This information-packed guest blog is the second in a series from my friend and colleague Dan E. Burns. Dan is absolutely passionate about asking tough questions and finding answers related to young adults living with autism and their families. Dan’s last guest post Funding Autism for Life addressed options families have for supporting and caring for individuals with autism when they age out of public school. This excellent post from Dan explores The Brookwood Community, the brain in relation to movement and exercise and much, much more. Enjoy!
Touch, See, Feel, Move: The Brookwood Community in Texas and the Autism Epidemic
By Dan E. Burns
“We don’t just believe in miracles,” my guide told me, “we rely on them.” White-haired and in her eighties now, striding ahead of me cell phone in hand, my guide, called “Me-Maw” by some of the residents who to flock around her, prefers to remain anonymous. “I didn’t build this wonderful place,” she explained. “It’s God’s doing.”
She opened door after door as we made our way through clusters of busy citizens in the ceramic workshops, gym, natatorium, and clinic to a fine, on-campus restaurant near the gift shop and gardens of The Brookwood Community, a 495-acre residential/educational village designed to enhance the lives of adults with disabilities.

This is the final part of my interview series with Dr. Julie Buckley, author of Healing Our Autistic Children. (Click to read Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.) I want to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Buckley for writing about and presenting on this topic in a way that has profoundly changed my perspective and approach to life. I hope that you will enjoy and take something powerful away from this interview series.
LAW: Part 2 of your book is dedicated to guiding parents through biomedical treatments with their child’s doctor; please share a little bit about the standard steps to biomedical recovery.
JB: The hard part about autism is that there is little that is “standard” about the approach we use. It is a highly individualized process – each child is unique in their genes, in their environmental exposures over the course of their short lives, and in the manifestations of the disease process. It takes a careful eye observing, and careful ears listening to a parent to find a starting point for working toward recovery.

Katherine Galligan, co-founder of The Summer Bridge, and mother of two boys (Michael – 6, and Sean – 4), took some time to share some details with me about the exciting new program she and C’Airey Ashurst started this summer. When Katherine’s son, Michael, was diagnosed with autism and Katherine was thrust into seemingly endless hours of therapy, she met C’Airey, a Speech and Language Pathologist. Recently, they have worked together to create The Summer Bridge. Katherine says, C’Airey’s “role in planning and execution has been invaluable; undoubtedly attributable to her extensive experience and sincere dedication to helping children with learning differences.” Along with Katherine and C’Airey, there are two licensed teachers; one ABA therapist; a college student (pursuing a degree in psychology); and a woman who works as a SpEd aide in Michael’s school, working with the students at The Summer Bridge.

I don’t know about you, but even though I’m a pretty positive person, I have to admit that sometimes the “pressure” really gets to me.
Raising children is pressure-filled business. Raising children with special needs makes life feel like a pressure-cooker some days. There’s so much to worry about…money, therapy, school, socialization, special foods, chemicals, extracurricular activities, the future…the worries really are limitless.
Lately when I’m not worrying about money (which is most days), I’m worried about which therapy, treatment or intervention comes next.

Well it is official – 2011 has arrived! Happy New Year to all of our AutismSpot readers!
As talk of resolutions abound, my husband has decided to “be more patient with Ethan.” Ethan has shared that he wants to “listen better.”
As, I’ve been considering what kind of resolutions I will focus on for myself and my role in our family, I come to the conclusion that I am resolved to find a healthy balance.
Like many caregivers for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, I take it upon myself not only to cook, clean, and care for our home and everyone inside, but also to offer Ethan a healthy, specialized diet with 15-20 daily supplements; research and implement new therapies; research toxins and our environment as it relates to Ethan and our family’s health; contact law makers regarding important legislation in regard to Autism, toxins and the environment, and education; participate in local support groups for sharing, learning and [um...] support; read books and articles about new therapies, theories, and ideas; and the list goes on…and on…and on!
The problem with that is that all of the things I mention above – while they’re very necessary and benefit my son on a daily basis – these things take, take, take but don’t often “give back” to my needs.

Isabella is in a ballet and tap class. No, they don’t do both at the same time, though that could be pretty cool…. She doesn’t exactly love to go to dance, probably because everything happens too fast. While she’s just figuring out how to shuffle, the others have already ball-changed on to the next move. We may pull her out soon since she doesn’t care for it, but I really want to find something that she likes to do. I want to find her “thing,” be that a sport, an instrument, whatever. We haven’t found it yet, unless reading books counts.

Isabella is no couch potato. She loves the TV, though we don’t let her watch as much as she’d like. Also, she’ll only sit still while watching if she’s eating or if she’s really tired. The rest of the time, she’s in motion. It doesn’t matter if she just ate an entire pizza, she’s going to be on the move in front of the TV.