ART FOR AN IPAD

We decided that Joshua needs a portable computer to take with him to and from school and to really focus on typing and communication . Now, as I said in my last post, Joshua is very very verbal but when it comes to writing and typing he lacks skill. It is common with his syndrome that writing is too exhausting for those who deal with it. They might learn to write but   they can never do much of it for very long and their letters are shaky and poorly shaped. This is the case for  Joshua. His inability to write is holding back the rest of his learning. Ipads more and more are being used for special needs and autistic kids as a form of augmented communication. Apple has even developed APPS for them for such a reason like word prediction software etc. We hope to have the funds raised by September 2011 for this item or sooner.

I wanted to  find a fundraising project that could involve Joshua directly. Since I make my living as an artist and both Joshua's dad and sister also have a passions for art  on a recreational level, I thought this would be the perfect  family project. Yesterday I set both my children to task painting original acrylic works for this fundraiser to be auctioned off to raise the needed funds. It was so fun for them and such a bonding moment for us to  do this. Joshua produced what I think is a very nice  piece of abstract art. Okay..so its not a Rembrandt..but it is still something I would be proud to hang in my home and has some lovely colours. He was so proud of himself. It  made him very happy. He was so proud in fact that when I took him to school this morning he wanted to tell everyone about his new job. I love that this is giving him a feeling of accomplishment. I have already gotten a couple bids on his first painting . The current bid as of this morning is $25.00 and  the auction for that painting will stay open to bids until next Sunday.

Now we can not leave little sister Madison out. She also wanted to help her brother get what he needs. That little girl amazes me with her sense of compassion and philanthropy. She has been asking me to start a fundraiser project to help the needy for a long time now but I was not sure what it was she could do. Now I know..I am blessed to have these two kids and an so excited to see how this project goes.


If you wish to place a bid on any of the art pieces up for auction you can  make a bid here or on my Facebook album for the auction. at
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=question&id=10150217165236214&qa_ref=na&notif_t=question_answer#!/album.php?fbid=10150217252951214&id=502926213&aid=349020


 We will also gladly accept monetary donations towards this technology.We welcome any support we can get.


Some of my own art work will also be going up for auction. The first piece I have donated toward this auction is a hawk head study.  Openning bid for the hawk will start at $50.00 which is below my usual fee. Any takers?

I AM SO THANKFUL THAT YOU CAN TALK NOW PLEASE BE QUIET.

 In the early years  Joshua was not able to speak. He was non verbal and I cried and cried and begged God to give him him a voice so I could  hear him speak. I longed to hear him call me mommy or say I love you. In the early years we taught him sign language and gestures to tell us what he wanted or needed.Those days are long gone  now and a distant memory.There is a saying.." be careful what you wish for,. You  just might get it." Joshua started talking at age 4 and once he got on a roll he decided he would not stop...literally. I sit here and write this on a quiet Sunday morning ( wait..strike the quiet ) there is no such thing in our house. This paragraph alone has taken me a half hour to write because my son has stopped to ask a million and one questions and has talked incesantly over the  cartoons playing onthe TV which his sister is desperately trying to watch. Most days are like this.You can barely hear yourself think for Joshua's non stop talking. We have had days where Joshua will wake up and start talking about this thought and that thought and share every little thing that passes through his brain and before you know it 4 hours has passed  with barely a lull in the chatter.Those are the days where I miss the sign language. Its not that I do not want to hear my son's thoughts. I love it when he shares his  ideas and thoughts with me. Its that I miss the quiet.Oh I know...there will be those of you who may read this who have a non verbal child with autism or another speech issue and are thinking " Wow, this lady does not  know how lucky she is that her child can speak." To that I say..I was you once upon a time ....longing for my son to have a audible voice. Before you judge I challenge you to ask someone...anyone to talk to you for 4 hours straight non stop...I mean literally non stop and then come to me and tell me if you feel like you have your sanity.If you do ,then I challenge  you to ask them to do it again  and again several days in a row.

