Happy Halloween
Cathy has today off. 21 years ago, I dressed Bella as a football while Mia and Gianna were Boston College (my alma mater) cheerleaders. Mia and Gianna had been diagnosed with PDD one year prior. Do you remember the early days of diagnosis - before the Internet was ubiquitous? I sure do. Lonely. Frightening. Dark. More trick than treat. I'm not sure much has changed for families facing a diagnosis, despite our best efforts. There is still no real roadmap. Services are luck of location and staffing. There's no St. Jude. No Make a Wish. Not for us. Many of us found Yahoo groups like Tough Nuts and Old Timers and BioMedHeads, my old group. We knew ARI had answers and we went to conferences. Despite the Internet, I feel like we are more isolated than ever. Social Media cannot replace face time, even via.... Facetime.
Still, we need to continue to help families, because I fear we are going to see an onslaught of something very dark for children soon. It might not be autism per se. But something wicked this way comes.
Not the cheeriest Sunday post, but a reminder of why Age of Autism is still here. Why TACA and NAA are still here. We're needed. We do not leave others behind. Kim
The photo is amazing. You are my hero, Kim. Thanks for all you do.
No Make a Wish, No St Judes. It hurts to see our kids ignored as they suffer.
Posted by: sarah i | November 02, 2021 at 09:41 PM
Same here Mr Foss our son started looking for his Halloween cake about 3 weeks prior to Halloween which my wife cooks GFCF etc free.for him most years as he never forgets. And it starts with him saying about 3 weeks prior to the event Halloween cake?-wash, spin ,repeat, at least once every hour ALL day.This continues despite long explanations, drawings ,calendars, references to previous years ,involving him making the cake etc etc but does not stop until he gets the cake and progresses his way eating it over the next week or so.Until the next one, the joys. Autism Dred should be added to trick or treat?Either of the latter would be better.
Pharma For Prison
MMR RIP
Posted by: Angus Files | November 02, 2021 at 03:57 AM
The Wales connection is interesting and probably connects to the Celts who came a lot later than the Sumerian dynasty. The Sumerian Kings list is mind blowing if you haven’t had a look at that recommend starting there. The Smithsonian has a lot of explaining to do. I wouldn’t agree with Hugh that Merlin built Stone Henge it was there long before Merlin and the Romans he probably got distracted when saying that. The giants he refers to every one of them were there for sure covered up by the scientists at the Smithsonian or most of them as they never fitted in with Darwin and the evolution of humans. Great to see Michael Tellinger with the goliath footprint there on Adams Calendar South Africa really interesting guy theres more intact stone circles in South Africa than anywhere else in the world worth checking out.. The pyramids in Egypt the mummies were Caucasian and red haired. The pyramids of China were Caucasian and red haired. The mummies in Japan were Caucasian etc not the indigenous people that are there now or were there when the graffiti on the walls was added.This demonstrates that the structures were inherited, and the people came and changed regularly at least every 36,000 years.There is at the most 2500 years’ at the latest and it will all change again. As with autism we and the bones didn’t fit into the $$$$narrative. Just like the bones and autism we prove in our case that vaccines are totally bad so we have to be Autistic Alien Abducted and vanished so the big lie can continue and the $$$$ can keep on flowing. The big bones cover up and the autism pandemic lie continue.
Pharma For Prison
MMR RIP
Posted by: Angus Files | November 02, 2021 at 03:46 AM
@Andrew Foss,
I'm sure we all get that our children, wherever they are on the autism spectrum, require some degree of help managing the day-to-day aspects of life that their neurotypical siblings/peers can do without any thought. Organizations, such as Autism Research Institute (ARI) have sections on their website that provide strategies and supports for families to "sanely" navigate holidays. These might include social stories (which you can adapt for wherever you child is language-wise), use of pictures, or rehearsed lines on a tablet or smart phone, as well as video rehearsing (before the event). Just a thought for any upcoming holidays and prep for next year ( : !
