What is Autism to me.

So far I’ve done interviews with friends and family and I’ve explained the technical answer to what is autism today I’m going to explain what autism means to me and my family. So what is autism well short answer as I said in my first video. Autism is a neurological disorder that affects the way the brain processes information causing developmental delays and possible social, sensory, and communication issues as well as many more and it affects everyone differently. Now that is an in the box answer for a very out of the box disorder.

Now what is autism to me? Well autism is why I didn’t speak until I was over 3 years old and still to this day have time where speaking is a challenge. Autism is why I have a hard time with social situations and usually don’t know what to say or how to act making it hard for me to make friends. Autism is why I was agoraphobic for a time period. Autism is why some of my senses seem to be in constant overdrive which can be good and bad. For instance with heightened hearing being in a crowded noisy place can throw me into overload because I can’t filter the different sounds but hear them all at the same level it can be a bit much. On the other hand my heightened since of hearing saved a friends dinner from burning they had set a timer to let them know when it was done I was in another room watching TV. when the timer went off I heard it and it annoyed me so I tracked it so I could make it stop my friend had forgotten they were cooking and didn’t hear the timer so because of my hearing it didn’t burn. Another way my heightened senses helped was my sense of smell I caught a whiff of something I couldn’t identify and I couldn’t focus on anything else until I knew what it was so again I tracked it and good thing I did since no one else could smell it when I found the source it was a small fire in the electrical box which we quickly got put out before it caused any real damage if I hadn’t smelled it it could have gotten real bad and we could have lost our house. Another way autism has helped me is with problem solving since autism makes me see things different it also helps me come up with new and unique ways to solve problems. Being autistic has helped me be more accepting of others having felt like an outsider most of my life I do what I can to help others not feel like that. Autism has also helped me have a stronger bond with my children since they are all also autistic we can understand each other and relate to each other in a way others can’t creating a great bond between all of us. Down side is that because we all get along and understand each other so well we can get lost in our own world and not want to go out of the safety of our home that often. Autism is also why when our routines get thrown off we don’t always handle it well. The kids tend to melt down and I tend to get confused and as to what to do next but we do always manage to get through it. To sum up autism is good and bad it’s what makes us unique and different and although it has it’s challenges that we have to face every day that we walk out our door it does have its good side too that help us have the will and courage to get up and leave our house every day and face those challenges and overcome and that is what makes us Autism Strong.

Next time I will be talking about picky eating and sensory problems with food I hope you will join me for that.

Autism Strong: What is Autism the technical side

According to the National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of
complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments,
communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped
patterns of behavior.  Autistic disorder,
sometimes called autism or classical ASD, is the most severe form of ASD, while
other conditions along the spectrum include a milder form known as Asperger
syndrome, and childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental
disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS).  Although ASD varies significantly in
character and severity, it occurs in all ethnic and socioeconomic groups and
affects every age group.  Males are four
times more likely to have an ASD than females.

First I am going to talk about autistic disorder or classic
ASD.

According to the dictionary Autism is a mental condition,
present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and
forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract
concepts.

So what does all this mean? Well let’s break it down shall
we. Autism is a mental condition so it affects the brain ok. It’s characterized
by difficulty in communicating. This can be anything from complete lack of
spoken language commonly called non-verbal to having problems starting and
maintaining a conversation with someone and many things in between. Difficulty
in forming relationships with others this can be when someone with autism does
not acknowledge the existence of anyone else but acts as if they are the only
person in the world or just not being able to approach and communicate with
others to build a relationship. Difficulty in using language and abstract
concept. This covers everything from not being able to read body language and
facial expressions to not understanding sarcasm and metaphors.

Now let’s get into Asperger’s syndrome.

According to the dictionary Asperger’s syndrome is a
developmental disorder related to autism and characterized by higher than
average intellectual ability coupled with impaired social skills and
restrictive, repetitive patterns of interest and activities.

So let’s break this one down. A developmental disorder well
that means it affects how someone develops again this is the brain.
Characterized by higher than average intellectual ability now this does not
mean they are all geniuses it simply means they have an above average IQ.
Impaired social skills this can be they simply have a hard time talking to
people to they can’t understand body language or other social ques. Restrictive,
repetitive patterns of interest now this means they have few interests this can
be a child focused on dinosaurs and only them doesn’t want to do or learn
anything other about dinosaurs or this could be someone focused on Japan and
it’s culture who really only wants to do read and watch things related to
Japanese culture they may do other things but they always end up back on their
topic. Repetitive activities now this can be hand flapping, spinning, jumping,
chewing really anything that they do repeatedly.

