The Cookie Puzzle: Autism

Showing posts with label Autism. Show all posts

Apr 9, 2014

Cookies for iPads - A Call for Help

The following is a Facebook Post from one of my FAVORITE

Facebook pages, Cookies for iPads - giving children with Autism a voice

Attention Bakers!! Our Third Annual "Light the Night with Hope" lantern lighting for April Autism Awareness Month will be Saturday April 26th. This is the biggest event of the year and we need cookies for Cookiepalooza! If you can bake this year, please mark your calendars. All shipments can be sent to: SBS c/o Cookies for iPads 800 Park Ave W. Mansfield,OH 44906. Please share with all bakers!

Cookies for iPads is very near and dear to my heart! If you look on my navigation bar, you will see a whole page dedicated to them, see it? Here it is!

I have featured them on my blog several time, Melissa, the founder, did a guest post last year, you can read it HERE! If I could describe them in one word, it would be AMAZING! Here is the low down on them, they bake cookies, sell cookies, use the money to purchase iPads for children with Autism. How cool is that? Pretty cool I think!

With their annual Cookiepalooza quickly coming up, I am putting the call out once again! I am using my blog and Facebook page, asking, asking and shamelessly begging for help for Cookies for iPads.

Today, I am giving you three options to choose from, if you are willing and able to help this wonderful organization.

1. BAKE

If you are a baker, and would like to send something to the bake sale, that would be great. Packages can be sent to:

SBS

c/o Cookies for iPads

800 Park Ave W.

Mansfield,OH 44906

The bake sale is Saturday, April 26th, in Ohio. They will take ANY and ALL baked goods, they are not picky. Do you bake a wonderful chocolate chip cookie? Send it! Do you have a favorite banana bread recipe? SEND it! The point being, if you love to bake, and want to help this amazing organization, bake and send it, they will greatly appreciate it!

2. Make a Purchase at the Thirty-One Fundraiser Party

Do you LOVE Thirty-One products? Do you want to help out Cookies for iPads? Great....I am here to make it easy for you!

I am hosting a Thirty-One Fundraiser party! If you make a purchase, 20% of the total party will be donated to Cookies for iPads. We are leaving the party up until April 28th, so you have time to decide what you want.

Click on the Cookies for iPads Fundraiser, and make a purchase

Melissa, from Thirty-One, will also be hosting a Facebook Party. Here she will be live chatting, talking about monthly specials and answering questions. The party will be Monday April 21st, from 8-8:30 pm, Central Time. You can join the party HERE

I am pretty new to Thirty-One products, having just placed my first order, but I can tell you, I am in LOVE with them! They are so well made, and the colors and patterns make my heart SING!

A special shout out to Melissa from My Recent Favorite Reads, for all of her help with this party! She is our consultant, a fellow blogger and a Autism Warrior Mom! Thank you so much Melissa!

3. Send iTunes Cards

If you are not a baker, and don't need/want a Thirty-One Product, you can still help.

While Cookies for iPads give needy children iPads, the apps for some of the programs needed, can be pretty expensive. If you want to help, you can send iTunes cards! Cookies for iPads, will then in turn, give them to children/families to help then defer the cost of some of these apps. ITune cards and monetary donations can be sent to

SBS

c/o Cookies for iPads

800 Park Ave W.

Mansfield,OH 44906

_____________________________________________

Now that I have told you how your can help this organization, I thought I would share some personal experiences with Cookies for iPads.

In October of 2012, I received a package in the mail, with a card. I was expecting some t-shirts I had ordered from Cookies for iPads, but I was shocked at the card in the box!

Dear Kim,
On behalf of Cookies for iPads, here is an iPad for Collin!
How can I say thank you for being a part of helping us reach 20 iPads, or all of the cookies you and your cookie friends sent?
Well…by sending your amazing son the iPad he deserves! May God rich him greatly with this device in ways we can not yet see!
Love,
Melissa and the Team at Cookies for iPads

Yes, in the box was not t-shirts, but an iPad for Collin!