Posted by: Jeanne J | November 01, 2021 at 02:59 PM
This morning I sent this message to our son's Autism Support Teacher to let her know how Halloween went for him. It is a paraphrased report from what I posted on my daily blog - linked below if you are interested:
I can only imagine the stories that Aaron will be regaling you with today regarding Halloween. But we would like you to know some things about the weekend. I am taking some of the narrative I wrote from my blog.
***
I bring it up this year because of the experience I had tonight taking my 15 year old son out door to door. You may say, why did you have to walk with your 15 year old? Well, that’s because of Autism.
Our son Aaron is high functioning Autistic. Means he can talk and communicate pretty well. Speaking was never really his issue. He started that a little slow. But by 3-4 could say words and sentences. It was always more what he said or didn’t say that was the issue. He has a significant Processing Delay . . . meaning that what takes a person usually a second or two to understand can take him up to 15 seconds. He has ADHD. It’s not debilitating, but you sure do not want to be around him unmedicated. He’s complicated. And let’s just say that his social maturity level does not match his age.
Well Halloween has been on his mind for quite a while. Months in fact. What was he going to do about Trick or Treating? Who would go with him? What costume would he get? Did he have a flashlight? Would he be able to go costume shopping? The list of questions from an Obsessive Compulsive is endless.
And what do we as parents do when we know that very little of what he is hoping for will be possible?
Take shopping for a costume. He did not have a clear idea of what he wanted to be. And frankly I had no desire to buy another stupid, overpriced Halloween costume. Luckily for me, his older sister agreed to take him. He came home with a Blanket that said The Exorcist and a plastic knife. I know he also had his eye on a voodoo doll. None of it appropriate for a costume. A short trip to the basement storeroom found us an old Scream costume that he agreed to.
Then there was Trick or Treating. He had his heart set on going with his older sisters. Unfortunately they had had their fill and refused him. And after a lot of yelling and false starts, I had to take him around the neighborhood.
And it was good that I did. I found out after the first house that our real issue was Social Anxiety. He could not deal with facing someone at a door, saying “Trick or Treat” and then thanking them for the treat. At home in his own element, he won’t shut up. Each house was an ordeal. I had to walk him through it. Mentally prepare him. Remind him to speak. And this is a 5’10”, 130 lb kid. Not completely unheard of seeing teenagers in our neighborhood. But between seeing a parent on the sidewalk and an ill fitting, rag-tag costume and mumbles for greetings, most of them figured it out.
And Blessings to all out there who are able to see us as we venture out in the world. The help you give us cannot be measured.
After a block and a half, Aaron saw that he had what he thought was an acceptable haul of treats. He had stopped crying by the time we got to our house. And sitting on the couch counting his treasure, he perked up and you would have thought he had gone out for hours. For us, another day and another holiday managed.
The casualty? Our wits. Our patience. Our ability to cope. Our worries. Our hopes. Our Dreams.
If you want to see the full article, it is posted here. It is an Astrology Blog, so take it with whatever grain of salt you like. And remember, if you think Astrology is all a bunch of bunk, I would ask you to pay attention to your kiddos around the Full Moon (which will hit us again on 11/19). Also note that I added more data and charts about Autism on the blog posts. Educators are never moved by that stuff.
Also note. Last Friday we were greeted in the mail with another letter from CYS informing us that someone (ended up being his school councilor) had made a report to Childline because our son told them that he was thinking violent thoughts and wanting to hurt others.
http://astrogardens.com/2021/10/31/saturday-sunday-october-30-31-2021/
Posted by: Andrew Foss | November 01, 2021 at 01:05 PM
@Angus Files
Thanks for your info and links. This is a fascinating subject. I came across an account written by a Christian minister in the 1800's who had interviewed some older Welsh early Americans. They claimed that while exploring west of the Mississippi, they encountered light skinned native tribes whose language was so similar to Welsh that they could understand them. There are ancient accounts of very large people, including the remains of King Arthur, in the land that is now called Wales. Perhaps Europe was the origin of the American giants. Even Abraham Lincoln was giant sized compared to his contemporaries. This is a fascinating lecture on giants in America and Europe:
The Megalithic Giants: The Lost History of a Forgotten Race - Hugh Newman FULL LECTURE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y810CO0F2lI
Even more interesting is that there appears to be a conspiracy of the Smithsonian Museum to hide/suppress knowledge of these large skeletons that have been found in the mounds. I can confirm that much of the contents of the mounds I visited had been carted off to the Smithsonian, never to be seen again. The native Americans living in the mound cities at the time of Spanish explorers, say that they did not build the mounds and didn't know who did. The mound builders had knowledge of metallurgy which the local natives did not. America was already a melting pot of different people groups even before the arrival of the Europeans after 1492. By all accounts, it seems that some were giant sized.
