218 people read yesterday's blog post that contained an excerpt from the Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways book that talked about Autism. Today I am offering another snip it from the same title that gives offers a different look at what life is like for autistic children when they grow up.

........I am comforted by a story that a woman once told me about her autistic grandson.
     He had lived at home after aging out of school, and when he turned 30 his parents felt that he was finally ready to live on his own.  When they approached him with the opportunity, he was adamantly against it. Now amount of reassurance about his capabilities would change his mind. Then one day the grandmother called her grandson and asked him why he idd not want to become independent and move out of his parents house. HIs response was simple. He did not want to be forgotten. If he was to leave his parents home, they woudl surely forget about him and that was more than he could bare.
                                           The grandmother gently assured her grandson that he would never be forgotten, for their love for him was too strong. They would still go shopping together, come together for family functions, and see one anotehr as often as they wished. She reminded him of all their other relatives who did not live iwth them, yet remained a vital party of their family.
                                         The grandson took this new knowledge and let it resonate overnight. When he woke the next morning, he anounced to his parents that he was ready for his own place. Transitioning first to a group home, then to a place of his own, this boy is now thriving as an adult. The challenges were vast over the years, yet he overcame each obstacle just as any ordinary person would. He may have taken the long road, but his destination was the same regardless.

To read more of this story and others, pick up a copy today from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Createspace.com, Kindle, or locally at the River's End Bookstore.


Estore:
https://www.createspace.com/3703816

Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-Wind-Blows-Sideways-Quonce/dp/1466419180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321650454&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble.com:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sometimes-the-wind-blows-sideways-amy-quonce/1036936317?ean=9781466419186&itm=1&usri=amy+quonce

Autism.  A six letter, often silent, misunderstood word. What is it like living in their world?  We may never know, but we can express what it is like having them live in our world. And for those family affected by the disorder they find themselves waxing and waning in their emotions.  At any given time they can be:

*blessed/ stressed
*happy/sad
*understanding/confused
*holding their loved one tight/ desperate for a little time away to regroup themselves

Today I will be sharing an excerpt from Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives with a Special Needs Child that focusing on Autism, and the love that they share for their child.

                
Having a child born with special needs has been at time trying. However, also a great and rewarding experience for my family and I.  We've had opportunity to create life, nurture that life through good times a nd bad, while having an opportunity to meet some of the most wonderful people on Earth- caregivers, teachers and advocates.  We as parents have brown having children wtih special needs, which allowed us to develop lifelong friendships. Even though it took alot of effort caring for our son Collin, our lives were limited more so than if we had a typical child. It was an experience that my family and I willl never regret having.  It has been the eride of our lives, but after all is said and done, it was a great ride.        

My son Collin was our first of three children born.  ZInitially, he seemed to have been born a happy and healthy baby boy. Generally he would eat every few hours, woke maybe just a few times each evening, slept alot, but cried very little.  In fact, Collins' crying decreased less and less as time went on. Even so, after the first few months of his lfie, we as first time parents felt his crying less and less was cause for concern.  When we brought this to the attention of collin's pediatrician, we were told "That we wre just lucky parents, we had a content baby." However, deep down his father and I still felt that it was a cause for concern. Another behavioral development we thought was concering was the Collin would often fixate on objects that were round, or that went around like ceiling fans. Ceiling fans seem to consume most of his attention. He even loved the tires on cars and walk in circles.

At six months of age, I had received a frightening call from his grandmother.......


To read more of this story and others, pick up a copy today from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Createspace.com, Kindle, or locally at the River's End Bookstore.


Estore:
https://www.createspace.com/3703816

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-Wind-Blows-Sideways-Quonce/dp/1466419180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321650454&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble.com:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sometimes-the-wind-blows-sideways-amy-quonce/1036936317?ean=9781466419186&itm=1&usri=amy+quonce




 

It's Disability Awareness Month... what category does your loved one fit into? Not all disabilities can be defined by a single label.  Many overlap while others simply do not fit into a label at all.  We are all unique, with our own story. Let's unite and show the world just how amazing we really are!

This past Tuesday I was blown away by my readers. As a special Valentine's Day treat, I had offered a free Kindle download of my book Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives with a Special Needs Child to everyone who had visited my blog that day. I did not advertise in advance what I was planning so whoever happened to read that day's post found the surprise.  97 people downloaded the book to their Kindle in less than 20 hours.

Never had I envisioned such an overwhelming response.  I know that many more people had visited my site on that day and did not have a device to download the book to, but they still read my blog post for the day. Others mentioned to me that they had shared my information to their support group and passed the word along to their friends. I am very excited that so many have found this book to be helpful.  Here is some of the feedback that I have received:

*All you wrote in the book names so many things. Thanks to you I see life in so many ways, thank You.

*I am finding such strength in your book. I just wanted to say thank you for  contacting me to see if I was
interested I'm submitting , but at point things  were so New . I was still processing and wasn't sure how to share. Just wanted  to say Thank you for Sharing all these Wonderful Parents & Special Children's Stories with The
World.

*Just want to say I have found this to  be inspirational. I can't put it down.

*What encouragement "Sometimes the Wind Blows Sideways" is to mothers of a special needs child. A compilation written my moms who live victoriously when the wind blows against them is just what every mom needs.

Your responses have been wonderful and I hope that for the next title I can get more writers to submit. If anyone wishes to purchase a paperback edition, it can be found at Amazon.Com via the following link.
http://www.amazon.com/Sometimes-Wind-Blows-Sideways-Quonce/dp/1466419180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329480372&sr=8-1

Or you can visit the River's End Bookstore to pick up a copy.  Tonight I will be there for a reading of a piece of prose that I wrote and if you stop by at 7:00 to listen to all of the readers I will be more than happy to autograph a copy for you.  Refreshments are free and the readings have always proven to be wonderful.  Hope to see you there!