Next I will talk about childhood disintegrative disorder.

According to Wikipedia childhood disintegrative disorder
(CDD), also known as Heller's syndrome and disintegrative psychosis, is a rare
condition characterized by late onset of developmental delays in language,
social function, and motor skills.

Ok so what does that mean? Well it’s rare condition which
means it is not found often, late onset this means that they appear to develop
normally then when they get older usually around three (3) they lose abilities
they once had. Delays in language, social function, and motor skills since we
have covered language and social delays I’m not going to go over that again.
Motor skills is you movement broken down into two categories fine motor and
gross motor. Fine motor is your pencil grip, stringing beads, all those small
tasks whereas gross motor is your walking, jumping and all your big movements.

Finally let’s look at pervasive developmental disorder not
otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS).

This is a diagnosis where someone has autistic signs and
symptoms enough to be on the autism spectrum but do not fully meet the criteria
for any of the other specific disorders listed above.

So there you have it. That is the technical break down of
what autism is. Next time I will get a little more personal and talk about what
autism is to me and my family. 

Groovy Lab in a Box review April 2015

Today we got our Groovy Lab in a Box for April it is a monthly subscription box that is like a stem class in a box. It costs $26.95 a month and the price goes down if you pay for multiple month up front.

Let's take a look at what we got.

1. The Lab notebook

This is a notebook full of experiments and lessons to do with your kids all towards giving you the knowledge to do the design challenge for the month.

Each experiment comes with detailed instructions on how to do it as well information on the why and how it works. You can also go to the beyond the box website to learn even more about it.

2. The materials 

In the box you will find everything you need to do all the experiments for the month I love this they cover all of it. 

One of the other great things is that one box can be used as group experiments with up to 4 people so our whole family can do it together and once we are done we can keep the book and get our own supplies later and do it again if we choose. I will be doing all the experiments with my kids and posting a video of it as well as on here telling our thoughts on them. Until then you can watch my unboxing video here.

Box of Dread welcome pack

Just a quick video of the welcome pack from Box of Dread

Autism Strong: What is Autism (interviews)

Bounjour Jolie April 2015 review

Today I am reviewing the Bonjour Jolie April box. This is a monthly period box you can get it for $16 a month or a one time box to try for $20. You can also get a just the goodies box for $10 a month. So let's see what we got.

The Essentials

1. Tampons,pads, or panty liners

This is your choice of 25 mix and match products or a full unopened box this has a value of around $5 depending on what brand you use.

2. cleansing cloths

These summers eve cleansing help you feel a little fresher at this time of the month these 2 have a value of $0.24

3. Advil

Always good to have on hand for those pains. these 2 packs are valued at $1.20

The Gift
4. Rose Gold Puzzle Necklace

For Autism Awareness month we got this pretty puzzle peice necklace from Seablue Boutique it is valued at $17

The Pampering

5. SanFrancisco Soap Company Body Lotion

This bottle is worth $1.50

6. From Our Hearth Amber Soap

This handmade soap has a value of $1.50

7. Sun Coast Salts Hand Scrub

This all natural scrub is valued at $3

The Edibles

8. Chuao Chocolatier Chocolate Pod

So this was good to start great texture and the popping but after a little bit the chipotle kicked in and was a little over whelming this is valued at $1.50

9. Zotz fizzy pop candy

Hands down my favorite edible this month I have loved these ever since I was a kid. These are worth $1

10. Lorna Doone cookies

These short bread cookies are worth $2.50

11. Candy Creek Lollipops

I did have 3 but my son ate one before I got the picture so these were a hit with my kids. they are valued at $1

12. Nature's Guru coconut water

I'm not a fan of coconut so haven't tried these but they are worth $2

13. Naturals-n-organics tea

These are worth a total of $1

This months box had a value of $ 38.44 at a cost of only $16 I would say another great value this month. You can watch my unboxing video here.

DIY easter baskets using Autism Sensory Box