Posted by: Emmaphiladelphia | November 01, 2021 at 10:41 AM
Hi Emmaphiladelphia,
Its fascinating what the serpent mounds were for nobody knows to this date I just hope they are linked to some power I can tap into and destroy Pharma , wouldn’t that be nice. The Serpent mound not far from us is at Loch Nell. A writer has set up a blog about it which I have passed on information to the blog and over time the person has updated that blog with info supplied but I have no idea who owns the blog.The blog below gives you a snapshot of the Serpent at Loch Nell( Gaelic for Loch/lake of the swans) which there aren’t many of up there now one breeding pair last year.
https://www.thehazeltree.co.uk/2019/07/26/loch-nell-the-tomb-of-the-giants-and-a-serpent-mound/
Most of the info comes from Constance Gordon Cummings book and she did the only drawing of the mound to date that I can find there is another sketch as well on line just search under images loch nell serpent mound’s drawing was as she found it which she says was in the best condition of any serpent mound found but sadly all the stones have now been removed over the past 100 years makes me sick. I’ve written to Inveraray Castle as they were meant to have commissioned a model of it in the 1800`s.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Constance+Gordon-Cumming&text=Constance+Gordon-Cumming&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=digital-text
Also Dr Robert Smith gives a good write up of it as well and ancient traditions of the area long gone. https://archive.org/details/lochetivesonsofu00smitiala/page/n9/mode/2up
I don’t know what came first the Sumerians or the serpent mounds I suspect the Sumerians as they mention the creation of workers dna crossing etc in the cuneiform tablets
Cracking Ancient Codes: Cuneiform Writing - with Irving Finkel curator of the London Museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfYYraMgiBA
And last but not least Paul Wallis & Erich Von Daniken | Paleocontact & Aliens in the Bible (audio only) Paul is on Gaia a lot very watchable as is Erich.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQConMG3ums
Going by what I can gather my best guess would be the Sumerians developed earth as we know it to date the serpent mounds would possibly have been built after that after the Anunnaki left earth. The Anunnaki were giants who seen humans with no more compassion than swatting mosquitos and they developed our DNA from the apes just enough to be useful to them. The above knowledge doesn’t make me any less a Christian as it makes the bible more explainable and more valid in my opinion. Rothchild’s Gates and co have 2500 years left before the Anunnaki return at the latest, they will be back to collect the gold we have all been programmed to gather to sustain their planet. Its all written in the Sumerian cuneiform clay tablets.Going by the tablets there will be a big deluge again, and planet earth will reset itself due to the return of the planet Nibiru spinning it to speeds in excess of 1000 miles per house for a day,and of we go again.Im sure Rothschilds etal are hoping to be picked as Moses.
Pharma For Prison
MMR RIP
Posted by: Angus Files | November 01, 2021 at 05:50 AM
"There is a serpent mound not far from where I stay like the one in Ohio but smaller and when it was excavated they found burnt hazelnuts."
