living near a highway causes Autism...then my anxiety is caused from the farm up the street. How low can people get to selling magazines or getting hits online? Really? This has to be one of the stupidest things I have EVER heard. Then, they go on to say that th eair pollution or exposure to traffic has nothing to do with it...um, that would be a better cause than just living near one. If that's not the reason though....what is? NOTHING BECAUSE IT'S NOT TRUE!!! The vaccines that kids get has to have some sort of impact. Whether its the vaccine doesn't react the way it's supposed to but, doesn't show up differently through tests or doctors don't do them right, they have to be an impact on Autism. Im sorry but, the highway thing...just antoher way to get views. It's like the lawsuit happening against McDonalds happy meal toys....SO STUPID!
LINK-- <http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/17/study-living-near-a-highway-may-contribute-to-autism-risk/
Bibliography:Melnick, Meredith. "Study: Living Near a Highway May Contribute to Autism Risk." TIME Magazine 17 December 2010: n. pag. Web. 19 Dec 2010. <http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/17/study-living-near-a-highway-may-contribute-to-autism-risk/>.
Is Picky Eating Habits A Symtom Of Autism?
According to Time, picky eating at an early is a symptom of Autism. I laughed when I read this. Seriously? Are people just getting more and more stupid lately? I'm a picky eater...do I have Autism? No! Now people who see that thier children are picky eaters at an early age will think this...it's most likely not the case! Really...this is aggrivating that people are taking advantage of this disease for money and views on an article. Everyone is picky about what they eat. I'm picky about various things, my sister about meat and various others and my brother about meat and various others. This is getting really stupid....on to the next article! By the way, this author didn't even spell picky right...she spelt it Finicky in the tab but, Picky on the article....hmmm.
Read this for yourself though. Tell me what you think.
LINK-- http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2004676,00.html
Bibliography:Alice, Park. "Is Picky Eating A Sign Of Autism?." TIME Magazine 19 July 2010: n. pag. Web. 19 Dec 2010. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2004676,00.html.
A Genetic Link Between Anorexia and Autism?
Christmas is this week are you as excited as Billy and I? Billy can't wait for Santa Claus and opening presents. He is very good at opening presents. This weekend I found some really interesting Autism articles online. Here is my imput on them.
Autism Discoveries
Can Living Near A Highway Cause Autism?
According to TIME, if you live approximetly 1,000 feet away from away at birth you have a higher chance of getting Autism. Here's my reaction:........*crickets*......
Seriously? Seriously? A highway? The only interesting thing about this article is how far people are going to sell their merchandise. If living near a highway causes Autism...then my anxiety is caused from the farm up the street. How low can people get to selling magazines or getting hits online? Really? This has to be one of the stupidest things I have EVER heard. Then, they go on to say that th eair pollution or exposure to traffic has nothing to do with it...um, that would be a better cause than just living near one. If that's not the reason though....what is? NOTHING BECAUSE IT'S NOT TRUE!!! The vaccines that kids get has to have some sort of impact. Whether its the vaccine doesn't react the way it's supposed to but, doesn't show up differently through tests or doctors don't do them right, they have to be an impact on Autism. Im sorry but, the highway thing...just antoher way to get views. It's like the lawsuit happening against McDonalds happy meal toys....SO STUPID!
LINK-- <http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/17/study-living-near-a-highway-may-contribute-to-autism-risk/
Bibliography:Melnick, Meredith. "Study: Living Near a Highway May Contribute to Autism Risk." TIME Magazine 17 December 2010: n. pag. Web. 19 Dec 2010. <http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/17/study-living-near-a-highway-may-contribute-to-autism-risk/>.
Is Picky Eating Habits A Symtom Of Autism?
According to Time, picky eating at an early is a symptom of Autism. I laughed when I read this. Seriously? Are people just getting more and more stupid lately? I'm a picky eater...do I have Autism? No! Now people who see that thier children are picky eaters at an early age will think this...it's most likely not the case! Really...this is aggrivating that people are taking advantage of this disease for money and views on an article. Everyone is picky about what they eat. I'm picky about various things, my sister about meat and various others and my brother about meat and various others. This is getting really stupid....on to the next article! By the way, this author didn't even spell picky right...she spelt it Finicky in the tab but, Picky on the article....hmmm.
Read this for yourself though. Tell me what you think.
LINK-- http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2004676,00.html
Bibliography:Alice, Park. "Is Picky Eating A Sign Of Autism?." TIME Magazine 19 July 2010: n. pag. Web. 19 Dec 2010. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2004676,00.html.
A Genetic Link Between Anorexia and Autism?
By looking at the title, I'm not even going to start on this one....what's your imput?
Here's the link- http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1904999,00.html
Saying Question Of The Week
I'm mixing it up this week. I'm going to ask you a question and I want your imput on the answer. This is also apart of my book in a way. Here it is:
"What is normal?"
Book Sneak Peek
I heard the lady next to us talking about Billy and I shot her a dirty look. I was now on the edge and didn’t want to be messed with. Billy can’t help the way he acts especially right now. I looked at him smiling like nothing was wrong playing with the IPhone. He looked so sweet and innocent. More and more people were staring now and talking about him. In my head I kept chanting ‘shut up, shut up, and shut up. Don’t talk about him.’ But, I couldn’t bring myself out to say these words. Finally, my Mom came to the table with the food and Billy gave me the IPhone. I tried eating but, all I could see was everyone staring and talking about Billy. Repeatedly, I gave them all dirty looks. They didn’t understand that he had something wrong with him that he couldn’t help. I sighed as they kept watching us. I wanted to scream out that he can’t help himself. Over and over again I looked at him. Billy was just sitting there peacefully eating his food. He was doing the Tics that were scaring me so much still but, I had to try to ignore them. The more I ignored everything around me though, the more things started to aggravate me. It felt like there were these voices in my head just screaming out at me. I wanted to stand up, run out of the restaurant and scream until I lost my voice but, I couldn’t. Instead, I sat there and stared at Billy. Would this ever end? Finally, we left and people stared at us as we cleaned up. On our way out I heard something though that really got me angry.
“Finally he’s gone. We can eat in peace.”
Angrily, I looked behind me getting ready to scream at the little old lady. Instead, I was a coward and went into the car holding back tears and staring at Billy doing this Tic. I thought about everything that just happened. How could anyone talk meanly about this little boy? How could anyone ever look at him the wrong way? Billy is the sweetest and happiest little boy there is. He’s in his own little world of toys and games and probably cookies and sweets. He just wants to be loved and live life happy. Maybe it will be harder than we thought though. Maybe he won’t be ever considered ‘normal’. Whatever that is.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Day 7: Weird and Unusual
Hello Everyone,
I apologize for not being able to update my blog but, here's one that's sure to make you laugh. This is about the weird and unusual things that Billy does and will probably be short. Sorry, I'll update with a long post tomorrow.
Weird and Unusual
1.) You can't drive on certain sides of the road or else Billy will flip! If you drive on the left side of the road he will cry until you get on the right side.
2.)You can't watch any television show with laughter. If you watch any television show with laughter in it and Billy in even in the house, he will be blocking his ears for the whole time that show is on. He HATES it!
3.)You can't say the words flying or rain. No comment.
4.)He has to watch Nancy Grace every night. I have no idea why.
