A quick way to make a difference for multi-cultural children with #Autism

The one thing many people are very surprised to find out about me is that I was a Special Education Teacher. I taught a class with students that had a very wide variety of Special Needs. Childhood Education issues and the needs of Special Ed students is something I still keep track on the pulse of despite the fact that I no longer teach.

It was an amazing learning experience for me. I learned to sign because I had students that were deaf, I taught a class that was multi-cultural and my lesson plans were conducted in both English as well as Spanish. I could reach most of my students, but sadly not all. I had one Autistic student. A student who was a challenge to reach. And the fact the student's parents both told me their child really loved my class, made me want to try harder to reach him.

I didn't have the tech resources available to me then as I do now.

I recently participated in a contest, a very important one, AT&T put out a call for entries for an 'Autism Speaks App Idea Contest' and on a whim I entered. Well I forgot all about that whim until I got an email telling me my entry made the final round, and is up for voting. It brought tears to my eyes, while I was happy I am in the running for winning, I thought about that one student I could never fully reach.

The winning App will be featured at an upcoming AT&T Hackathon, the voting ends SOON on February 17th, so if you could take one second to vote for my App idea I would greatly appreciate it. Resources to reach Autistic children are crucial, and there isn't a ton out there for bi-lingual children either, this App would be a great resource and a great learning tool for children with Autism, their families and their teachers!

VOTING INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Press here, you will go to another window

2) You will land on the Autism Speaks Facebook Page, like them if you are not doing so already

3) Press blue tab that reads 'view entries'

4) copy and paste this into search box: Bi-lingual Autism Feelings App then when the entry loads on the page

5) on the right press the blue button that reads VOTE!

THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, no monetary compensation has been received in exchange for sharing about this contest. I do not get any extra credit for sharing about it either, but if I win, I will win a non-cash prize.

TOO GOOD™ by Jenny McCarthy - I MET Jenny!

In between getting our Holiday Buying Guide finalized, moderating entries, and writing, I snuck away last week to attend a press conference in conjunction with the launch of TOO GOOD™ by Jenny! I was invited by the lovely ladies at myworkbutterfly.com, I love their tagline 'For Moms Who Want to Spread Their Wings'. Me being a lover of all things butterfly and a huge advocate for everyone spreading their wings, I couldn't resist! While I prep the next surprise in our holiday buying guide, I thought I'd share my experience about the event with you! You can also read the blog post from myworkbutterfly.com called 'Jenny McCarthy is TOO GOOD™ this Holiday!'

Jenny McCarthy in conjunction with her partners at PEM America as well as the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association have launched a line of NON-TOXIC products for baby called TOO GOOD™ by Jenny McCarthy. Jenny has evolved and transformed quite a bit throughout the years (much like a butterfly!) and became known as a 'warrior mom' after her books 'Louder Than Words' and 'Mother Warriors' were released and she appeared on Oprah speaking about the challenges she faced after her son Evan was diagnosed with Autism. You can read an excerpt from Mother Warriors on Oprah's Website HERE.

Her son's diagnosis fueled her to do extensive research on therapies, support groups and the existing products on the market. She now runs the  Autism Organization - Generation Rescue and devotes a large part of her time to the organization where she does NOT draw a salary and instead makes sure the funds she raises go to help support families with autistic children and the medical care expenses they face. Care that averages more per year than the average family earns in a year! It is estimated that the average family earns $50,000 per year, and treatment costs approximately $80,000 per year!

There is extensive research on the links between autistic children and seizures. A concern that Jenny shares with the many parents of infants with autism. A concern she decided to help address with her new line of baby goods that uses materials that are non-toxic, 100% recyclable, and PVC free. The line includes a wide selection of bedding, bath textiles, cotton sheets, blankets, rugs, hampers, room decor, and newborn gift sets, with prices ranging from $16.99 for fitted sheets to $179 for a nine piece bedding set. When she went shopping for Evan's Nursery she specifically had trouble finding materials that were non toxic, breathable and also stylish. Her drive to find items that were affordable, stylish and still kept the specialized needs of her son in mind is what drove her to partner with PEM America on this line where a portion of the proceeds will go to Generation Rescue.

I don't have the time or space to feature the entire collection in this post, but I am hoping to be able to work with her team to bring you guys something special soon, in the interim, I did want to be sure to feature the collection that does have butterflies! I know I'm a bit biased, but hey, this is a butterfly loving blog! The Love Bug Collection pictured below has butterflies!

Love Bug Collection

I MET Jenny! After the Press conference, there was a meet and greet with Jenny and she was very open, warm and welcoming and made it a point to greet everyone as if we were long time friends being welcomed to her home. She liked the way I was 'rocking that ponytail' and here I am laughing just as the picture was taken!

 
Where To Buy - TOO GOOD™ by Jenny is available at:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Bed, Bath & Beyond
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Buy Buy Baby
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Baby Depot
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Baby Supermall
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Target

And you know I love keeping it social! You can connect with @TOOGOODbyJenny on Twitter too! You can also connect with @JennyMcCarthy directly on Twitter as well! Connect with @butterflymoms while you're at it!

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