Did you read that note carefully? 20 iPads were given out! 20 iPads! How did they do that? Well, when I found out they were having their annual Cookiepalooza Bake Sale, I put the word out! I contacted all my cookie and baking friends, asking if they would be willing to bake cookies and send them to Cookies for iPads, the response was OVERWHELMING!

Personally, I find this just AMAZING! And I want it to happen again this year! I was chatting with Melissa, from Cookies for iPads, and the need this year is just as big, if not bigger. They have also expanded the areas they help with, they want to help put in a playground at the Autism School, and send a couple special kiddos to camp. So the need is great, and the bakers are few, so I am asking for help. Bake, buy, support, spread the word....do what you can...every little bit helps!

If you are a supporter of Cookies for iPads, I had the amazing Melanie from Adorability Designs, create this cute little button for me, feel free to grab it, and display it on your blog.....it will direct your readers to the Cookies for iPads Facebook page.

This post might be linked up at the link parties found Here

Apr 7, 2014

Burlap Canvas Wall Art

I am not much of a crafty person, but from time to time, I find things that inspire me to give it a try.

When I found these little burlap canvases at Wal-Mart, I was inspired!

As a non-crafty person, I thought I would try something I was passionate about, PUZZLES! Since it is
Autism Awareness Month, I wanted to share this fun and simple wall art.

To make these, you will need:
Burlap Canvas, mine were 6x6 that I got at Wal-Mart
Craft paint
Foam Brush
Card Stock or Stencil plastic maker stuff(or whatever it is called)
Scissors
Painters Tape

I used the card stock to make a stencil of a puzzle piece, I use my favorite puzzle piece cookie cutter as a
guide, then cut out the puzzle piece, is that called reverse stencil? Well, whatever, basically, I cut out and removed the area I WANTED to paint, protecting the area I did not want to paint.
I had tried tracing the puzzle piece, but burlap is hard to write on. I tried using a marker/sharpie, but then it bled, so don't do that. (See what I mean, home girl is NOT a crafty person)

I then taped my "stencil" to my canvas using painters tape, my favorite thing ever, so that it could be removed quickly, and not damage the canvas. I then painted the middle of the stencil, I found it best to kinda paint from outside, on the stencil, inward, to the middle of the puzzle piece, that resulting in the paint NOT bleeding under the stencil. Clear as mud? See, I told you I am not a crafty person.

So, then you paint, and then remove the stencil. Look, perfect puzzle piece! Woot Woot! Now, here would be a reason to use plastic, because this a one time only stencil, if you used plastic, instead of paper, like I did, you could wash and reuse it. This is where I had a "slap on the forehead" moment, when I was cutting out more puzzle pieces. Live and learn.

Isn't it pretty? I personally love them! But, I am pretty crazy about puzzle pieces. This same process could be used with any shape you want. I think I might do more of them for my new cookie room at our new house!

Give it a try sometime, they are quick and easy, even if you are not a crafty type of person like me!

This post might be linked up at the link parties found Here

Apr 1, 2014

Light it up Blue for Autism Awareness - Simple Blue Landscape Lights

April is Autism Awareness Month!

Did you know that? It is sort of a big deal round these parts, at least here at The Cookie Puzzle

Last year, I went all out. I had a post every day, almost all of them from special guest bloggers.
If you missed it last year, you can read all about it Here

This year, well life is crazy here, time is short, and while I might have a few guest post, I am going to keep it pretty simple here.

Today, I want to kick it off by helping your get ready for World Autism Awareness Day!
All over the world, buildings, homes, towns, and monuments will be Lighting it up BLUE! You too can join in the fun and support!

The first thing you will need is some solar landscape lights and a blue permanent marker.

I got my lights at Walmart for 97 cents....the marker came from the dollar store, they have lights too, but the lights were cheaper at Walmart, because at the Dollar Store, they were a dollar, hey...I saved money, Win!

Take off the top of the light, they twist off, and use the marker to color the clear plastic blue with the marker. Try to do it in smooth one stroke motions, avoiding going over what you have already colored.