5.)You cannot say the words alligator or elevator. Billy gets them mixed up and things will go terribly wrong.
6.) If you don't get the Hannaford's brand wheat bread, he won't eat it. Somehow Billy knows what type of bread you give him.
7.) He has to sit behind the driver in the car for some weird reason.
8.) If his cars are in a line you one goes out of place because you moved it...RUN!
9.) If you read to him he will save you work and turn the pages for you. The only problem is that you will only be able to say one word because he'll flip it for you.
10.) He won't sleep in his own bed in his own bedroom. No comment once again.
I apologize for not being able to update my blog but, here's one that's sure to make you laugh. This is about the weird and unusual things that Billy does and will probably be short. Sorry, I'll update with a long post tomorrow.
Weird and Unusual
1.) You can't drive on certain sides of the road or else Billy will flip! If you drive on the left side of the road he will cry until you get on the right side.
2.)You can't watch any television show with laughter. If you watch any television show with laughter in it and Billy in even in the house, he will be blocking his ears for the whole time that show is on. He HATES it!
3.)You can't say the words flying or rain. No comment.
4.)He has to watch Nancy Grace every night. I have no idea why.
5.)You cannot say the words alligator or elevator. Billy gets them mixed up and things will go terribly wrong.
6.) If you don't get the Hannaford's brand wheat bread, he won't eat it. Somehow Billy knows what type of bread you give him.
7.) He has to sit behind the driver in the car for some weird reason.
8.) If his cars are in a line you one goes out of place because you moved it...RUN!
9.) If you read to him he will save you work and turn the pages for you. The only problem is that you will only be able to say one word because he'll flip it for you.
10.) He won't sleep in his own bed in his own bedroom. No comment once again.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Day 6: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Before I start I would like to say something...is there a such thing as a male cat being pregnant? I think my cat may be the first! haha.
The Good
"Billy, stop eating your sleeves!"
"Billy, the dog is not a horse! The cat isn't either!"
"Chicken Dance! Chicken Dance! Chicken Dance!"
One of the up sides to living with someone with Autism is that you never know what they'll do. For Billy, something small can turn into something big, Something boring can turn into something exciting and something that we never knew about could become something we use on a daily basis. For each of these qoutes I just listed there's one crazy story.
"Billy, stop eating your sleeves!"This is a brand new one that acctually just happened today. I walked out into the living room from my bedroom and Billy was sitting on the stairs with half of his shirt sleeve in his mouth. Of course, he also looked like he was wearing a toga or, in other words, he looked like Tarzan. So, I walk over to him and say "Billy, stop eating your sleeves!" What does he do? He keeps eating them and eating them and eating them. Of course, he now has saliva all over his sleeves. Great...
"Billy, the dog is not a horse! The cat isn't either!" Billy likes animals. He thinks that some animals are not really what they are though. For example, Billy thinks that a dog is a horse. He also thinks that a cat is a horse. Now for those of you who don't know, our cat is a snob and thinks he's so cool. Our dog on the other hand thinks she's fifty percent dog, thirty percent cat and twenty percent human. So, when Billy thinks he's cool, he tries to ride the dog saying "Horse! Horse! Ride the horse!" After he can't ride 'the horse' he moves onto the cat. The cat now runs whenever Billy comes near him. Although, he does that to me too...
"Chicken dance!" "Chicken dance" "Chicken dance!" Billy now has a new obsession with the old dance, The Chicken Dance. Everyone knows the tune to this dance...."da da da da da da da da da dadadadadada da da da da da da dadada" Well, Billy has a new version of the chicken dance where he rubs his tummy and wiggles his butt. It's really cute. Another new one is Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Instead of eyes and ears and mouth and nose he goes eyes and ears and mouth and tummy.
The Bad
"Billy don't rearrange my books!"
"Billy don't put your butt in the window!"
"Billy don't rearrange my books!"Billy has this game he likes to play when after I arrange my books by genre, shape,size,color, title and author he messes them all up again so that I can't find anything. He just thinks it's so funny. It's not. It's really not after you spend 2 hours arranging books...
"Billy don't put your butt in the window!" What's sad is that I acctually have to put this down. Billy likes to walk around the house with no diaper on. What makes this better is when he decides to go and stand in our front window. Need I say more?
The Ugly"Billy don't throw your diaper on the fan!"
"I farted!"
"Billy don't throw your diaper on the fan!"
Now, we get to the ugly. When Billy needs a diaper changing we know. How do we know this? Because he throws his diaper on the fan to see if it will stay up there while the fan is on. Another good spot is either on top of the fridge or in the sink. It's even better when he throws is in my face because he gets mad at me. That's great. It's really, really great...
"I farted!"
This one just happened not even a few minutes ago! Billy was climbing onto my parents bed and he farts. Then he gets a big smile and goes "I farted!" And bursts out laughing. Only he would think this is as funny as throwing his dirty diapers at my face.
The Good
"Billy, stop eating your sleeves!"
"Billy, the dog is not a horse! The cat isn't either!"
"Chicken Dance! Chicken Dance! Chicken Dance!"
One of the up sides to living with someone with Autism is that you never know what they'll do. For Billy, something small can turn into something big, Something boring can turn into something exciting and something that we never knew about could become something we use on a daily basis. For each of these qoutes I just listed there's one crazy story.
"Billy, stop eating your sleeves!"This is a brand new one that acctually just happened today. I walked out into the living room from my bedroom and Billy was sitting on the stairs with half of his shirt sleeve in his mouth. Of course, he also looked like he was wearing a toga or, in other words, he looked like Tarzan. So, I walk over to him and say "Billy, stop eating your sleeves!" What does he do? He keeps eating them and eating them and eating them. Of course, he now has saliva all over his sleeves. Great...
"Billy, the dog is not a horse! The cat isn't either!" Billy likes animals. He thinks that some animals are not really what they are though. For example, Billy thinks that a dog is a horse. He also thinks that a cat is a horse. Now for those of you who don't know, our cat is a snob and thinks he's so cool. Our dog on the other hand thinks she's fifty percent dog, thirty percent cat and twenty percent human. So, when Billy thinks he's cool, he tries to ride the dog saying "Horse! Horse! Ride the horse!" After he can't ride 'the horse' he moves onto the cat. The cat now runs whenever Billy comes near him. Although, he does that to me too...
"Chicken dance!" "Chicken dance" "Chicken dance!" Billy now has a new obsession with the old dance, The Chicken Dance. Everyone knows the tune to this dance...."da da da da da da da da da dadadadadada da da da da da da dadada" Well, Billy has a new version of the chicken dance where he rubs his tummy and wiggles his butt. It's really cute. Another new one is Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Instead of eyes and ears and mouth and nose he goes eyes and ears and mouth and tummy.
The Bad
"Billy don't rearrange my books!"
"Billy don't put your butt in the window!"
"Billy don't rearrange my books!"Billy has this game he likes to play when after I arrange my books by genre, shape,size,color, title and author he messes them all up again so that I can't find anything. He just thinks it's so funny. It's not. It's really not after you spend 2 hours arranging books...
"Billy don't put your butt in the window!" What's sad is that I acctually have to put this down. Billy likes to walk around the house with no diaper on. What makes this better is when he decides to go and stand in our front window. Need I say more?
The Ugly"Billy don't throw your diaper on the fan!"
"I farted!"
