Kaylee Rodgers

Autism Light #453 is Kaylee Rodgers.

Kaylee Rodgers is a 10 year old girl with autism ADHD from Donaghadee in Northern Ireland. Kaylee Rodgers is an Autism Light because of her angelic singing of the Leonard Cohen classic, Hallelujah, in her school's choir concert in December 2016.

Kaylee Rodgers is a student at the Killard House School, a school with 200 students who have special speech needs, including those on the autism spectrum. Kaylee's mother Tracy Rodgers said, "She always loved singing, but it wasn't until she started at Killard House School that she really came into her own. [Mr. Scates is] like her safety blanket -- he's amazing (Deseret News, Herb Scribner, December 22, 2016)."

Below is the video that Nichola Martin shared on Facebook on December 18, 2016, of Kaylee Rodgers singing Hallelujah at the Killard House School program. It was posted because Kaylee was sick and could not sing in a subsequent performance scheduled with her church's Christmas choir.

The video of Kaylee Rodgers' singing has received almost 3 million views in a week. Kaylee reflected on her joy in singing the song Hallelujah and said, "It was really amazing how many views I got...I just loved doing it (ABC7 Chicago, December 22, 2016)."

If you wish to assist Kaylee with developing her talent, a GoFundMe page has been started for her. We look forward to hearing amazing things about Kaylee in the years to come.

Special thanks to Kaylee Rodgers for being a Autism Light and sharing with world her musical gift. She is an inspiration to others with autism and a blessing to all those who have heard her sing.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Susan Dunne

Autism Light #322 is Susan Dunne.

Susan Dunne was an autism mother and autism advocate who lived in Lixnaw in North Kerry, Ireland. Susan Dunne was the mother of 3 and her adult son Patrick has autism. Susan was known in the autism community for being the chairwoman of the Kerry Branch of Irish Autism Action (Autism Ireland). Susan Dunne was found tragically murdered in her home on Wednesday, November 27, 2013, and her autistic son Patrick has been charged with his mother's murder (The Irish Times, Nov. 29, 2013). Susan Dunne is an Autism Light for her devotion as an autism mother and for her tireless work for Autism in her community in Ireland. Susan Dunne will be placed on the Autism Light Memorial Roll today.

Mother: Susan Dunne was involved in autism advocacy in her community but she was first and foremost the carer for her autistic son Patrick.

• A neighbor said about Susan that, "She was a very private person. I knew her well and the only thing I want to say about her is that she really cherished her son (Irish Examiner, Tributes to Selfless Lady and Relentless Autism Activist Found Dead in Her Home, 11/29/2013)."
• "Lixnaw parish priest Fr Mossie Brick said Ms. Dunne was Patrick's soulmate, minder, and carer (Irish Examiner, Man, 19, Quizzed Over Death of Woman, 11/28/2013)."

Autism Ireland: Susan Dunne became the chairperson of the Kerry Chapter of Irish Autism Action in 2009. She provided leadership and passion for the work of the Kerry Autism group. "As well as organizing and chairing Kerry Autism Action's monthly support group meetings and regular coffee mornings, Susan organised autism conferences, information stands and workshops, fundraisers and fun events for all families in Kerry that have a child with autism, even setting up Kerry's first sensory friendly cinema club (Independent, Man Charged Over Susan Dunne's Murder, 11/28/2013)."

Domnick Walsh a spokesperson for Kerry Autism Action paid this tribute to Susan Dunne:

Susan was a kind, caring, selfless lady and an inspiration to all and made a lasting impression on everyone she came in contact with. In addition to her tremendous voluntary work with Kerry Autism Action, Susan also volunteered with other charities for special needs. She was an invaluable source of guidance, support and encouragement to many special needs families. Susan was always willing to help or lend a listening ear when needed. She dedicated her life to helping others and in doing so touched the lives of so many people (Independent, Man Charged Over Susan Dunne's Murder, 11/28/2013.

Susan Dunne had planned to visit a parent whose child had been diagnosed with autism on the night of November 27, 2013, but she was unable to keep that appointment because of the tragedy (Irish Examiner, Tributes to Selfless Lady and Relentless Autism Activist Found Dead in Her Home, 11/29/2013).

There is no way to make sense of Susan Dunne's untimely departure. It is hoped that Susan Dunne's life and legacy will encourage others to become advocates for autism in Ireland and around the world. Our thoughts and prayers are with Susan Dunne's family and community in this time of great loss.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Lisa Domican

Autism Light #193 is Lisa Domican.

