A link up....

Ok....I'm putting a link on this post..
go there...
read it...
it's good...
APATHY 

CMKAA H.R. 2288...

uh...what???

That stands for Caring for Military Kids with Autism Act House Resolution number 2288...

In a nutshell taken from the cmkaa.org website here it is:
Tens of thousands of our military dependent children are living with autism. One in eighty-eight children of active duty servicemembers are affected and less than ten percent of those dependents are getting the autism therapies they need and are entitled to.

Currently, TRICARE military insurance segregates proven autism therapies such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) into a separate arm of care called the Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) and places a dollar cap on ABA – essentially limiting the number of hours per week to less than half what is typically recommended for a young child newly diagnosed.  ECHO enrollment is secondary to completing the application process for the Exceptional Family Members Program (EFMP) – another barrier to care.  Often precious months to years are lost navigating through these processes, when proven therapies are shown to have greater success at the earliest possible intervention.

The Caring for Military Kids with Autism Act eliminates the dollar cap on ABA while also removing barriers to care by providing ABA under the umbrella of TRICARE Standard care.  It also extends these vital services to the dependents of retirees who have made a career commitment to our nation’s freedom and security. 

Somehow I have missed this the last 6+months and only started reading about in the last 2 weeks.
I have added a temporary widget at the top of my blogs. All you have to do is click on it and it takes you to popvox where you can support it. AND/OR you can go here:

Write Your Representative and send a quick note to your congressman.

Rachel from stimcity.org is the warrior behind all of this. She even has a letter you can cut and paste which is the same information that I posted above, but go here and it will be very simple: letter.

Alright...there you have it...please, go and support this! I had never contacted my congressman before about anything. I never understood how or, quite frankly, never took the time to figure it out. BUT, this time it is all laid out and so simple to do! You can really help make a difference in the lives of military families dealing with autism!
Thank you!

You know you are a....

About a month ago on twitter there was a hashtag that was trending just for a little bit...it was #youmightbeanautismparentif (you might be an autism parent if). It was great....they were all right on the spot and brought me tears and laughter all at the same time. If you type it in the search box on twitter I know it'll come up and you can read some for yourself. Anyways, my point being is I've created my own "hashtag" in my head the past 2 weeks. It would be #youknowyouareamilitaryautismparentif.....(you know you are a military autism parent if)...the reason??? well, read on....
Josh...yes, Josh is going into kindergarten in the fall...can you believe this???? I know...I can't, but I can, but I can't, but I can, but I can't...etc etc etc...That will be a post all in itself...
My point is we have to register him with the district. So you veteran parents out there know that this entails a ton of forms, paperwork, jumping through hoops, getting medical records..and by records I mean SHOT records. I hate, and I hate using that word, HA! But, I do...so, I strongly dislike having to go through Josh's records. It's like having to relive the trauma of him regressing into this 'autistic-like' world and the rocky path in pulling him back out....
Eric and I are extremely pleased with the school Josh will be going to, but enrolling him was seriously traumatic. Sometimes I really believe parents of special needs kids could suffer from a form a PTSD, I'm not joking...their should be research into this..or is there??? Anyways, I digress...the first step in enrolling him was all online. They had a page where the parent had to fill in a chart with EVERY vaccine and the date of said vaccine. Yes, I got to recall him getting an extra Hep B shot, looking at the dates of his 1 years shots which was right after his prednisone, wheezing attack, on antibiotics for the first time(and only time since), having his 3 words(giii, juuuu, daaaa) and then not having those anymore. Ok...I could go on and on and on and on. I had to stop the process several times and pray. It was just infuriating and incredibly obvious to me to see Josh's story.
The following step after putting in all the vaccine info was to check off any boxes for development, health, food issues and to 'explain' at the bottom. I'm not sure why I was getting so worked up about it all. I think it was because I realized that I was going to have to do this every time we move. Every school district, etc. So...this is when my hashtag was created. #youmightbeamilitaryautismparentif enrolling your child in yet another school district is like reliving the trauma of the Dx and path to recovery...
the end.

What IS Sensory Processing Disorder?!?!

I have been meaning to listen to this interview by The Coffee Klatch since last February...it's as if I was busy last year or something... ;-)   Anyways, here it is...They interview Dr. Lucy Jane Miller, Carol Kranowitz, and Hartley Steiner...I put the interview on my SPD page up top so it will always be on my blog and easy to get too. The first 3 minutes(after the advertisement) is a great intro and then Dr. Miller begins speaking...it is a wonderful overview of what SPD is and a great interview to send people too who have never heard of SPD.... please, take a listen...

Listen to internet radio with The Coffee Klatch on Blog Talk Radio

Too Much Candy?!?!?!

Go here..
Halloween Buy Back program!

You can enter your zip code and find participating dentists!!

They will buy back your candy and will then send it to Operation Gratitude who will then send it on to our troops in their care packages!!! :)

We will be doing this!

Military Families with Special Needs Survey...

If you are a military family with someone who has any type of special needs...not just autism...please take this survey. It will be shared with DoD Advisory Panel on Special Needs...they are trying to identify areas of concern and IMPROVE life for our families!! Please, voice your opinion!!!!
http://feedback.amfas.org/index.php?sid=19136

SPD Foundation 1st Annual 5k and 1 mi family walk...

I'm really excited about this...it is Sunday, October 16th at the NEW Star Center....please check out the link below...if you live out of state and can't make it... don't worry...I'm creating a page for fundraising if you feel so inclined to help!
http://www.cvent.com/events/use-your-senses-one-step-at-a-time-1st-annual-5k-walk/invitation-b052bc22a79541d7b974c8f1dd59e6ed.aspx

http://spdfoundation.net/5kwalk/