"Billy don't throw your diaper on the fan!"
Now, we get to the ugly. When Billy needs a diaper changing we know. How do we know this? Because he throws his diaper on the fan to see if it will stay up there while the fan is on. Another good spot is either on top of the fridge or in the sink. It's even better when he throws is in my face because he gets mad at me. That's great. It's really, really great...
"I farted!"
This one just happened not even a few minutes ago! Billy was climbing onto my parents bed and he farts. Then he gets a big smile and goes "I farted!" And bursts out laughing. Only he would think this is as funny as throwing his dirty diapers at my face.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Day 5: "Stop it Billy!" "Billy no!" "I said no Billy!", Autism Discoveries
"Stop it Billy!"
"Billy, No!"
"I said no Billy!"
It feels like I say this a lot. One of the struggles with autism is children with it sometimes don't understand what you're saying. Billy on the other hand, understands what no means but, takes advantage of it. When Billy gets really though he gets angry. When Billy gets angry...
"Billy, no jumping on the table!" I yell.
He continues to jump on the table so I go over to grab him. As I grab him he dead weights himself so that it hurts to pick him up. For those of you who don't know, Billy's a big boy full of a lot of bone and muscle. It's hard to pick him up in the first place so, when he dead weights himself...it's even worse. I put billy on the floor and kneel down. Looking him at eye level I say, "No Billy! No jumping on the table."
Now as Billy smiles he pinches my arm and says "Say ouch Blanna! Say ouch Blanna!"
"No ouch Billy stop it." I say holding his arms.
This is the started cycle of Billy's anger and it's goes on and on. My parents have brought him to a behaviorist to see what they say about it. He thinks it's the funniest thing in the world and especially when he goes into time-out.
Autism Discoveries
So, I was online looking at any new articles I could find about autism for this part of my blog and this one stood out at me when I read the title. I'm in an Infant/Child Development course at my school and I find it very interesting but, when I see the title: New Research Tool Can Detect Autism at 9 Months Of Age I get confused. At 9 months old you aren't even one years old yet. This article is rather old and from 2008 but, I find it interesting and thought I should share it with you. In the article it says a professor from McMaster University can say if a child has Autism in 10 minutes. How this happens you ask? I do not know. He claims that he can figure this out by looking at the way the child looks at things. By looking at their eye contact as a baby. Now a days most children don't get the diagnosis for Autism until they are around the age of two. This professor says that this could make things easier on families if they find out about their child having Autism this early. Well, what if they do the wrong diagnosis? What if they child is really "normal" and the test was wrong? What happens then? You tell me.
Here's The Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520112133.htm
Bibliography
McMaster University (2008, May 21). New Research Tool Can Detect Autism At 9 Months Of Age. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 15, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/05/080520112133.htm
Another article I found was named Siblings Of Autistic Children At Risk For Developmental Problems, Study Shows. Whatever this study is, must be wrong because I really don't thing siblings of someone with this disability have developmental problems. That was my first thought when I read the title. I then read the article. This was the first line,"Younger siblings of children with autism are at risk to suffer from delayed verbal, cognitive and motor development in their early childhood years." Okay, I agree with this to an extent. Yes, if you have an older sibling with Autism you may pick up on some of the habits they have but, they will go away. you won't have them forever. I read on some More and I see that younger siblings of children with Autism have been diagnosed with delays in developmental areas such as speech, cognitive and motor developmental skills. My sister is older than my brother by a couple years. She doesn't have Autism but, he does. Did he pick this up from her? No! I then read on and see a professor from the college this was studied at (Professor Yirmiya) says "Siblings of children with autism are likely to inherit genes that will cause a weakened expression of autistic symptoms," So does this mean Billy would've inherited some genes from Madelyn and they turned into Autism? I have another question though. Is Autism Genetic? I don't think it is. I think it's a environmental or medical issue that you develop as time goes on from different things such as sicknesses at a very young age. What are your thoughts on this?
Here's the article. Read it for yourself.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070423100907.htm
Bibliography
"Billy, No!"
"I said no Billy!"
It feels like I say this a lot. One of the struggles with autism is children with it sometimes don't understand what you're saying. Billy on the other hand, understands what no means but, takes advantage of it. When Billy gets really though he gets angry. When Billy gets angry...
"Billy, no jumping on the table!" I yell.
He continues to jump on the table so I go over to grab him. As I grab him he dead weights himself so that it hurts to pick him up. For those of you who don't know, Billy's a big boy full of a lot of bone and muscle. It's hard to pick him up in the first place so, when he dead weights himself...it's even worse. I put billy on the floor and kneel down. Looking him at eye level I say, "No Billy! No jumping on the table."
Now as Billy smiles he pinches my arm and says "Say ouch Blanna! Say ouch Blanna!"
"No ouch Billy stop it." I say holding his arms.
This is the started cycle of Billy's anger and it's goes on and on. My parents have brought him to a behaviorist to see what they say about it. He thinks it's the funniest thing in the world and especially when he goes into time-out.
Autism Discoveries
So, I was online looking at any new articles I could find about autism for this part of my blog and this one stood out at me when I read the title. I'm in an Infant/Child Development course at my school and I find it very interesting but, when I see the title: New Research Tool Can Detect Autism at 9 Months Of Age I get confused. At 9 months old you aren't even one years old yet. This article is rather old and from 2008 but, I find it interesting and thought I should share it with you. In the article it says a professor from McMaster University can say if a child has Autism in 10 minutes. How this happens you ask? I do not know. He claims that he can figure this out by looking at the way the child looks at things. By looking at their eye contact as a baby. Now a days most children don't get the diagnosis for Autism until they are around the age of two. This professor says that this could make things easier on families if they find out about their child having Autism this early. Well, what if they do the wrong diagnosis? What if they child is really "normal" and the test was wrong? What happens then? You tell me.
Here's The Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520112133.htm
Bibliography
McMaster University (2008, May 21). New Research Tool Can Detect Autism At 9 Months Of Age. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 15, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/05/080520112133.htm
Another article I found was named Siblings Of Autistic Children At Risk For Developmental Problems, Study Shows. Whatever this study is, must be wrong because I really don't thing siblings of someone with this disability have developmental problems. That was my first thought when I read the title. I then read the article. This was the first line,"Younger siblings of children with autism are at risk to suffer from delayed verbal, cognitive and motor development in their early childhood years." Okay, I agree with this to an extent. Yes, if you have an older sibling with Autism you may pick up on some of the habits they have but, they will go away. you won't have them forever. I read on some More and I see that younger siblings of children with Autism have been diagnosed with delays in developmental areas such as speech, cognitive and motor developmental skills. My sister is older than my brother by a couple years. She doesn't have Autism but, he does. Did he pick this up from her? No! I then read on and see a professor from the college this was studied at (Professor Yirmiya) says "Siblings of children with autism are likely to inherit genes that will cause a weakened expression of autistic symptoms," So does this mean Billy would've inherited some genes from Madelyn and they turned into Autism? I have another question though. Is Autism Genetic? I don't think it is. I think it's a environmental or medical issue that you develop as time goes on from different things such as sicknesses at a very young age. What are your thoughts on this?