 

Lisa Domican is from County Wicklow, Ireland. Her two children Liam and Grace have autism. Through her efforts to communicate effectively with her non verbal children with autism she developed a simple picture communication App for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch called the Grace App after her daughter who inspired the App.  Lisa Domican is an Autism Light for helping countless autism families communicate more effectively through the Grace App.

Lisa Domican and her family

The goal of Lisa Domican's company Grace App Communication is to provide an alternative for independent communication that is affordable, accessible, and adaptable. In 2010 Lisa Domican won an Irish Web Award and a United Nations World Summit m-Award for the Grace App. In 2011, Lisa won the Woman Mean Business Big Idea Award for Grace. She was also named one of the "100 Unseen Powerful Women Who Change the World" by One World Action and David Manley Social Entrepreneur of the Year, 2012.

Lisa Domican describes the Grace App in the following way:

It is designed to allow the user to enhance their own picture vocabulary by taking and adding pictures with the device camera or by searching and saving them on the web. The Grace App system encourages the user to approach and engage a listener, in order to have the “sentence” they have created read out loud, together. The Listener can pause and allow the user to try to say each word, and praise them for any attempt at vocalisations with extra rewards. The pictures serve as a prompt for the user, to help them remember a word, and as their speech develops it ensures that they are always understood and rewarded, which encourages further communication.

The following is an appearance that Lisa Domican had on The Morning Show for TV 3 in 2010.

App developer Steven Troughton-Smith did an amazing job on the technical development of Lisa Domican's ideas for the Grace App becoming a usable App. Lisa Domican gives this explanation of why she started Grace App Communications.

Grace App was inspired by my severely autistic daughter Grace and her unique ability to get what she wanted using pictures. She has learned to talk independently as a result of using Grace App consistently and after 11 years I got to hear my daughter call me “Mummy.” 

I started the company "Grace App Communication” when I realised there was a need for a simple and accessible training system to teach your autistic child to get what they want without resorting to inappropriate and anti-social behaviour. After 10 years of study and practice in Autism - I have the real life experience and the knowledge to impart to try and make life easier for other parents. 

The process of getting a diagnosis, getting access to services and learning to be your child’s own teacher can take years and I want to enable parents and carers especially, to start helping their child from the moment they suspect there might be an issue; any time of the day or night, anywhere in the world. For this reason I am planning a Grace App Training App. One download with a step by step guide to prompting and developing appropriate communication for people with autism and speech delay. 

Website: Visit the website at www.graceapp.com for more information on Lisa Domican's work and how you can purchase the Grace App for the affordable price of €20/$25 for one download that can be installed on up to 5 devices. The website also includes a blog that Lisa Domican writes.  Autism Light Connection: Lisa Domican has a connection to two previous Autism Lights. 

• Lisa Domican was close to the late Niamh Cadogan, who was Autism Light #172.  Niamh Cadogen had led a fundraising campaign called Amazing Grace: Improving the Lives of Children with Autism in Skibbereen to secure iPod Touch devices with the Grace App on them for students with autism. 
• She was interviewed by Craig Evans, who was Autism Light #178 for the Autism Hangout feature series called Apps for Autism. The video of that interview is below. 

Social Media: You can follow Lisa Domican and the Grace App on the following social media areas:

• Facebook - Grace App Page
• Twitter - @graceapp

Special thanks to Lisa Domican for being an Autism Light. We expect to hear continued good news about how the Grace App is helping more and more families with autism in the future. 
Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Photos: The photos in this post were used with permission of Lisa Domican. 

Niamh Cadogan

Autism Light #172 is Niamh Cadogan.

We so often focus on parents of those with autism that we may forget the special bond that exists with sibilings. Niamh Cadogan has a younger brother Stephen who has autism. Her relationship with her beloved brother inspired Niamh as she continued to lead an autism project during a serious illness.

Niamh Cadogan, from West Cork in Ireland, was born on June 22, 1994, and passed away on March 19, 2012 at the age of 17, from Leukemia. Niamh Cadogan is being named an Autism Light posthumously for the autism project she did to help children with autism obtain an iPod Touch with the Grace App on it. Niamh Cadogan will also be added to the Autism Light Memorial Roll today. The name "Niamh" is an Irish name that means "bright", or "radiant" and it's a fitting description for today's Autism Light.

