This post originally appeared in the monthly Orange Effect Foundation e-newsletter. It’s February. Here in Cleveland that can often mean a lot of time at home because the weather can be so cold and the skies so gray. For me that means the new year's resolutions start wearing off. Exercise becomes less frequent and dessert becomes more frequent. I tried to do some reading on …
Why I Wanted Vaccines to Cause Autism*
*Controversial Blog Post Title On Purpose Last year, yet another study of over 650,000 kids showed no link between vaccines and autism. This article from Business Insider is thorough in the review of the study and the reason it is so important--mainly because we need to vaccinate kids. Parents who fear that vaccines cause any form of birth defects are not getting their children …
We Spend a Lot of Time Waiting. One Mom’s Thoughts.
I’m starting this post during the holiday season (you’re reading it after). I tried this year to shop small and shop local, so I’ve been standing in a lot of lines. It got me thinking about time and how much waiting one person might do in their lifetime. It could be waiting for a friend to show for lunch. Waiting for a call from a loved one. Waiting for a store to open to get a limited edition …
Highlighting Orange Effect Kids
As 2019 has come to a close we want to share with you just a few of the amazing kids that we have been able to help because of you. Liam Age 5 His family’s insurance covers less than two speech therapy visits a month, but 2x/weekly sessions were recommended by his therapist. OEF helped close that gap. His family is over the moon with his progress with the additional …
Surrounding Yourself with the Right Stuff (and the Right People) in 2020
The Orange Effect Foundation had an amazing 2019. We added additional board members who brought the group full circle on being able to help with application review, feedback, and fundraising. We had two amazing fundraising events! Our annual golf outing and a fun night at Platform Brew Co. We set some big goals for fundraising and although we didn’t hit them yet, we are well on our …
A Time To Be Thankful
November is one of my favorite months (besides June because that’s my birthday!). November is a month I have chosen the last several years to use for reflection and gratitude. It is the month of Thanksgiving after all! Over the years I have done many things during November. One of which is to write (yes, hand write and mail) a card every day to someone I am thankful for. Other years I do a …
My Love / Hate Relationship with IEPs
I usually don’t start a post with a disclaimer but please accept this one time. This post is based on my personal experience as a mom and is also based on the way things were run in the city of Cleveland, Ohio 15 years ago… so read it with all that in mind! I was going through a purging phase recently. Decided it was time to go through the boxes that hadn’t been touched since moving six years …
Orange Effect Launches FUND60 Campaign
There are so many Joshuas. Since sharing with people our story, the journey of Joshua who at age three did not talk with words, but only with grunts and gestures, who is now a senior in high school at a regular education school, I have heard many stories from other families with similar experiences. It tears me apart when they share their struggles and warms my heart when they share their …
You Always Stop to Smell the Roses – A Lesson Learned from My Autistic Son
We were at Cedar Point recently. If you’re not familiar, it’s a roller coaster park in Sandusky, Ohio, about an hour from our home in Cleveland. My husband grew up in the town so it’s a part of his life. We have had season passes every year I can remember. When the boys were small we lived at Camp Snoopy inside Cedar Point. As they grew, we were able to try the many bigger rides they had to …
Just One of the Many Benefits of Technology for Speech Therapy
I don’t think it is true for everyone, but for me I am always a little extra proud when things originate in my home town. I’m just a huge Cleveland fan. So when I heard that Cleveland Hearing and Speech, whom Orange Effect Foundation has partnered with for several years to provide summer camp for kids with speech disorders, was the only area provider of Opti- Speech, I was pretty darn …
Checking Life’s Milestones Off The List
Do you do that? Do you keep a mental tally of the things you hope your child will successfully do and give yourself a pat on the back when they accomplish something? I sure did. Maybe it’s because they (doctors, society) harbor on it so much during a child’s first year. Did hold their head up, roll over, sit up, crawl, stand etc.--all within their first twelve months of life. Yikes that’s a …
Does Your Autistic Child Do That?
I love seeing the differences in my two sons. I am so blessed that they are best friends (knock on wood that sticks forever) and I know I am lucky that they do get along so well. In part, I think that is due to Joshua’s autism. He doesn’t see the value in arguing over very much except maybe iphone versus everything else. I started to wonder if his laid-back temperament was really due to his …