Here's the article. Read it for yourself.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070423100907.htm
Bibliography
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2007, April 24). Siblings Of Autistic Children At Risk For Developmental Problems, Study Shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 15, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2007/04/070423100907.htm
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Day 4: Some Of A Day In My Shoes
Hello Everyone! Such a crazy week with make-up work from school. I thought I would like to share something with you all.
This is a little bit of a passage from the book I'm writing about how crazy life can be living with an Autistic brother. Enjoy!
I would like everyone to think for a moment at how crazy their life is. I would like you all to think about things you do on a daily basis. Now, think about what it's like to add someone with Autism into the loop. Crazy huh? This is how my dad usually goes. I wake up at 6:30 to get ready for school and I come out of my room and peak around the corner into the living room. My brother is out there playing with cars, CChristmas tree ornaments and city houses. (The ones you put out around Christmas time.) He looks up at me and smiles wearing the shirt he wore before and a pull up. Classic Billy outfit. His blond hair is also messy at the top and his blue eyes are sparkling.
I smile back and say "Billy, what are you doing you silly goose?"
"I put away! Billy put away!" He runs away laughing and running to the couch.
Slowly walking over to him, I eye him and he does back. As I do this he is starting to pick up his toys and put them away like every morning. He then turns around and laughs his awesome laugh as I tickle him. I then walk away to brush my teeth. As I'm brushing my teeth, I see him in the living room again. This time Billy is sitting on the couch looking at the one across from him. I wonder what he is doing and walk over.
"Billy," I say "what are you doing cutie pie?"
No answer.
"Billy?" I ask again sitting down next to him, toothbrush in hand. "What are you doing?"
Only then does he talk again and whisper the word "Blana go school. I go Big Bird table with Cindy."
Smiling, I nod. "Yes Billy, Big Bird table with Cindy."
"I play Blana's phone?" He whispers again looking at the IPhone in my front right pocket.
"No phone." I laugh.
"Billy's phone!" He complains
“No Billy, Brianna’s phone. Brianna needs her phone for school.” I say “Do you want to watch Bob The Builder?”
“Bob the Builder Yes!” He says and runs over to his spot on the love seat and yawns. I sit down next to him and see my mom wake up and say good morning. We put on our TV show as I wait for 7:30 to come and my Uncle to come home so that I can leave for school.
As I'm leaving Billy is watching me from the top of the stairs. He smiles and I do back.
"Huggie Billy?" I asked him.
He runs down the stairs, one step at a time, and I get eye to eye with him.
"Huggie awwww." He goes and gives me a kiss.
"Love you Billy." I say as I leave.
"Love you Blana Bye!" He says doing an awkward backwards wave and slamming the door shut. As this happens I laugh.
I then go through six torturing hours of High School. The days that most people say are the best 4 years of your life are the worst days ever to me. They always go on and on and on. They are non-stopping it seems like. On the plus side, I get to see my friends. I really just want to go home and play with Billy though. Finally, at 2:42pm, that last bell rings and I get to go meet my Mom outside to see little Billy. Putting my things in the front passenger seat of the car, he's looking around outside the window.
"Billy!" I cheer.
He looks at me then back out the window. Confused, I get in the car.
"How was school?" My mom asks me.
"Same as always." I say "I went, I learned, I left."
I look behind my seat to Billy as he's sitting there blocking his eyes.
"What is he doing, Mom?" I ask still looking at him intently.
"He doesn't want to go home." She says.
We get tot he main street and go to a set of lights as we drive to the bus stop to pick up my sister. Billy's eyes are still covered and he is now screaming and crying. "Maddy no! No Maddy! No home!"
"Yes go home." My mom says.
"No, No go home!" Billy cries louder and starts to kick the drivers seat as we sit at the top of the street at the bus stop.
"Wait for Maddy and then go home." Mom says.
"No go home! No go home! No Maddy!" Billy cries. "Date, date, date! I want date!"
I sit there and frown as he cries. There's nothing you can do. He will keep crying until you leave to not go home and even then, once you leave to go home again this will start all over. Ten minutes later, Billy is still crying and Maddy's bus is here. My mom steps out of the car to get her and Billy cries "No Maddy! No go home!"
"Billy...." I say holding his hand. "Yes, go home."
"No go home!" He screams red faced.
"Billy, yes." I say.
My sister comes in the backseat and buckles up. My mom gets back in the car and does the same then we go home.
"Brianna, I'm going to need your help." She says.
"Okay Mom." I sigh and pick up my bags as I'm getting ready to open my door. I also open my sisters once I get out of the car and wait for my mom. I can hear Billy's cries and I open the front door for her. Maddy runs in the house, as it is freezing outside, and my mom is dragging Billy in the house. His cries get louder in the house as he sits on the stairs and cries. I put my book bag and books in my room and come back out into the living room. Billy is now on the couch looking out the window saying "Go bye-byes, go bye-byes."
"Billy do you want juice?" I ask.
"No juice! No juice!" He screams.
"Okay, Okay!" I say backing away with my hands in the air.
Billy then walks over at me wiping away tears. "Water, water!"
"I want water what?" I ask.
"I want water please?" Billy says.
"I want water please what?" I ask again laughing.
"I want water please Blana!" He yells.
Sighing, I give him water as my mom looks at his school work. My sister then turns on the TV and something Billy doesn't like is on. He screams, drops his water, covers his ears and runs down the hall.
"Maddy shut the TV off!" I yell.
"I am!" She yells back.
"Billy, it's okay Little Man." I say.
Maddy turns the TV channel to something like the news and she leaves. Billy then comes into the living room again, takes his water and plays with his toy cars. He then wants dinosaur chicken nuggets so I put some on a plate for him and cook them in the microwave. He watches them cook and plays with his cars at the same time. When they're done I take them out and put them on the table. Before he gets to the table, I block him.
"Say roarr Billy! Dinosaurs say roar!" I say putting my hands up.
"Roar!" He says obviously aggravated and hungry. Never mess with Billy when there is food involved. He may eat you.
This is just a little taste at my life but, there is A LOT more to it. Life with Billy is always crazy and probably always will be but, there are a lot of adventures, a lot of fun and a lot of memories to come.
This is a little bit of a passage from the book I'm writing about how crazy life can be living with an Autistic brother. Enjoy!
I would like everyone to think for a moment at how crazy their life is. I would like you all to think about things you do on a daily basis. Now, think about what it's like to add someone with Autism into the loop. Crazy huh? This is how my dad usually goes. I wake up at 6:30 to get ready for school and I come out of my room and peak around the corner into the living room. My brother is out there playing with cars, CChristmas tree ornaments and city houses. (The ones you put out around Christmas time.) He looks up at me and smiles wearing the shirt he wore before and a pull up. Classic Billy outfit. His blond hair is also messy at the top and his blue eyes are sparkling.
I smile back and say "Billy, what are you doing you silly goose?"
"I put away! Billy put away!" He runs away laughing and running to the couch.
Slowly walking over to him, I eye him and he does back. As I do this he is starting to pick up his toys and put them away like every morning. He then turns around and laughs his awesome laugh as I tickle him. I then walk away to brush my teeth. As I'm brushing my teeth, I see him in the living room again. This time Billy is sitting on the couch looking at the one across from him. I wonder what he is doing and walk over.
"Billy," I say "what are you doing cutie pie?"
No answer.
"Billy?" I ask again sitting down next to him, toothbrush in hand. "What are you doing?"