Continue 'coloring' all the lights you have, they dry pretty fast.

While the top is off, make sure you pull the orange tab out, it activates the solar part of the light.

And just like that..you are ready to LIGHT IT UP BLUE for

AUTISM AWARENESS!

These are so simple, you can make them today, and be ready to show your support tomorrow for

World Autism Awareness Day.

I hope to see the whole world Blue tomorrow! I know I will be wearing blue...show your support, and wear blue too!

I also want to remind you that you still have a few days to purchase a ThirtyOne bag from the Autism Walk Fundraiser, that was featured on my blog last week..great bags....supporting a great cause!
You can make a purchase HERE!

Until next time...

Hugs!

This post might be linked up at the link parties found Here

Mar 26, 2014

Autism: One Step at a Time

I am so happy to turn over my blog to a special friend of mine. Melissa of My Recent Favorite Books, is a blogger, and avid reader, and a Autism Mom Warriors. She is so kind and giving, has helped me find books to read, and has commented on each and every blog posts I have ever written, now that is support!

Welcome Melissa...I am honored and excited to turn my blog over to you today.

********************************************************************

Thanks Kim for allowing me to be your Guest Post today!

My son's name is Nicholas, and he was diagnosed with Autism in 1993. He will soon be 23 years old and is considered “non-verbal”, but he communicates in his own way. I can remember the day the doctor told me that he was Autistic; he was about 2 ½ years old; and at the time, I knew very little about Autism. In the past 20 years I have learned a great deal about Speech Therapy, Behavior Issues, Medication and Case Management.

We value the support that we receive from my daughter, my son-in-law, the school that my son went to for 9 years, and several close friends that help us along our journey.

Nicholas has many abilities at home and in the community. He loves to grocery shop, especially if we are getting his favorite things! Just yesterday we went to the grocery store, and as I was heading towards the check-out, I turned around and he was gone! He had been right behind me! I immediately wondered which aisle we might’ve walked past that would’ve caught his eye. I very quickly went back down the main aisle, looking down each aisle as I went. In just a moment, there he was, walking towards me with a bottle of his favorite shampoo. He had a smile on his face that said “I need this, is it OK if we get it"? Even though the shampoo was not on our list, I understood what he was doing. Although we have several other full bottles at home, I have realized that Nicholas is helping in his own way.

Next month, we will be participating in the AutismCare Walk, in Wichita, KS. This will be our fifth year participating. It is an event that helps raise funds and awareness for local individuals and families affected by Autism. I look forward to the Autism Care Walk every year!

I am overwhelmed at the outpouring of love that the families and the community show at each year’s Autism Walk!

This year, I'm having an Autism Walk Fundraiser thru Thirty-One. I will be donating 20% of all sales from my fundraiser to this year's Autism Walk. If you would like to make a purchase towards this fundraiser, please go to my Thirty One Website, and then click "My Parties" , and then click "Shop Now'.

I want to thank Kim for having me Guest-Post today on her blog!

Autism Care Walk http://www.autismcarewalk.org

Thirty One Website https://www.mythirtyone.com/499053/

********************************************************************

Thank you so much Melissa....you are a true Autism Mom Warrior! I know I will be placing an order with you for something at your Thirty-One Fundraiser....because no one can ever have too many bags....and ThirtyOne bags are so cute!

This post might be linked up at the link parties found Here

Dec 22, 2013

Autism and Christmas

Christmas is in just a few days.

Christmas can be very stressful for children with Autism and their parents.

I know this first hand, as my 18 year old son has Autism, and I have experienced my fair share
of a stressful Christmas. While I am not expert....I have learned a few things that I wanted to pass along.

So...what do you do? How to you make it a fun and stress free Christmas.

Well...simply put...you do what you need to do for your child. It is NOT about traditions that other's hold dear...it is not even the traditions that YOU hold dear...it is about making traditions that YOUR child will cherish.

Do the lights on the Christmas tree freak your child out?

