Faces of Autism Exhibit Opening: Friday, May 7th

Faces of Autism Exhibit Opening
Friday, May 7th 6-10PM
Freedom Photography
400 West Commercial Street
Springfield, Mo. 65803

Photo exhibit and digital media presentation featuring families from Southwest Missouri affected by autism. This event is to raise awareness and support for the Southwest Missouri Walk Now for Autism Speaks which is taking place September 11th, 2010 at Jordan Valley Park, Downtown Springfield, Missouri.

This is a free and open to the public event. Please come and celebrate our kids and make a difference in raising awareness about autism.
Refreshments will be served.

NBC's Parenthood is having a Walk Now for Autism Speaks Event

The Braverman's are attending an Autism Speaks Walk in mid-May!  This is an exciting post because I am a huge fan of Parenthood, the new NBC series that has a storyline that involves a child on the autism spectrum. One of the families has just found out that their child, Max, has Asperger Syndrome. This is a form of autism that is considered higher functioning, but still has significant symptoms that can be debilitating for a family. Persons with asperger syndrome may have symptoms that include:  rigid schedules, sensory issues, complulsive behavior  and having difficulty relating socially with others.

As you know, Jason and I are very involved with Autism Speaks and the Walk Now for Autism Speaks that is held every September  here in Springfield. Jason is actually the co-chair for the Southwest Missouri Walk this year. Lots of work to set these sort of events up. So this sorta doubles our life right now. These walk events are a source of support for the thousands of families who have a child on the spectrum, and they raise valuable funds for research and community grants.  If you have never been to one of "our" events you will be able to get the feel of it on screen and then in September when I ask you for support you will be reminded to support us in our goal. :)

Please take a minute to read the Autism Speaks Blog about the event and tune in to watch! It says it will air in mid-may.

http://blog.autismspeaks.org/2010/04/18/bell-parenthood/

April 17th: Autism Awareness Day @ the Springfield Cardinals

Autism Awareness Day with the Springfield Cardinals is this Saturday, April 17th. We have sold all of our own tickets, but I am sure you can still get tickets through the box office. We are pretty sure that Zion will get to throw out the first pitch (our team sold the most tickets). I have been prepping him for it, we will see how he cooperates.

During the pre-game show there will be a short slide show of some of the Faces of Autism Project and statistics on how autism now affects 1 in 110 children. There will also be hundreds of families of loved ones who have autism. It is our time to get together and support Autism Speaks, but also support each other. Plus, it is FUN!