James and Autism

THESE MOMS SHARE SPECIAL GIFTS
by Erma Bombeck
(published without permission...hope she doesn't mind -kkp)

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger. 'Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint Cecelia. Rudledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity.' Finally he passes a name to an angel and smiles, 'Give her a handicapped child.' The angel is curious, 'Why this one, God? She's so happy.' 'Exactly,' says God. 'Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel.' 'But has she patience?' asks the angel. 'I don't want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make him live in her world, and that's not going to be easy.' 'But, Lord, I don't think that she even believes in you.' God smiles, 'No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness.' The angel gasps, 'Selfishness? Is that a virtue?' God nods, 'If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says Momma for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.' 'I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side.' 'And what about her patron saint?' asks the angel, pen poised in midair. God smiles, 'A mirror will suffice.'

Hello my name is Karen.

I have recently been diagnosed with Sjogrens Syndrome. It is an autoimmune disease. To learn more about this click here. Welcome to the NSSA Home Page

I have three children.

Jillian who is 11

Angelica who is 6

And James, who is 5. My husband is Dave. I started this page because there doesn't seem to be many support pages out there by and for parents of autistic/PDD children. And Lord knows we can use all the support we can get.

This is James, he is in Project Able.He is attending Meyers- Ganoung. His teacher, Ms. Angela Roll is a Godsend and is doing an excellent job. She has gone far above and beyond the call of duty many a time.
To read more about James click here.

Callum's Pelican Page
This is Callum Barnes. He is 3 years old and lives in Melbourne Australia. He is a very loving child with strong eye contact but otherwise about mid range on functionality."He attends an Early Intervention Programme school and has progressed well. He also now has some private Occupational Therapy once a week to help with his communication skills.

If you would like to have a picture of your child on this page e-mail me a gif ready picture and I will include as many as I can. javapitt@primenet.com