@Angus Files
I live about an hour away from some of the many American mounds and this was the subject of some of our home school field trips and my own research into their history. I came across accounts that claim that an original Prince of Wales (Welsh) sailed with colonists and landed on the southern shores of America's Mobile Bay long before Christopher Columbus. There is speculation that these early Welsh settlers were the original American mound builders. After looking at all the facts, I think that this is plausible. A contemporary Welshman has even written a series of novels based on this. Your account is the first I've heard of a similar snake mound in Scotland. Fascinating. Love your roasted hazelnuts tradition. Perhaps it is the origin of the roasted chestnuts Christmas tradition in America made famous by singer Nat King Cole. Also, giant skeletons have been found in the American mounds- including Ohio Serpent Mound. The Smithsonian investigated and reportedly kept some of them in their museum. Have any giant skeletons been found in the Scottish one? When we visited Northern Ireland about twelve years ago, we went to the Giant's Causeway. Are there any legends about giants associated with this area? Here's an interesting related link:
"November 2015 AOM: Giants on Record: America’s Hidden History, Secrets in the Mounds and the Smithsonian Files "
https://grahamhancock.com/newmanvieira1/
Posted by: Emmaphiladelphia | October 31, 2021 at 09:40 PM
Beautiful, beautiful picture Kim
John
Posted by: John Stone | October 31, 2021 at 06:59 PM
Kim all the best and thanks for all your help over the years and all the writers at AOA.
JABS in the Uk was the first site we got in touch with thanks to Jackie Fletcher. Back then we were told that we were bad parents, we were diagnosed as being bad parents, we were told your old parents, we were told that glass of wine(my wife dosent drink) too much TV (we haven't had a TV for 20 plus years) and the cause of autism is you! The same message is put onto families today but thanks to AOA and others at least with a bit of digging people can access sites where people still can exchange their autistic stories.
There is a serpent mound not far from where I stay like the one in Ohio but smaller and when it was excavated they found burnt hazelnuts. In the recent past in Scotland they burnt hazelnuts at this time of year which was to attract the eye of your loved one. Lets hope that we can catch the eye of the Government Ministers and stop this carnage a few nuts roasted tonight and a thought and prayer submitted.
Just had a few guisers round the house less than usual but good thing is 9 year old had a 17th century plague mask on and ,and knew what it was about.. great to see there are others out there determined on spreading the message.
Pharma For Prison
MMR RIP
Posted by: Angus Files | October 31, 2021 at 03:46 PM
Adorable photo KIm!
Perhaps AOA parents and children should dress up as recent immigrants and go Trick or Treating at the White House. Joe is sure to drop $450,000 in their candy bags.....
Biden administration in talks to pay $450,000 per person to immigrants separated at border
"About 5,500 children were split from their parents under President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy, under which parents were separated from their children to face criminal prosecution for crossing the border illegally, according to court filings in a federal case in San Diego. Inadequate tracking systems caused many to be apart for an extended time. The payments are intended to compensate for the psychological trauma."
https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/biden-administration-in-talks-to-pay-450000-per-person-to-immigrants-separated-at-border/
Posted by: Emmaphiladelphia | October 31, 2021 at 01:46 PM
Looking back on it all for a long while = not letting go of the past -
We had immediate reactions to the DPT .
But really they were reacting to them all with a low grade - inflammation that the doctors all thought was yet another viral infection or bacteria infection when it was not..
Even with a violent reaction like my son had on his third DPT vaccine - with is brain - or his first DPT reaction to his swelling heart, or my daughter's - 105 degree temperatures,, and finally Kawasaki disease all soon after a DPT vaccine; - there were additional long range inflammation going on, that if stopped - the body has a chance to heal.
Looking back; I see my father had long on going inflammation after a flu shot, you start noticing after a while the red face, the breathlessness, a swollen belly that had not been there before and then he had a heart attack 7 months later.
My daughter with her series of Hep Bs when she was in her 20s getting her nursing degree- with stiffness and lab tests that showed high ANAs for a whole year. Asprin every day - and not just the small dose of .81 mg.
If this could be recognized; so many children could have been saved.
One thing through thorugh this Covid epdemdic we learned; with no early, cheap treatments , there is a kind of evilness that I did not really know or believe existed in the human heart. Would I; if tempted been able to resist? Yeah, I think I would, surely on this - to help and not hurt children, the next generations. I still thank God I was not tempted with the riches of the world.