Only then does he talk again and whisper the word "Blana go school. I go Big Bird table with Cindy."
Smiling, I nod. "Yes Billy, Big Bird table with Cindy."
"I play Blana's phone?" He whispers again looking at the IPhone in my front right pocket.
"No phone." I laugh.
"Billy's phone!" He complains
“No Billy, Brianna’s phone. Brianna needs her phone for school.” I say “Do you want to watch Bob The Builder?”
“Bob the Builder Yes!” He says and runs over to his spot on the love seat and yawns. I sit down next to him and see my mom wake up and say good morning. We put on our TV show as I wait for 7:30 to come and my Uncle to come home so that I can leave for school.
As I'm leaving Billy is watching me from the top of the stairs. He smiles and I do back.
"Huggie Billy?" I asked him.
He runs down the stairs, one step at a time, and I get eye to eye with him.
"Huggie awwww." He goes and gives me a kiss.
"Love you Billy." I say as I leave.
"Love you Blana Bye!" He says doing an awkward backwards wave and slamming the door shut. As this happens I laugh.
I then go through six torturing hours of High School. The days that most people say are the best 4 years of your life are the worst days ever to me. They always go on and on and on. They are non-stopping it seems like. On the plus side, I get to see my friends. I really just want to go home and play with Billy though. Finally, at 2:42pm, that last bell rings and I get to go meet my Mom outside to see little Billy. Putting my things in the front passenger seat of the car, he's looking around outside the window.
"Billy!" I cheer.
He looks at me then back out the window. Confused, I get in the car.
"How was school?" My mom asks me.
"Same as always." I say "I went, I learned, I left."
I look behind my seat to Billy as he's sitting there blocking his eyes.
"What is he doing, Mom?" I ask still looking at him intently.
"He doesn't want to go home." She says.
We get tot he main street and go to a set of lights as we drive to the bus stop to pick up my sister. Billy's eyes are still covered and he is now screaming and crying. "Maddy no! No Maddy! No home!"
"Yes go home." My mom says.
"No, No go home!" Billy cries louder and starts to kick the drivers seat as we sit at the top of the street at the bus stop.
"Wait for Maddy and then go home." Mom says.
"No go home! No go home! No Maddy!" Billy cries. "Date, date, date! I want date!"
I sit there and frown as he cries. There's nothing you can do. He will keep crying until you leave to not go home and even then, once you leave to go home again this will start all over. Ten minutes later, Billy is still crying and Maddy's bus is here. My mom steps out of the car to get her and Billy cries "No Maddy! No go home!"
"Billy...." I say holding his hand. "Yes, go home."
"No go home!" He screams red faced.
"Billy, yes." I say.
My sister comes in the backseat and buckles up. My mom gets back in the car and does the same then we go home.
"Brianna, I'm going to need your help." She says.
"Okay Mom." I sigh and pick up my bags as I'm getting ready to open my door. I also open my sisters once I get out of the car and wait for my mom. I can hear Billy's cries and I open the front door for her. Maddy runs in the house, as it is freezing outside, and my mom is dragging Billy in the house. His cries get louder in the house as he sits on the stairs and cries. I put my book bag and books in my room and come back out into the living room. Billy is now on the couch looking out the window saying "Go bye-byes, go bye-byes."
"Billy do you want juice?" I ask.
"No juice! No juice!" He screams.
"Okay, Okay!" I say backing away with my hands in the air.
Billy then walks over at me wiping away tears. "Water, water!"
"I want water what?" I ask.
"I want water please?" Billy says.
"I want water please what?" I ask again laughing.
"I want water please Blana!" He yells.
Sighing, I give him water as my mom looks at his school work. My sister then turns on the TV and something Billy doesn't like is on. He screams, drops his water, covers his ears and runs down the hall.
"Maddy shut the TV off!" I yell.
"I am!" She yells back.
"Billy, it's okay Little Man." I say.
Maddy turns the TV channel to something like the news and she leaves. Billy then comes into the living room again, takes his water and plays with his toy cars. He then wants dinosaur chicken nuggets so I put some on a plate for him and cook them in the microwave. He watches them cook and plays with his cars at the same time. When they're done I take them out and put them on the table. Before he gets to the table, I block him.
"Say roarr Billy! Dinosaurs say roar!" I say putting my hands up.
"Roar!" He says obviously aggravated and hungry. Never mess with Billy when there is food involved. He may eat you.
This is just a little taste at my life but, there is A LOT more to it. Life with Billy is always crazy and probably always will be but, there are a lot of adventures, a lot of fun and a lot of memories to come.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Day 3: What's Happening?Book News and Autism Discovery
Hello Readers,
As Christmas is rapidly approaching, I will be writing in Christmas colors to become a littler more festive. We're now up to 535 "People Who Care". That's a lot for only being up and running for about 2 days. Amazing. I have all of you to thank for that. Let's make to to over 1,000 by Friday! The countdown begins now!
School
Waking up at six o'clock in the morning to go somewhere can be fun depending on where you are going. You could be leaving to go on a trip somewhere, you could be leaving to go to a job that you love or you could be waking up to do something you hate. I wake up at six o'clock in the morning for a place called "My Own Personal Vacation". I get this vacation Monday through Friday for six hours. What gets done in this personal vacation you ask? Talking to friends (who seemed very happy to see me in school today), doing unwanted school work in which half I will never use in life and learning four of the biggest lies said in school. Should I share this? Here is what I think the biggest lies are in school:
***No, I do not have any gum
***Yes, I have read the story for homework.
***I am not texing! Do not accuse me of texting!
***I did my homework. It's written in invisible ink though. <------ this ones my favorite.
Now, this is something I have noticed while being in High School. High Schoolers of all ages are very, very odd. Just today, I saw 3 people come out of my school in a ninja costume and hide behind everyone waiting outside. Only then did they scream "power rangers go!" and run off. Yes, I'm just as confused as you are. High Schoolers also love snow and Christmas for 3 reasons:Santa, Gingerbread Houses and Waking up at 4a.m. for presents on Christmas morning.
Book News
My book is coming along well and I am using Billy as a big part in it. After all, it is inspired by him. Maybe this time next year you guys will be reading it at your homes or opening it on Christmas morning. I will be keeping you updated on what is happening with my book as it keeps going.
Autism DiscoveryA long time ago, I watched a television show called The Doctors because they were talking about Autism. On the show they had Jenny McCarthy, mother of an Autistic boy, come on and talk about how "her son is cured from autism". When I heard this I rolled my eyes but then became more involved in the show. Yes, screaming at the TV did help for those of you wondering. I was upset at the way she explained this. I have many different reasons why I do not agree with her and my opinon does count even though I am young. On the show, Jenny McCarthy was talking about her reasoning on how her son was cured. This was the biggest issue I could fight about. She compared her son's mircle of being cured from Autism by being hit by a bus. "You get hit but, you recover." In other words, her son got autism like a cold. He got it for awhile then it just disappeared. Well, this is my reasoning. If you get hit by a bus will you recover? Really think about this question. If you get hit by a bus when you are just walking down the street, and its going fast towards you, are you going to recover fully? No! You're going to be paralyzed or most likely very, very, extremely hurt or dead. You will always have your scars and they will never go away. She may think her son is cured from Autism and maybe he is, I wouldn't know but, what I do know is, if you get hit by a bus you will not walk away no problem. Just like if you have to live with someone with Autism, you will never have a boring day and you will probably never go a week without a problem.
