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Heartstrings will be a feature each month for readers to share personal stories. If you would like to submit a story for the newsletter, please send it to me at
AutismHearts@stny.rr.com Please know that this newsletter is on the internet, so anything you say can be viewed by anyone. If you wish to submit a photo, attach it to the story. Also, I must be able to reserve the right to edit for space and content if necessary.Sandy

Reader's Reviews

Have you read a good book on Autism lately?
If you have and would like to share a title and make a comment about it, please email it to me at
AutismHearts@stny.rr.com
I will then place it here for all to share! Sandy

Sometimes My Brother by Angie Healy Written by a mother of an autistic boy, this book helps kids understand Autism through a sibling's eyes.
I thought this book was fabulous, told through the eyes of the younger brother. Warm, heartfelt, wonderful book. I would recommend it especially for parents and teachers.

Recommended by Sandy

Hello Readers!
I am very happy to report that Autism Hearts, during July, distributed over $3000 to community members through the grant program! While we are pleased with that, there is still funding left over, so another disbursement will occur in the fall. Keep watching here for dates and details regarding applications again.
Remember, if you have more than one family member with Autism, you may apply on behalf of each one. Also, if you received a grant in July, you may still apply in the fall. Applications are randomly selected after assuring criteria was met.
If your application does not meet criteria, you will not be awarded a grant.
Sandy

Educational Endeavors

As most of you know, in March we sponsored our first ever educational program. It was on safety and autism for First Responders. In the fall, we would like to again have an educational program. We would like to give basic information about Autism to the general public. As always, suggestions and ideas are welcomed.

Joshua's Story

Josh is a wonderful boy with autism. He is the sweetest and most gentle person you will ever me. People around Joshua can live in total harmony it they take the time to learn about him and his disorder.
One thing that is very important is that Joshua's autism only allows him to hear roughly every other word of a sentence that someone is saying to him. His favorite tool for watching TV is TIVO. With this, he is able to back up and go over and over what a person or character is saying so that he can understand what they are saying in his favorite clips of movies. A couple of his favorite movies are Big and The Odd Couple. He also loves the classic Looney Toons.

Another thing to know about Joshua is his mood. Josh is just a happy go lucky person in every way, but is also very sensitive. He will mirror the mood of the people around him. He is such a wonderful person to be around and people will fall in love with the little guy.

One of the most important things in Joshua's life is swimming. The day we open the pool is the most special day of the year to Josh, better than Christmas! It somehow soothes his body and soul. I pray that Joshua will always have some access to swimming.
Michael

Teaching Important Life Skills
Start as Early as Possible
A great start is to break up your child's daily routines in a typical day. For example, create checklists for different parts of the day and help your child get used to the daily routine by checking off items.