Fine..no lights on the tree?

Does the Santa at the mall scare you child?

Fine...don't force it on your child so that YOU can have a picture for your scrapbook.

Does your child not so well in crowded noisy stores?

Fine...don't take them shopping.

Honestly, it is not rocket science people. As a parent of a special needs child, you do what you have to do...period, end of discussion.

Guess what? Collin comes first...always...every time...without exception.

So...my husband went to a lot of holiday parties without me.

We went to parties as a family, and left early.

We had a dear friend of ours dress as Santa, and come to our home, for a visit and pictures.

Shopping online keeps me and my child out of the crowded stores. Free shopping, cheaper prices, and often times better selection.

Your child does not like a hot itchy Christmas Sweater....fine...let them wear their favorite shirt. Is a battle over clothes worth it? NOPE...move on...pick your battles.

My job as Collin's mom, was to make Christmas a fun and enjoyable experience for Collin.
Was it hard? Yes. Did I have to plan ahead? Yes. But that is ok...it is my job.

Gifts for special needs children can be hard. Collin always made VERY SPECIFIC lists. If it was on his list...he expected it. Period...end of discussion. If it was not on his list...he did not want it...fine, we are all like that...BUT...it can be rather embarrassing when he tells a friend "I did not ask for this, I don't want it" You know Autistic children often lack a filter. This is not a problem now, as Collin has learned to just smile and say "Thank you" But when he was younger...well...no filter was in place. How did I work around this? Well...I spoke up...when Grandmas asked what Collin wanted, I told her, specifically what he wanted, or offered to purchase the gift for them. See...easy solution . That way Collin gets the gifts he wants...Grandma's know that the gift is welcomed and I am not embarrassed.

So...are you a parent of a special needs child? What to you do to cope during the holidays?

I saw this posted on Facebook today....and shared it on my Facebook page...I thought it was really cute, so I made a little picture using PicMonkey...feel free to share it...print it out..and give it to people who look at you all crazy like when your child acts "odd" to them.

No Autism.....No Santa....Take that!

12 REASONS WHY SANTA HAS AUTISM:

1. He lines up & names his reindeer over and over again
2. He wears the same clothes every day
3. He has an extremely limited diet of only milk and cookies
4. He gets stuck in the same routine year after year
5. He avoids social interaction & does all of his work at night when everyone else is sleeping
6. He checks his list over and over and over.....
7. He likes hanging out with people smaller than he is
8. Everything is black or white (naughty or nice) no in-between!
9. He loves squeezing into teeny spaces (chimneys!)
10. He is clueless about the social stigma of creeping into other people's houses
11. He spends an entire year preparing for one night
12. He does things that amaze people & has them wondering how in the heck he did it!

Apr 30, 2013

Blogging for Autism Awareness Wrap-up

So....here we are then end of

And I am so sad to see it go.

This month flew by for me.

I hope you all enjoyed reading each post

as much as I did.

Apr 29, 2013

Cue Card Cookies by Suzy Social Worker

Hi!! I am Marci from Suzy Social Worker by day Betty Crocker by Night. I am so flattered and honored to have been asked to participate in The Cookie Puzzle’s Autism Awareness Month. I have read through some amazing posts. Some have even made me cry. I have known about Autism for a while, but from a different point of view. I am a social worker and formally was a therapist. I may not be able to quote statistics to you about Autism, but I can tell you that I have learned a lot just by being a part of these families lives for a short period of time.

I remember when I worked with my very first client- a young boy- with Autism. He had an Autism spectrum disorder called Asperger’s. He was not what I had expected. I was a young clinician- just starting my career in mental health as a community based therapist. I wish I could claim that I had a tremendous impact on this young man, but I cannot. I do know that I learned a great deal from him and continued to learn a great deal from other clients with Autism throughout the years. Some of the most challenging experiences I had as a therapist were with children with Autism, but they were also some of the most rewarding experiences ever. I continued to work in the mental health arena for over a decade. In that time, I learned a great deal about Autism. I also learned that I really don’t know that much at all about Autism. Every child is different, every family is different and as a therapist I always had to think creatively.