As Christmas is rapidly approaching, I will be writing in Christmas colors to become a littler more festive. We're now up to 535 "People Who Care". That's a lot for only being up and running for about 2 days. Amazing. I have all of you to thank for that. Let's make to to over 1,000 by Friday! The countdown begins now!
School
Waking up at six o'clock in the morning to go somewhere can be fun depending on where you are going. You could be leaving to go on a trip somewhere, you could be leaving to go to a job that you love or you could be waking up to do something you hate. I wake up at six o'clock in the morning for a place called "My Own Personal Vacation". I get this vacation Monday through Friday for six hours. What gets done in this personal vacation you ask? Talking to friends (who seemed very happy to see me in school today), doing unwanted school work in which half I will never use in life and learning four of the biggest lies said in school. Should I share this? Here is what I think the biggest lies are in school:
***No, I do not have any gum
***Yes, I have read the story for homework.
***I am not texing! Do not accuse me of texting!
***I did my homework. It's written in invisible ink though. <------ this ones my favorite.
Now, this is something I have noticed while being in High School. High Schoolers of all ages are very, very odd. Just today, I saw 3 people come out of my school in a ninja costume and hide behind everyone waiting outside. Only then did they scream "power rangers go!" and run off. Yes, I'm just as confused as you are. High Schoolers also love snow and Christmas for 3 reasons:Santa, Gingerbread Houses and Waking up at 4a.m. for presents on Christmas morning.
Book News
My book is coming along well and I am using Billy as a big part in it. After all, it is inspired by him. Maybe this time next year you guys will be reading it at your homes or opening it on Christmas morning. I will be keeping you updated on what is happening with my book as it keeps going.
Autism DiscoveryA long time ago, I watched a television show called The Doctors because they were talking about Autism. On the show they had Jenny McCarthy, mother of an Autistic boy, come on and talk about how "her son is cured from autism". When I heard this I rolled my eyes but then became more involved in the show. Yes, screaming at the TV did help for those of you wondering. I was upset at the way she explained this. I have many different reasons why I do not agree with her and my opinon does count even though I am young. On the show, Jenny McCarthy was talking about her reasoning on how her son was cured. This was the biggest issue I could fight about. She compared her son's mircle of being cured from Autism by being hit by a bus. "You get hit but, you recover." In other words, her son got autism like a cold. He got it for awhile then it just disappeared. Well, this is my reasoning. If you get hit by a bus will you recover? Really think about this question. If you get hit by a bus when you are just walking down the street, and its going fast towards you, are you going to recover fully? No! You're going to be paralyzed or most likely very, very, extremely hurt or dead. You will always have your scars and they will never go away. She may think her son is cured from Autism and maybe he is, I wouldn't know but, what I do know is, if you get hit by a bus you will not walk away no problem. Just like if you have to live with someone with Autism, you will never have a boring day and you will probably never go a week without a problem.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Billy's Daily Outlook: My Little Helper
"Hey Brianna, why don't you make some cookies?"
"Sure" I say looking at Billy. "Billy want to make some cookies?"
"Yes cookies yes!" He says and runs to the kitchen table.
This is calling for a disaster. Now let me tell you how this usually turns out. I cook the cookies and Billy eats all of them then jumps up and down on the table and in circles. When he helps me though, he likes to play taste tester. I took the cookie dough and gave him 4 to put on the cookie sheet. He likes to line things up so, he did pretty good at it. Next we came down to two pieces of cookie dough left.
"Hey little helper, want some cookie dough?" I asked him.
Then he takes it from my hand and eats it. As I'm cleaning everything up, he decides to lick it and put it on the cookie sheet.
"Billy." I laughed "What are you doing?"
"Cookies!" He said pointing to them.
"You're supposed to eat that piece Billy." I laughed
"Billy's cookie!" He said smiling and pointing to it on the cookie sheet.
Laughing, I put it in a corner where he could get it when they were finished and when they were, my little helper ate almost all of them. He ate the one in the corner first though of course. He loves his sweets almost as much as my cell phone. He likes to go around with it and stare at people through the video camera. It's very creepy but, also sometimes interesting. He used to go around the house just taking random videos and in a recent one, you can hear someone say "billy" very quietly. There's only one problem though; he was alone. If you like or believe in that kind of ghostly stuff it's pretty funny and kinda scary to hear. Very weird to listen to. As my little helper makes these videos, he also likes to reorganize all the applications on my IPhone. It's so much fun to try to find all my applications again after he moves them around. It's also a mystery as to why he does it though. I think it's because of his very good memory. It's probably his way from quickly getting to everything before I take it way from him for the 5th time in a day. Anyways, this was my little helpers day and adventures. So, as I end this I'll keep you thinking like I always do, what will he do next?
"Sure" I say looking at Billy. "Billy want to make some cookies?"
"Yes cookies yes!" He says and runs to the kitchen table.
This is calling for a disaster. Now let me tell you how this usually turns out. I cook the cookies and Billy eats all of them then jumps up and down on the table and in circles. When he helps me though, he likes to play taste tester. I took the cookie dough and gave him 4 to put on the cookie sheet. He likes to line things up so, he did pretty good at it. Next we came down to two pieces of cookie dough left.
"Hey little helper, want some cookie dough?" I asked him.
Then he takes it from my hand and eats it. As I'm cleaning everything up, he decides to lick it and put it on the cookie sheet.
"Billy." I laughed "What are you doing?"
"Cookies!" He said pointing to them.
"You're supposed to eat that piece Billy." I laughed
"Billy's cookie!" He said smiling and pointing to it on the cookie sheet.
Laughing, I put it in a corner where he could get it when they were finished and when they were, my little helper ate almost all of them. He ate the one in the corner first though of course. He loves his sweets almost as much as my cell phone. He likes to go around with it and stare at people through the video camera. It's very creepy but, also sometimes interesting. He used to go around the house just taking random videos and in a recent one, you can hear someone say "billy" very quietly. There's only one problem though; he was alone. If you like or believe in that kind of ghostly stuff it's pretty funny and kinda scary to hear. Very weird to listen to. As my little helper makes these videos, he also likes to reorganize all the applications on my IPhone. It's so much fun to try to find all my applications again after he moves them around. It's also a mystery as to why he does it though. I think it's because of his very good memory. It's probably his way from quickly getting to everything before I take it way from him for the 5th time in a day. Anyways, this was my little helpers day and adventures. So, as I end this I'll keep you thinking like I always do, what will he do next?
Day 2: Needed Thank You's, What's Happening and Sayings Of The Day
QUICK NOTE!!!!
I would like to point out a few new things. I will be posting twice a day. The first pose will always have the same title with a colon [ : ] and a What's Happening and Saying Of The Week . I will be starting this today and will see how it turns out. What's Happening will be about things that pop into my head randomly or if I just want to rant or new things that have been happening with my book, this blog or life in general. Saying Of The Week is going to be sayings that I think go along with autism and they are lies or the truth or anything I feel about it.
Good Evening everyone!
I hope every ones day was good. Mine was. I went to see my sister, Madelyn age: 7, in her Ballet Christmas performance. Somehow, this was managed to be attended. I have had a tough week with things that have been happening but, it's Sunday which mean a new week and new happenings. Hopefully, these happenings are different from last week.
