Causecast

Why I Participate

I come from a family of givers so I was born with the need to help others. Since my sons diagnoses with Autism 3 years ago, I have become a strong advocate for him and other children in Tampa Bay that need and deserve services that will help them prosper in life. My son is the poster child for early intervention and I believe he is on the road to recovery!

About Me

Our youngest son, Julius, was diagnosed with autism almost 3 years ago and at the time we weren't given much hope for his future. We were told he was moderate to severely autistic. I was so incredibly crushed and terrified of what the future would hold for us. At the time of his diagnoses he could not talk, he had absolutely no developmental skills, would not interact with anyone, not even me anymore, and he seemed to be overly obsessed with spinning the wheels on his car over and over again, plus a fascination with ceiling fans was all he seemed to care about. He was also a sensory mess, he cried ALL the time, it was heart wrenching! I was determined to get him some help and get him better since no one was giving me any answers or hope. I found out through many hours of research that these kids can recover, and from that moment on I was determined that Julius was going to recover if it killed me!!! After 3 years of speech, OT, ABA, music therapy, biomedical interventions and a phenomonal private school he has been attending, he can now talk fluently, is where he should be developmentally for a 4 1/2 year old, and has become quite the social butterfly. Just the other day he spontaneously came up to me gave me a kiss and a hug and said" I love you mom" Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming!! This is what I want for every child with autism!

My Interest

I consider myself a good person with a kind heart. Since I'm fortunate enough to be a stay- at-home mom thanks to my hard-working husband, I've decided to spend my free time doing volunteer work which is so rewarding. All of my volunteer work involves my children in some way, I serve on the Board of Directors for my son Julius's autism school and I also help with all their charity events and fundraising so we can keep the school up and running. Sydney's School for Autism is a private school that integrates children with autism with typical peers and provides 1:1 ABA Therapy. It was started by Sydney's mom Kathy Swenson after she was tired of her daughter not getting the appropriate education in the public school system. The school has to raise $150,000 a year to keep the school financially sound and I'm proud to say I'm an integral part of that. Florida's public school system is woefully inadequate and I would never place my child there. Placing a child in an "Autism Unit" and isolating them from the rest of the world is not the answer!! I also volunteer at Nick and Jake's school reading to the class, parties, chaperoning field trips, etc. And I also help teach Sunday school once a month at my church. I believe it is much better to give than to receive and that's how I live my life!