I remember with one family I worked with- I always say family because even though the child was my client- I truly worked with the whole family. I worked with Mom to come up with a behavior plan and also worked on flashcards to use with the client. I thought that I was being so creative and original. Little did I know that flashcards and “cue” cards can be an important component of Autism therapy. Since working with that family, I have learned much more about the treatment approaches. I am not a trained therapist in any behavioral approach for Autism. I worked with some clients throughout the years who have had Autism spectrum disorders. I am not an expert in Autism or the treatment of Autism. I have just been fortunate enough to experience how special they truly are in my behavioral health work.

I really tried to think creatively about doing an Autism Awareness Post. I had thought about doing a cookie puzzle piece cookie, but decided that I would be a rebel and do something different. So, instead I made cookie flashcards. Flashcards can be a component of therapy or treatment with a child with Autism, but I have learned that flashcards or “cue” cards can be an amazing tool with any kid. Cue cards can be incorporated into a chore chart. Cue cards can be placed on the mirror to remind a kid of the morning bathroom routine and cue cards can be used as visual reminder for many daily tasks and learning.

Here are a few cue cards I made.

Although, I no longer work in behavioral health I will never forget my memories from my clients and therapy. I know more about dinosaurs from one young boy I worked with than I ever thought that I would know. I also can say I held a hissing cockroach in my hand- just for one second- and a tarantula. That young boy loved insects and bugs and could recite amazing facts about them. And kudos to his Mom for allowing him to have a “pet” cockroach and tarantula.

Since I made cookie Cue cards I also made a few more cookies. They are simple- but sometimes simple is ok. I chose just a few key words to place on cookies that can impact a child or family’s experience with Autism. We can all help out in one of these areas. We may love a child with Autism. We may work on research for Autism. We may advocate for Autism. We may work on technology that impacts Autism. We may support a family with Autism. We may do therapy with a client with Autism. We can all do something.

Thanks again Kim for allowing me to participate in such an amazing project.

Apr 28, 2013

A Square Peg in a Round Hole by In the Heart of Happy

Hi, you can usually find me over at In the Heart of Happy and She Bakes but today, I am playing at The Cookie Puzzle

As you may know, April is Autism Awareness Month and I am both thrilled and honored to be writing this guest post for The Cookie Puzzle as she promotes knowledge of what Autism is and is not.

Autism touches my life in a special way and I thought long and hard about how I wanted to interpret the theme in cookies and in what I wanted to say about it.

By now, you have heard about what defines Autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorders. You have been presented with statistics and some wonderful personal stories of people that deal with life that is way more colorful than most.

I like a lot of color in my world.

I am the mother of a child that was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder at the age of 4. Her official diagnosis was PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified) and it came after many, many testing sessions with a multi-faceted team of pediatric medical specialists at our local Children's Hospital.

According to the Wikipedia description of PDD-NOS which (I am assuming that you will take the time to read this article) states that this particular population shows some characteristics of Autism, but not all and often milder.

It was an interesting journey to take with this amazing child, but it was also so difficult. I mean, I was a first time mother that had to circumnavigate the maze that is the pediatric community. Holla' if you feel me....

I can honestly say though...I never thought of that diagnosis as an impairment. Here was this incredibly intelligent, gorgeous child who was deeply immersed in her surroundings and had a difficult time communicating. She attended a special language immersion program at the hospital three days a week. She had an IEP even before she was in Kindergarten. By the time she was in first grade, she was the only child in our school system to have both a Special Education designation AND be qualified for the gifted program.

She modeled after excellence and life was so much better for her...because of early intervention, she was thriving and growing.

There are still communicative difficulties that she deals with to this day, but she's gonna be fine. As a family, we chose to not limit her by ever considering her to be disabled. She was always treated as if she was perfectly normal because in our eyes, she is.