Needed Thank You's
Before I start I would like to say thank you to everyone who has read this blog. It really means a lot. I put a countdown at the top right hand corner that's titled "People Who Care". So far there are 383 "People Who Care". Amazing that I got over 300 views in one day. I would also like to thank a few people who have been a great help this week: My few handful of friends (You should all definitely know who you are. I'm really, really thankful about all you've done.) who have helped me get through a terrible week, my Mother who has been under a lot of stress from everything that has been going on from my Brother and my Father, my Uncle Peter who watched my little brother, Billy, for me while he had extreme Tics and I bawled my eyes out so bad I couldn't watch him and my Aunt Penny who helped me when my mother was visiting my dad at the hospital. On a good note, Billy is doing better than before even though he still has the Tics. He can at least talk and play again and start to be the little boy he was only a few weeks ago.
What's Happening?
"I know what you're going through."
Now I would like to say that I am in the process of writing a book. So far, I have the beginning paragraph and the ending paragraph. Where I'll go from here? No clue. Maybe one day though, I will take the place of some pretty amazing bestselling New York Times books. I will be updating on my book writing process and letting you all know how it's coming along. I write as much as I can for it a day to make this possible. This book will be about the same as the blog but, they will be different in a few ways. It's going to have some chapters on what I think runs through Billy's head and things that I have to deal with on a daily basis living with someone with Autism. If you wouldn't mind does anyone have good Title ideas? I have a few: Through My Eyes, Why?, The Reason Why, Being Found, Put The Pieces Together and Live With It. I know they're pretty bad but, it's just the beginning. There will be many more ideas. If you have any, Fell free to post them in the comments section under this post!
Sayings Of The Week
"I know what you're going through."
It's not as easy as it seems to live with someone with autism and some people may say, "Oh, I know what you're going through" But, unless you are going through the exact same thing, the truth is, you have no clue. You don't know what people who living with someone with autism goes through in one day. If someone tells me this my answer is always "No, no you don't. Spend a day in my shoes and you will but, even then, there isn't always a chance that you will know." Autism is wide-spreading through out the world and until there is a cure, people will go through things that they don't want to. People will come up to you and say this to you when they've never met an autistic child in their life. If someone says to you "I know what you're going through" say this and don't say it to be mean, say it to make a difference. "Spend a week in my shoes. If you make it perfectly fine everyday and you have so much energy when I see you again then you didn't see the real life of an autistic child. If you are exhausted and waiting for the one second you get of just peace, then you saw the life of living with someone with autism." This may be a hefty sentence I know but, it's the truth. People may say "I know what you're going through." When in reality, they have no clue.
Thank you everyone for reading and I will update again later. My posts after the ones Titled Day _Whatever number_ will be about something silly, bad or good that Billy did in that day. Thanks again for reading and comment away! Feel free to share this with your friends. Let's make this blog known and help people understand about this underestimated, wide-spreading disease.
I would like to point out a few new things. I will be posting twice a day. The first pose will always have the same title with a colon [ : ] and a What's Happening and Saying Of The Week . I will be starting this today and will see how it turns out. What's Happening will be about things that pop into my head randomly or if I just want to rant or new things that have been happening with my book, this blog or life in general. Saying Of The Week is going to be sayings that I think go along with autism and they are lies or the truth or anything I feel about it.
Good Evening everyone!
I hope every ones day was good. Mine was. I went to see my sister, Madelyn age: 7, in her Ballet Christmas performance. Somehow, this was managed to be attended. I have had a tough week with things that have been happening but, it's Sunday which mean a new week and new happenings. Hopefully, these happenings are different from last week.
Needed Thank You's
Before I start I would like to say thank you to everyone who has read this blog. It really means a lot. I put a countdown at the top right hand corner that's titled "People Who Care". So far there are 383 "People Who Care". Amazing that I got over 300 views in one day. I would also like to thank a few people who have been a great help this week: My few handful of friends (You should all definitely know who you are. I'm really, really thankful about all you've done.) who have helped me get through a terrible week, my Mother who has been under a lot of stress from everything that has been going on from my Brother and my Father, my Uncle Peter who watched my little brother, Billy, for me while he had extreme Tics and I bawled my eyes out so bad I couldn't watch him and my Aunt Penny who helped me when my mother was visiting my dad at the hospital. On a good note, Billy is doing better than before even though he still has the Tics. He can at least talk and play again and start to be the little boy he was only a few weeks ago.
What's Happening?
"I know what you're going through."
Now I would like to say that I am in the process of writing a book. So far, I have the beginning paragraph and the ending paragraph. Where I'll go from here? No clue. Maybe one day though, I will take the place of some pretty amazing bestselling New York Times books. I will be updating on my book writing process and letting you all know how it's coming along. I write as much as I can for it a day to make this possible. This book will be about the same as the blog but, they will be different in a few ways. It's going to have some chapters on what I think runs through Billy's head and things that I have to deal with on a daily basis living with someone with Autism. If you wouldn't mind does anyone have good Title ideas? I have a few: Through My Eyes, Why?, The Reason Why, Being Found, Put The Pieces Together and Live With It. I know they're pretty bad but, it's just the beginning. There will be many more ideas. If you have any, Fell free to post them in the comments section under this post!
Sayings Of The Week
"I know what you're going through."
It's not as easy as it seems to live with someone with autism and some people may say, "Oh, I know what you're going through" But, unless you are going through the exact same thing, the truth is, you have no clue. You don't know what people who living with someone with autism goes through in one day. If someone tells me this my answer is always "No, no you don't. Spend a day in my shoes and you will but, even then, there isn't always a chance that you will know." Autism is wide-spreading through out the world and until there is a cure, people will go through things that they don't want to. People will come up to you and say this to you when they've never met an autistic child in their life. If someone says to you "I know what you're going through" say this and don't say it to be mean, say it to make a difference. "Spend a week in my shoes. If you make it perfectly fine everyday and you have so much energy when I see you again then you didn't see the real life of an autistic child. If you are exhausted and waiting for the one second you get of just peace, then you saw the life of living with someone with autism." This may be a hefty sentence I know but, it's the truth. People may say "I know what you're going through." When in reality, they have no clue.
Thank you everyone for reading and I will update again later. My posts after the ones Titled Day _Whatever number_ will be about something silly, bad or good that Billy did in that day. Thanks again for reading and comment away! Feel free to share this with your friends. Let's make this blog known and help people understand about this underestimated, wide-spreading disease.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
A Day In The Life Of Me
"Mom! Billy's in the toilet."
"What do you mean he's in the toilet?"
"I mean he's standing in the toilet."
"What do you mean he's standing in the toilet?"
"I mean his feet are in the toilet and he's laughing!"
Okay that one made me laugh until I had to take him out and he started splashing the toilet water at me and threw his toilet water covered socks in my face. That was fun. : P Then this happened:
So, Billy was playing with his cars, the toilet water wasn't enough, and he decides to do this bright idea. Whenever he wants something he whispers and slowly goes toward it. When he wants my phone he slowly walks toward it with baby steps and then snatches it and runs whispering "Billy's phone!" But, Billy decided to get his cars and slowly walk towards the slightly ajar bathroom door whispering "Cars....cars....cars...." Now, I didn't hear him. If my Mom didn't see him though and he didn't run away laughing, our toilet would be over flowing with race cars right now.