Now as I write I have a brief moment of calm and quiet while my son has moved to another room in the house.( it won't last) Joshua has severe ADHD and he never sticks with anything for long...accept talking... so when the quiet comes, I relish it. I revel in it. I embrace it. Even when my son is silent, there is not always  quiet because I have another child who also deals with her brothers non stop talking. When the lull comes... it is her turn to talk to mommy. She waits so patiently for a chance to share her thoughts and dreams with me so I  listen  intently and hang on her every word.

That is the one of the hardest parts of parenting a special needs child...the balancing act that comes with parenting them along with other neurotypical children. Sometimes I feel like I have it all together and everything is flowing in our household and family but there are days when I feel like it is all falling apart and I pray I am not leaving one of my children feeling like they are not getting equal time with mummy.Oh...and lets not forget the fact that this is all part of a marriage. Daddy needs mummy's time too.When you have children it is not unheard of for the husband in the marriage to feel like his children are replacing him in the marriage. Children take up alot of time. They need to be cared for and nurtured and they are demanding...justifiably so. Many a husband has felt neglected for his child. Now consider the daddy of a child who has special needs.That daddy has to lose even more of his wife to his child. It is a special calling as a dad too and I give my husband alot of credit because he ( though we do not always agree on what's best for our kids) has stuck by me and loved me...even when there was little time for me to  be his soft place to fall because I am already a burried under 2 children , 3 pages of doctors and related doctor appointments , a school system, therapist and a service dog.Did I tell you my son had a service dog? We will save that for another blogging day.


Now don't get me wrong.. I still love hearing my son's voice. I love it when he tells me something he thinks is funny. I love the sound of his laughter and I love love love it when he sings to me. That is my joy. Joshua does the sweetest rendition of "Baby Mine" from Dumbo when he wants to make mummy smile. he knows I love it so. As much as I long desperately for some quiet , I would not trade Joshua's voice for the world. I would not  give up hearing him tell me he loves me. I would not  relinquish those moments when he tells me about his day and what happened.I just wish he could find a way to tell me once with out OCD kicking in. (Oh yeah.. forgot to mention that Joshua has OCD.)I would love to hear all about his stories  once.. and then move on to a new story or some quiet instead of the same story  or question over and over and over again. Is that so bad? If you want a full list of Joshua's medical and developmental issues you can go to his web page and read all about him at http://www.myjoshua.piczo.com/


I love my kids  and  would never sacrifice hearing their voices but I would  at times give my right arm for just a litte quiet.

WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE

When I embarked my journey of being a mom I had all these visions of what it would be like..what things I would do with my kids..what memories we would create. Then came the reality check. My son was born with Kabuki Syndrome and autism and the tornado hit spinning me away out of Kansas and into the land of Oztism ( Autism ) A land where there are many beautiful things to see..songs to be sung and memories to be made but there are also many battle and perils along the way. Some times as parents we would choose a path only to find out that we went the wrong way then have to double back and try another route. Sometimes we got lucky and went the right direction the first time..I did not land in Oz by choice but while I am here I am trying to make the best of it as this is a place I have to stay. Unlike the movie there will be no clicking of the heels and chanting "there's no place like home..there's no place like home".Truth be told..I do not really want to leave.. I only want to make the journey a little easier. I want more songs and wishes fulfilled and darn it all..I want Glenda to finally arrive. But In this journey I have to find my dreams through my family , through friends and support groups and anywhere I can.. This blog is to be part of that journey towards fulfilled wishes for a more blissful Oz. Welcome to my world. As you read my blog you will see inside my heart and mind..the mind of a mom parenting two very special children (one with special needs) a mom who sometimes laughs and sometimes cries.. sometimes has the answers and sometimes does not have a clue but is determined to find the answers.Feel free to read in silence or comment and laugh cry and what ever along with me. If in my random ramblings I can help someone feel a little more hopeful or a little less alone..then this will be worth it.