Did you know that October is National Bullying Prevention Month in the US? Sad, really, that as a nation we have such a problem with bullying we have to designate one month a year as “prevention month.” The bottom line is that prevention needs to be occurring every single month, but if one month each year more people are focused on making that happen due to a distinction like this, I’ll take it; after all it gives me an excuse to share some tremendous resources on the topic.
Last spring I shared an interview series about bullying with Dr. Lisa Elliot called “Bullying is a BIG Deal.” Click to read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Plus, we got such great responses to the series that Dr. Elliott agreed to address the topic of Adults Who Bully after it was brought up in the comments section by one of our readers. Very important because it isn’t always kids bullying kids we need to worry about in this world. Sadly, sometimes the bullies are indeed grownups who should know better.

How to explain the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers to an 8-year-old with Asperger’s Syndrome is something that has been on my mind for several weeks. I knew that they would be discussing the events, to some extent, in school and Ethan would likely hear his peers talking about it otherwise, too. Comprehending such atrocities is challenging for adults, so I have been very anxious about how this would affect my sweet, smart, impressionable young son with Autism.
Unless he specifically brought up the topic, I chose to wait until the 10th Anniversary to discuss the historical events with Ethan. I didn’t want to inadvertently instill a sense of dread or anxiety in him by bringing it up before he was ready or “needed” to know more. We purposefully didn’t expose Ethan to news footage with videos of the fateful day a decade ago; Ethan has such a visual memory (like so many other individuals with Autism); I have great concern about these images haunting him. As I waited and planned my talking points in my head, I wondered how he would react…

Amidst the recent earthquake, hurricane/tropical storm, and tornadoes in the USA, and after losing a family friend (see post HERE), I find myself very thankful for “simple” blessings, especially those concerning my son. While I was away to attend services for my friend’s mother, to show my support for her and her family and visit with my family in the same town, Ethan did beautifully with the unexpected changes to his routines, during the first week of school, no less! Thank God! Also, when I returned after being away for four days, Ethan was super sweet and happy to have me home. We spent time reading together in the afternoon and after lights out last night, I stayed to cuddle with him. As we were visiting in the dark, Ethan shared some worries and concerns he has about losing me (and other loved ones)…on the heels of my trip, I’m not surprised that this fear is weighing on his heart and mind. However, I’m wholeheartedly thankful that Ethan is able and willing to communicate these concerns to me.

One of my dear friends lost her mother to a long, painful battle with cancer this week. My friend has a nephew with Autism. When I asked if there was anything I could do to help the family, my friend asked for assistance helping to find someone to keep an eye on her nephew during the service. He and his family will be traveling from out of town. My sweet and thoughtful friend wants her brother and sister-in-law to be able to focus on the service even if their son feels the need to get up and explore, pace or simply move around.

Ethan, along with countless kids across the state of Texas, went back to school this morning. [Sniff, sniff.] While I was preparing his school supplies and trying to minimize his exposure to toxic chemicals, I got to thinking about hand sanitizers. What’s in them? And, are those ingredients dangerous for our kids?
Thinking along these lines, I sought additional information. I knew that we wanted to avoid Triclosan (which is a chemical in many hand soaps) because it can be very harmful to sensitive systems, but I wasn’t sure if it was a concern in hand sanitizers, or if there was something else I should be concerned about…so I reached out to one of my favorite organizations: Women’s Voices for the Earth.

Last August, I posted some suggestions for helping your kids get back to school with fewer toxins HERE. In that post I shared this information about packing a less-toxic lunch:
“…Since then, I have tried to minimize how much ‘plastic’ my son’s food actually touches. Instead of placing sandwiches, veggies and fruits in Ziploc® or plastic zipper baggies, (while they are super-convenient, cheap and easy), I try to wrap foods up – much like little presents – in wax paper. To make sure they stay closed, I seal them with fun labels printed with my son’s name and images of things in which he’s interested.”
Sometime after writing that post, I discovered a new (to me, at least) product – Natural Value Waxed Paper Bags. My husband and I have both found that using these “baggies” saves us time in the mornings when we’re scrambling to get Ethan’s lunch packed.

Ethan and I have spent some time with the masses this week at a very busy theme park. And, like all the others, this theme park sells not just bottled water, but also a variety of other drinks (think: sodas, frozen lemonades and electrolyte drinks like Gatorade and PowerAde). Now, it is no secret that at one time I was totally addicted to Dr Pepper. Trust me, I know it tastes good and sometimes feels like it is the most thirst-quenching thing ever created. I love the sweet, fizzy feel and taste of it and had to literally detox myself down from the stuff a few years ago. I knew the empty calories weren’t doing my figure any good, but when I learned that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS – which is used to sweeten most sodas) has mercury, I gave the Dr. “the boot.”
But I digress…Ethan has always been primarily a water drinker. I do allow some juice and an occasional glass or two of chocolate almond- or hemp-milk. I have never felt that Gatorade and PowerAde (with stiff artificial colorings) are a good thing for developing bodies and brains, so Ethan was never introduced to the stuff. Here’s the thing though – Ethan appears to be in the minority. As looked around at the many families we encountered livin’ it up in the heat, I realized that most children [understandably] prefer sweet sodas (often of the caffeinated variety) or colorful electrolyte drinks; but what astounded me was that these kids’ parents supply said drinks seemingly without a moment’s thought or hesitation.

If you’ve followed my blog for much time, you probably know that I’m very concerned about how changes to our environment in the past 50-100 years have affected the health and wellbeing of our entire society, but especially our children’s generation. With Autism Spectrum Disorders, asthma, life-threatening allergies, ADD/ADHD, diabetes and so much more at record numbers and on the rise in our littlest population, I’ve come to the conclusion that many variables must be to blame for these frightening increases.