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Our Son-Rise Journey

Where real love begins

15/11/20 at 10.52am   /   by sdcarlson   /   0 Comment

Real Love image

All connections begin with the curiosity to understand another’s world.  Our volunteers come here on a weekly basis and step into Lucas’s world with genuine curiosity, a deep love of his interests and the playful heart of a child.  They do these things to connect with my son and inspire him to grow.  It is because of them and their dedication, to not only grow within themselves but also to give so much of themselves when they are in the room with my sweet boy, that he is so happy and making so much progress. They consistently bring their energy, excitement, creativity, and enthusiasm even on days where they may have huge life issues going on, may not be feeling well, or they may just feel less than energetic. Our volunteers regularly pull themselves into the present with Lucas and leave all of that stuff at the door to reach a common goal.  The goal is to show Lucas people are loving, fun to be with and that we truly expect nothing in return….just to be in and enjoy his world.  That is when the magic happens and he is inspired to grow with us!!

This program takes volunteering to another level and we are truly blessed to have these people in our lives.  They have become some of our best friends and to us they are  and will always be family.  To have so many people who just love our son as he is and dedicate so much of their time and effort to his future and well-being is awe-inspiring.  They are truly amazing!  They are my heroes and the people who inspire me to be more giving!

In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to have a post that just celebrated them.  They are all so very special to us.  The video post this week is little clips of all of our volunteers, so it is a little longer, but they are some very sweet moments.  Some videos are more recent and some are from earlier on. The love and dedication they show in the playroom is so apparent in these clips.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AN41EfqmXk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_OTNZz5lxM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H4kdfXsCpk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_srE4p-Kd4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRDbXQcml34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM8xNCjWoo8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tc0cGD4KXM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR_gNLh6qrc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq-mrBpePl8

 

Autism isn’t a math disorder

15/11/15 at 10.53am   /   by sdcarlson   /   0 Comment

Autism social relational disorder

“Autism isn’t a math disorder.  It isn’t a color-naming disorder.  And it isn’t a reading disorder.  It’s a social, relational, interpersonal, interactional disorder.  When you are lying in bed awake at night, thinking and praying about your child’s future, do you pray that one day your child will be at grade level in math?  Or do you wish and pray that one day your child will have a best friend, say “I love you” and really mean it,  or that your child will grow up to live a happy, independent, and fulfilling life?.  Academics are valuable.  But they are only valuable to someone who can function in the world, and only social enjoyment, connection, and participation can make that happen.  In fact, social-relational skills are essential even to succeed at the overall experience of school. ” – Excerpted from Raun Kaufman’s Book, Autism Breakthrough

One year ago, we pulled Lucas out of school to run this program full-time.  At the time, I remember going on faith and my gut rather than thinking about what most people thought I “should” do for my son.  It was definitely a moment I made the decision that judgments weren’t going to be a deciding factor in my son’s future.  It has been the best single decision I have ever made for him on this beautiful journey he has taken me on!  Deciding to take all other factors out and focus on the relational side of autism has allowed so much joy and insight to seep into our lives.  Allowing ourselves to love Lucas as he is, with no expectation, but with everlasting hope and belief in his possibilities has allowed him to grow leaps and bound socially.

Our volunteers show so much love in their interactions and play with Lucas that he, in turn, is loving life and the people in it!  I now not only imagine a world with no judgement, unyielding acceptance and love but feel like we live it in our daily lives.  When you look for these amazing things, you began to see it in all aspects of your life and live it fully.   It’s so much more fulfilling than looking for negative things.  Why not choose happiness?!  It’s all perspective and choice!

One of my daily reminders of looking for these amazing things in my life around me is watching my volunteers in the room with Lucas.  These people have become our family and are an amazing example of what a world full of love and acceptance looks like.  This is one of many reasons I feel Lucas’s autism has blessed us on so many levels.  He has been our biggest teacher! Enjoy this beautiful moment with Lucas and one of my volunteers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHw8aigmjPw

 

WILLIAM HOGAN – 1965-2015 AN INSPIRED LIFE

15/11/04 at 7.35pm   /   by sdcarlson   /   0 Comment

 

10bd89836cd860989dab51a12c56a9f4

It is with a heavy heart, that I write this entry.  William, one of our Son-Rise mentors, lost his battle with cancer last night.  All of the individuals that we have been blessed to cross paths with at Son-Rise feel like family, so this comes from us with much sadness.  After all, with so much love in their hearts, they give so many families the gift of hope, non-judgment, acceptance  and of course most importantly, the tools to really see our worlds with our children so full of joy.

Although I did not spend as much time with William as I have others in the program, I was privileged with the opportunity to spend an hour with him and Kim during our intensive in December.  An hour may not seem like much, but it was one of those moments in my life that completely changed the course of how I viewed myself and others around me….how I viewed life.  It was one of the most pivotal points for me in truly living out this program and my life with my very special child.

The guidance in this one hour allowed me to truly love myself and not fear judgement.  This realization allowed me to open myself up, trust my ability to run my program and gave me the confidence to hold nothing back.  His gentle way, kindness,  and love given to me during a very vulnerable moment and realization gave me what I needed to grow.  I will be forever grateful to him for that.

The last comment I read about William was when he was told the treatments didn’t work and that he only had so much time left.  He replied with,  “I don’t feel like I’m dying, I feel like I’m living.”  He had an amazing outlook on life and I will carry that with me. So although I know William is no longer physically here,  I also know that he will continue to  live in our hearts, our  programs and the amazing transformations of not only our special children but the families touched by him and Son-Rise as well.

williamRest in peace William.  <3

 

https://www.facebook.com/barryneilkaufman/videos/751160091684091/

 

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