Billy likes many things mostly to make people laugh. His laugh is something I could pick out anywhere. Then he does what I call his "girlish shriek". Lately Billy likes my younger sister, Madelyn, to copy him. He does this very weird dance that's similar to the chicken dance and we have no clue where it came from! It's very funny to watch though. He always ends up cracking up laughing.
Right now he has something called a Tic or Stim that makes it seem like he can't breathe when he really can. Autistic kids can get it from strep throat and it can stay as long as months. Some kids wave their hands, some kids yell and some kids will seem like they have trouble breathing. They're really okay and it's nothing to worry about to very, very scary to watch. It's been very emotional to see Billy with this Tic for me because I think of him as my best friend. I worry about him all the time. I have to get it through my head that he will be okay and things will turn out fine in the end but, as of right now, it will take a lot for me to understand that. Especially when people can't keep their mouths shut and comment or give dirty looks about it in public.
A few days ago, we took Billy to McDonald's. There were this group of people around us and they were all giving dirty looks every time he did this Tic. Every time someone looked over or whispered while looking at my brother, I would give them a dirty look back when I was really trying not to cry because people looked at him differently when in reality, he can't help himself. I hope that after every post (Mostly this one) you will stop to think about if you have ever laughed at someone with a disability when you didn't even know. Where they doing something like flapping their hands or even having a tantrum? Did you laugh? Now read back at my rant. Do you think the people with that child felt this way?
"What do you mean he's in the toilet?"
"I mean he's standing in the toilet."
"What do you mean he's standing in the toilet?"
"I mean his feet are in the toilet and he's laughing!"
Okay that one made me laugh until I had to take him out and he started splashing the toilet water at me and threw his toilet water covered socks in my face. That was fun. : P Then this happened:
So, Billy was playing with his cars, the toilet water wasn't enough, and he decides to do this bright idea. Whenever he wants something he whispers and slowly goes toward it. When he wants my phone he slowly walks toward it with baby steps and then snatches it and runs whispering "Billy's phone!" But, Billy decided to get his cars and slowly walk towards the slightly ajar bathroom door whispering "Cars....cars....cars...." Now, I didn't hear him. If my Mom didn't see him though and he didn't run away laughing, our toilet would be over flowing with race cars right now.
Billy likes many things mostly to make people laugh. His laugh is something I could pick out anywhere. Then he does what I call his "girlish shriek". Lately Billy likes my younger sister, Madelyn, to copy him. He does this very weird dance that's similar to the chicken dance and we have no clue where it came from! It's very funny to watch though. He always ends up cracking up laughing.
Right now he has something called a Tic or Stim that makes it seem like he can't breathe when he really can. Autistic kids can get it from strep throat and it can stay as long as months. Some kids wave their hands, some kids yell and some kids will seem like they have trouble breathing. They're really okay and it's nothing to worry about to very, very scary to watch. It's been very emotional to see Billy with this Tic for me because I think of him as my best friend. I worry about him all the time. I have to get it through my head that he will be okay and things will turn out fine in the end but, as of right now, it will take a lot for me to understand that. Especially when people can't keep their mouths shut and comment or give dirty looks about it in public.
A few days ago, we took Billy to McDonald's. There were this group of people around us and they were all giving dirty looks every time he did this Tic. Every time someone looked over or whispered while looking at my brother, I would give them a dirty look back when I was really trying not to cry because people looked at him differently when in reality, he can't help himself. I hope that after every post (Mostly this one) you will stop to think about if you have ever laughed at someone with a disability when you didn't even know. Where they doing something like flapping their hands or even having a tantrum? Did you laugh? Now read back at my rant. Do you think the people with that child felt this way?
Day 1
Hello Everyone,
My name is Brianna and I'm a Freshman in High School. I chose to make this blog as a way to express my feelings, a way to let you know what it's like to live with Billy and a way to show everyone that just because someone acts differently or looks different doesn't mean they are. For those of you, which is most of you, who don't know him, Billy is my 5 year old yonger brother. Billy has autism. You may hear kids with autism get teased, you may see a child who is doing something different than an average child. I'm sure you have, don't lie. This blog may change the way you think about children with speciall needs though.
To fill everyone in on this disease that is spreading widely amongst children, these are some facts you may want to know. The definition of autism is a child who has.....no forget it. I'm going to tell you my definition of autism. My definition of autism is a child who is bright and intelligent, loving and caring, lost and trying to make it through the day and a child who is just trying to fit in and be loved. My brother may be five but, is very smart. He can do most things that people my age cannot do. He can do a 100 piece puzzle starting from the top doing it left and right and finish it in 5 minutes or less, my brother can do something in school like a dance and he will memorize it and do it when he gets home three days later. In 2007, 1 and every 150 kids had autism. Now in the year 2010, only 3 year later, is the autism rate 1 in every 100 kids. If you lined up 100 kids right now, one of them has the Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD. Autism is something that cannot be cured and doesn't go away. You have to live with it forever.
It's very hard to live with ecspecally as a big sister trying to help her parents take care of an autistic child and also a sister. Living with Billy is hard and fusturating at points. There are times when I just want him to leave me alone and go away and there are times when I just want him to give me a hug and stay with me. It's an emotional roller coster ride everyday but, its also a new adventure, a new laugh and a new smile. Billy has a laugh that no one can replace and when I hear it it puts a smile on my face. I hope that this blog will help people understand autism more. This is only day one with many more to go. Thanks for reading and keeping checking back for more posts!
My name is Brianna and I'm a Freshman in High School. I chose to make this blog as a way to express my feelings, a way to let you know what it's like to live with Billy and a way to show everyone that just because someone acts differently or looks different doesn't mean they are. For those of you, which is most of you, who don't know him, Billy is my 5 year old yonger brother. Billy has autism. You may hear kids with autism get teased, you may see a child who is doing something different than an average child. I'm sure you have, don't lie. This blog may change the way you think about children with speciall needs though.
To fill everyone in on this disease that is spreading widely amongst children, these are some facts you may want to know. The definition of autism is a child who has.....no forget it. I'm going to tell you my definition of autism. My definition of autism is a child who is bright and intelligent, loving and caring, lost and trying to make it through the day and a child who is just trying to fit in and be loved. My brother may be five but, is very smart. He can do most things that people my age cannot do. He can do a 100 piece puzzle starting from the top doing it left and right and finish it in 5 minutes or less, my brother can do something in school like a dance and he will memorize it and do it when he gets home three days later. In 2007, 1 and every 150 kids had autism. Now in the year 2010, only 3 year later, is the autism rate 1 in every 100 kids. If you lined up 100 kids right now, one of them has the Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD. Autism is something that cannot be cured and doesn't go away. You have to live with it forever.
It's very hard to live with ecspecally as a big sister trying to help her parents take care of an autistic child and also a sister. Living with Billy is hard and fusturating at points. There are times when I just want him to leave me alone and go away and there are times when I just want him to give me a hug and stay with me. It's an emotional roller coster ride everyday but, its also a new adventure, a new laugh and a new smile. Billy has a laugh that no one can replace and when I hear it it puts a smile on my face. I hope that this blog will help people understand autism more. This is only day one with many more to go. Thanks for reading and keeping checking back for more posts!
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