I have pumpkins from the garden this year. Not the Cinderellas cause the mice got into my seeds one year (never have chickens - their feed just draws them out of the fields and they have chicken feed to multiply on) . I have not been able to find the right seeds that were so beautiful like they were as of yet. But I have the big Atlantic Dill, and a flat, small, fancy pumpkin I bought at of all places "Trader Joes"
Last night I cut some of them open, I dehydrate them and make pumpkin flour, or pumpkin pie fruit roll ups, and collected my seeds for next year. I use the rest of the seeds to roast, a traditional My husband did the roasting this year since I have to leave , to stay with my Mother. These dark days are gloomy and sad as it is for a recent widow. My son carved out the face on one of the pumpkins, my daughter lite the candle in the pumpkin and placed it on the hearth, since we live out in the country there are no trick or treaters at all. I miss them. At our old house, they would put them on hay wagons and they would stop by the 100s.. Still it was kind of cozy.
Stay in the present, not the future, not the past - too much -- the sould and the mind is better that way.
Posted by: benedetta | October 31, 2021 at 12:26 PM
Love this picture, Kim.
No… no Make a Wish or St. Jude’s for us. I sometimes think of the 911 victims’ compensation fund… for people who worked near ground zero. In many cases if you come down with virtually any type of cancer it is presumed to be connected to ground zero. (I’m not begrudging the victims. They deserve compensation) Meanwhile our kids are denied over and over again regarding what caused their regression.
Posted by: 4Bobby | October 31, 2021 at 10:20 AM
Kim-we are all in this struggle together and will always be there for each other. I too feel alone now that my son has become an adult and there is still no cure on the horizon for all of us. Thank you for the Age of Autism website as it is a comfort to read it and see that I am by no mean alone in this most difficult time of my life. God Bless you and your beautiful daughters.
Posted by: Gayle | October 31, 2021 at 10:11 AM
How could I forget? Over 2 decades! I even remember the days when the newspapers actually printed my letters about autism.(even the New York Times). I remember when Congress attempted some discussion about autism. When they attempted to track the growing numbers with autism. And I remember raising my now 24 year old grandson and going through motherhood for a second time.
Thank you, Kim and everyone associated with AOA. With love AND ADMIRATION....
Maurine
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | October 31, 2021 at 09:34 AM
Be not afraid Kim … trust me … we are and always will be with you … you are NEVER ALONE.
Posted by: Bob Moffit | October 31, 2021 at 08:30 AM
I remember the early days, my son is 19 now. btw, he has found an indoor place to sleep.
We're both still here to remind Pfizer that survivors band together and know the truth. Pfizer lives on it's reputation as does Merck. As more innocent children die from vaccines they do not need, these companies so to will perish as well as their talking heads in state capitals. We're not in Kansas anymore yet we are:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/kansas-vaccine-mandate-foes-rally-holocaust-comment-decried/ar-AAQ8ir2?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531
Posted by: drymeadow | October 31, 2021 at 08:13 AM
Sometimes my daughter and I talk about a concept we call "the secret fans." There is a man who heads up an HVAC crew where we used to live, and he is the best HVAC guy you'll ever meet. I've left dozens of NextDoor recommendations for him, and once, at a youth sports meet, I started chatting with a dad who was wearing the company shirt about how great this HVAC guy is.
I am certain Knox the HVAC guy has no idea we like him so much. But here's the thing: the youth sports dad shared our opinion, and says he has heard it from lots of other customers. Hence the idea of the secret fans.
I think AoA and the Facebook groups that haven't been stamped out have a lot of secret fans. I am sure my family's story would not be what it is if I hadn't stumbled across an AoA comment about Jenny McCarthy's Oprah appearance back in 2007, when my daughter was an infant. It's not just the vaccine and medication "caveat emptor"; it's the specific details of food issues and recognition that yes, something as time-honored as bread can be a problem for some kids. Not everybody posts a comment, I'm sure. Many take the help they need quietly and pass on the information of the URL to friends in need. These people are your secret fans.
Thank you, Kim, and everyone at AoA for so many years of giving the fight for our kids' generation everything you have. And for what you have done to make your own kids' lives as healthy and rich as they are, I salute you, mom to mom.
Posted by: TOB | October 31, 2021 at 06:30 AM