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Fireworks for autism

10/19/2012

Who says miracles never happen? Here's the story of one family who was devestated when their daughter was diagnosed with autism right before her 2nd birthday. The doctor's advice to the parent- don't expect too much from her.

Jodi DiPiazza struggled as a young child with speech and behavior issues. Through intensive therapy she defied the doctor's expectations and not only made huge gains in her development, but also developed a profound love for music. Her talent led her to perform a duet with one of her favorite singers, Katy Perry.

Jodi is not unlike many others who are living with a disability. These individuals who were once predicted to be unsuccessful in life are showing society that their difference are something to be treasured. Life may be challenging for these children, but their strength and determination to succeed prove how strong they really are.

Watch the video here Jodi DiPiazza and Katy Perry as they perform a duet on Comedy Central's Night of Too Many Stars autism benefit:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/jodi-dipiazza-katy-perry-duet-firework_n_1970861.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl12%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D222763

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Parents of Special Children are aiming high

10/14/2012

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Parents of Special Children, a not-for-profit organization in Oswego County that services families raising children with special needs, is hosting it's first annual "Aim High" event for the community. The free event will feature networking opportunities, presentations, information on services available to families, refreshments, and inspiring stories from people who are currently involved with the agency.

I'll give you a hint of who one of the speakers for that evening will be....ME !

In this past week's Oswego Shopper many of you may have read the article for this event that was on page 20. For those of you who missed it, here is your personal invitation:

AIM High With PSC
When: Wednesday 6 October 24th @ 7pm
Where: Bishop's Commons, 4 Bukle St. Oswego, NY
RSVP: 598-7672 or [email protected]

I hope to see many of you there!

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Moving mountains

10/6/2012

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As the rain clouds waned and the sun emerged from the sky, the ambiance of a crisp autum day motivated me to move mountains.

Having spent some time phone conferencing with my editor this past week,I have a notebook full of notes ready to be implemented into my manuscript. Using my editor's encouragement as fuel, I set to work on high speed.

My first goal was to remove all floating body parts from the story. No need to call ghostbusters here...in writing floating body parts are phrases that literally cannot happen. Have you ever truly laughed your head off? It is a literary no-no to put these into books. If you haven't heard of this before, you are not alone. It was one of the publishing rules that I learned from my editor.

Once all of my body parts were safely where they belonged, I combed through my words to make sure that my tenses were consitent. It is so easy to jump from past to present tense when writing.
From there I cleaned up any extra words that weren't needed. I never realized before how REMOVING words can actually make your story stronger. Too many words can actually slow a reader down. Have you ever skimmed through a pargraph in order to jump to the important parts of a book? We've all done it from time to time. That's a prime example of how you were slowed down in your reading.

The hardest part of my revisions was to decide on which opening to use. My editor has read two different versions of my first chapter, giving me feedback on both. In the end it was clear that we both loved the original version best. It dropped the reader into a scene, and evoked questions into the heads. Know what happens when a reader has questions? They keep reading to find out what happens!

Now I'm assuming that if you have gotten to this paragraph you were engrossed enough to read on to find out what will come next in my quest for publication. Well you're in luck because I'm going to tell you! My manuscript will be sent back to the editor for a second round of editing, where we will polish up any loose ends before I stamp it as complete and tackle the next few chapters.

"You have a writer's heart," my editor said to me the other day. Those words keep me motivated when I have a moment of doubt, and help me to soar when I'm confident that my book will serve a purpose in this world.

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Molliemae's Heart- A Down Syndrome Story

10/2/2012

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October is national Down syndrome awareness month.
What can you do to help raise awareness? As it turns out, alot!

I stopped by the National Down Syndrom Society website (http://www.ndss.org/About-NDSS/Newsroom/Recent-News/Down-Syndrome-Awareness-Month/) and found several ways to help educate and celebrate the lives of these angels.

The most known event is the annual Buddy Walk. Dates and locations of these vary but you can search the website above to find a venue near you. Did you know that every year Times Square shows a Down syndrome video on their jumbo screen in the streets of NY? You know the saying...if you can make it there you can make it anywhere! Way to go Down's Diva's & gentlemen.

I have decided to help raise awareness by sharing a story written by Terri Adrian on her niece Molliemae. This piece was featured in the book Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives with a Special Needs Child. It is a reminded of just how special these children are.

Molliemae's Heart

My niece, Molliemae, is a three year old Down's child. She is bit small
for her age because she was born with a defective heart and they had to wait
until she was six months old to operate and fix it. She didn't do much growing
in those first six months of her life because her heart was so weak.

I don't get to spend much time with her. When I do see her I normally
have to chase her down, scoop her up in my arms and steal a kiss, and if I am
lucky, she might give me a hug, too. She is just far too busy a girl for all
that mushy stuff!

This past July one of my sisters lost her oldest son in an accident.
Molliemae was at the funeral with us all and after the service I saw her in the
arms of another family member, so I went over to her and gave her a big kiss on
the cheek. She smiled that big, beautiful smile of hers and then promptly
reached her little arm out to me, grabbed me around the neck and pulled me to
her in a big, tight hug.

Needless to say, I was very surprised and touched beyond words. She has never
spontaneously hugged me (and never has since). It's like she instinctively knew
that particular day how sad I was and how badly I needed that little bit of love
from her. I had hugged a whole lot of people during the two days we had all
spent in that funeral home but none of those hugs comforted me or moved me as
much as the one I got from our little Molliemae on that sad day. I will never
forget that special moment with that special little girl and how much it meant
to me to receive such a random act of kindness and love from a little girl who
obviously has such a big, strong heart.

I think that heart doctor of hers fixed her up just fine. Maybe he even
put a little something extra in there for her to share with us all. Something
beautiful and pure, warm and fuzzy. Something to fill our own hearts with so we
don't have to be so sad even in the worst of times.

~Terri Adrian

Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives with a Special Needs Child can be purchased through the following sites:

Amazon.Com:
http://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-The-Wind-Blows-Sideways/dp/1466419180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349209079&sr=8-1&keywords=amy+quonce

Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-Wind-Blows-Sideways-ebook/dp/B00757ISSM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349209079&sr=8-2&keywords=amy+quonce

Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sometimes-the-wind-blows-sideways-amy-quonce/1036936317?ean=9781466419186

Do you have a story that you would like to share? Email me at [email protected] or click on the "How to submit your story" link above.

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Fireworks for autism

Parents of Special Children are aiming high

Moving mountains

Molliemae's Heart- A Down Syndrome Story

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