Niamh with her friends Lisa and Liam

Niamh with her brother Stephen

Niamh Cadogan was the leader of a Young Social Innovators project called Amazing Grace: Improving the Lives of Children with Autism in Skibbereen. The 18 month project involved raising funds by recycling mobile phones in order to purchase an iPod Touch with the Grace App installed on it for children with autism. Every child in the autism unit programs at the St. Patrick's Boy's National School and at Rossa College became the beneficiaries of Niamh Cadogan's vision and dedication to serve.

Tributes were made to Niamh Cadogan from two prominent members of the autism community.

• Lisa Domican, the developer of the Grace App, said, "She got the entire school behind her and made it happen. She appreciated and adored her brother, and realised that it made her a better person (Source)."
• Kevin Whelen, the chief executive of Irish Autism Action said, "There are children with autism around the country who are now communicating with their parents thanks to Niamh (Source)."

The following are articles on the legacy of Niamh Cadogan

• Teenage Autism Crusader Leaves Powerful Legacy
• Tributes Paid to Young Social Innovator

You can also read about Niamh Cadogan's project and her battle with Leukemia in an online copy of a previous edition of the Young Social Innovators Newsletter.

Social Media: The Amazing Grace project has a Facebook page too for further information on it.

We honor the life and memory of Niamh Cadogan and hope that her work will inspire other young people who have siblings with autism to change the world for autism. Because of their youth and generational bond, siblings have a unique opportunity to make a difference over the long term for autism. Certainly Niamh Cadogan's legacy won't be forgotten as dozens of students are communicating with their parents because of the gift of an iPod Touch with the Grace App on it.

If you enjoyed this post you may wish to read about the other Autism Lights with the label Siblings. These people share the special perspective in their story of having a sibling with autism.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Photos: The photos in this post were used with the permission of Lisa Domican.

Linda Welby

Autism Light #83 is Linda Welby. 

Linda Welby resides in Galway-Ireland.  Linda Welby is also a songwriter and musician. Linda Welby is an Autism Light because of the special autism song she wrote called, "Through You I'll Find My Way". 

Linda Lander Murphy described Linda Welby like this, "Linda Welby is raising eight children, manages holiday cottages, and runs bus tours in her native Connemara (she's a licensed bus driver!). But don't hate her because she's beautiful and makes the Energizer Bunny look like a shirker (Source)."

Below is the YouTube version of Linda Welby's song "Through You I'll Find My Way" which tells the story of a child with autism. You may order this song at her Website or through CDBaby.  The entire lyrics to the song are also found at Reverbnation.

Linda Welby's success and personality is described like this on her website:

To radio listeners across the country as well as her legions of new fans, Linda Welby is fast becoming a superstar while at home in Roscahil she has never changed from being the down-to-earth affable and hardworking wife and mother. She has achieved the longest run by any artist of twenty two continuous weeks, as well as remaining at number one for eighteen weeks, in a major radio station record charts where listener requests dictate the content of the charts (Source).

Linda Welby wrote "Through You I'll Find My Way" on March 10, 2010 in order to aid Autism Ireland (Irish Autism Action).  From an email I received from Linda Welby, I learned that the song came about because the west of Ireland Autism Association asked her in 2010 to write a song for their annual climb of St. Patrick's holy mountain in Ireland called the Reek Mountain.  The Autism Association had asked Linda to write about the mountain but she decided to write about the subject of autism from her heart. Linda Welby wrote this to me about how she researched autism in order to write her original song.

As I knew people with autistic children I researched those children and what their parents thought differently about them. I researched poetry written by autistic people and learnt the scientific side of it too. I then decided that my song was to be based through the eyes of an autistic person and how they feel about the world, the way the world perceives them, how they try so hard to express themselves and people around them see this as aggressive. They like routine to make them feel safe. 

When she launched this song in 2010, Linda Welby actually climbed the Reek Mountain 7 times in 6 days and did a performance of her song on St. Patricks Day in Belfast, Ireland.

Social Media:  You can follow Linda Welby on the following social media areas.

• Twitter 
• Blogger Blog
• Facebook
• Google+

For more information on Linda Welby visit her website at www.lindawelby.com.

Special thanks to Linda Welby for sharing with the world the song "Through You I'll Find My Way" and supporting Autism Ireland. 

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Photo: The Photo in this post is used with the permission of Linda Welby.