I have also come to realize that she comes from a long, distinguished line of women who can be diagnosed with the same disorder....

Myself included.

Her Grandmother, definitely.

And most likely my Grandmother, her Great Grandmother.

I took the test of AQ (Autism Quotient) and I scored well within the range of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

When I was growing up, there was only a problem if it was severe as far as pediatricians were concerned.

A Square Peg trying to fit into a Circle.

I will bet you know several people that could fit the same description as a "Square Peg". You couldn't put your finger on it, but they were always a little different...

Yep, that's her...that's me...and that's definitely my mother. (I do love you, Mom)

So, let's say YEAH for those that don't fit in, the paradoxes, the brilliant minds... the ones that are a little different than all the rest. Admit it, we make life more interesting and create really awesome stuff.

This is Home Girl and I'm not a cookie blog....I swear.

Apr 27, 2013

Autism Awareness Cookies by Cristin's Cookies {Guest Post}

Thank you Kimmie for inviting me to participate in your Autism Awareness project. This is a huge undertaking and I'm so honored to be a part of it. You've always been an inspiration to me in how you raise your son and you adapt so easily to accommodate his needs and all your efforts in helping him to become the young man he is today. Thank you for helping us all to learn about Autism.

My name is Cristin of Cristin's Cookies and I have OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I ~~like~~ NEED my projects completed, even if it's 4am and I'm beyond exhausted. I like things to be put away in the same spot. When hubby can't figure out to put the butter in the butter drawer of the refrigerator, it wreaks havoc with my brain. If there is an empty hanger in my closet, then I know my sister has stolen something of mine. In almost every case, I'd rather get something checked off my to do list than do something fun because that IS my kind of fun. I never lose anything because everything in my little world has a place. Are you getting the picture? Think of Sheldon of The Big Bang Theory. I relate to him. Pathetic, but true.

Why do I share this most uncomfortable, most embarrassing side of me? Because I imagine that it may resemble parts of Autism. The truth of the matter is that before I got to know Kimmie, I knew NOTHING about Autism. Last year when I donated my princess cookies for Cookies for iPads, I still knew nothing about Autism. But in getting to know Kimmie this past year, I've learned a little about Autism and how it has effected her son, Collin.

I labored over what kind of cookies to make for this project. I knew it should include a puzzle since that is the symbol for Autism, but Kimmie's puzzle cookies are always so perfect that it felt a little daunting. I'm generally pretty good about doing my own thing and not comparing, so I decided to get out of my own way and make puzzle cookies for Autism Awareness.

The biggest thing I've learned is that Autism is not the same for everyone that has it. My friend, Kristina, posted a picture on Facebook the other day and it pretty much summed it up for me.

From reading the posts of Kimmie's guest bloggers, I learned that it is much more common for boys to have Autism than girls. Don't I feel silly for sending princess cookies for the fundraiser last year! So I made boy mouse with a puzzle piece cookies

and girl mouse with a puzzle piece cookies

and I saw this image on Google and just had to make it into a cookie for Autism Awareness

and then I made a group of puzzle pieces similar to Kimmie's logo.

and then I bagged the cookies with a fun rainbow puzzle piece cookie tag. I also shared the cookie tags for your use too. You can download the puzzle cookie tags and personalize them for your own use. Download HERE.

You know what is really weird? Last night when I was finishing up these cookies, I was listening to a movie in the background. It was "Adam". In the movie the boy said he has Asperger's Syndrome. My head popped up in surprise. Weird timing right?

In the movie the girl said in passing to the boy that she couldn't see the stars out her window because the apartment windows were so dirty. The next night, she found him outside a high-rise apartment washing the windows! When she asked what he was doing, he simply said that she had said the windows were dirty. Literal to a fault.

After I finished all my cookies, my reward was that my little granddaughter Abigail came over to play today!

Grab My Buttons

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.thecookiepuzzle.com/" title="The Cookie Puzzle" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.melanieannecreative.com/images/thecookiepuzzle/button-featured.png" alt="The Cookie Puzzle" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Pages