Autism Light

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Doug and Laurie Flutie

Autism Lights #86 are Doug and Laurie Flutie.

Doug Flutie, Sr. and Laurie Flutie are from Natick, Massachusetts. Doug is a former professional football player in both the United States and Canada. Their son Doug Flutie, Jr. has autism. Doug Flutie, Sr. and Laurie Flutie are Autism Lights because they formed an autism foundation to help make a difference for autism, which is called the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation.

Football Career: Doug Flutie played for Boston College and won the Heisman Trophy in 1984. Professionally he played in the CFL, USFL, and NFL from 1985-2005. His career stats are at this link .

Honorary Degree: Doug Flutie, Sr. received the Honorary Doctor of Humanitarian Service for Autism in 2007 from Dickinson College. Here is a video of that ceremony.

Foundation: In 2000, Doug Flutie, Sr. and his wife Laurie formed the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation in honor of their son who has autism. In forming the foundation, the Fluties wanted to help their son have a legacy that he might not be able to accomplish on his own and to help less fortunate families with the tremendous expenses of autism. Information on the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation is available at their website at www.dougflutiejrfoundation.org. This foundation is making a tremendous impact for autism.

To date over $11 million dollars has been raised by the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation.
A list of 2010 grant recipients from the foundation is available at this link.
In 2011 the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation joined HP and Autism Speaks in sponsoring the Hacking Autism initiative.

Here is a video of Doug Flutie, Sr. discussing his autism foundation in 2010.

Laurie Flutie: Laurie Flutie is an amazing caregiver. In addition to being Vice-President and co-founder of the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation she is the primary caregiver for Doug Flutie, Jr. and she also cares for her mother who lives with the family.

Author: In 1999, Doug Flutie wrote two books that are available through Amazon.com.

Social Media: You can follow Doug Flutie, Sr. and the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation on the following social media.

Special thanks to Doug and Laurie Flutie for being Autism Lights. Your hard work on behalf of autism is certainly helping lighten the load of many families and is a legacy for your son.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Photo: The Photo at the top of this post is used with the permission of Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation and was taken at the 2007 golf outing of Doug and Laurie Flutie and their family.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Autism Light #85 is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is a television series that has aired on ABC for eight seasons. It had it's official premier on February 14, 2004 and the series finale was on January 13, 2012. ABC TV has headquarters in Burbank, California. The show has been hosted by Ty Pennington who is a television personality and a former carpenter himself. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is an Autism Light because families with autism have been some of the recipients of the home makeovers.

Here are some stories of how Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has helped four families who have children with autism.

McPhail Family Extreme Makeover: C.J. and Lindsay McPhail of Medford, Oregon have 2 children with autism. They received a home makeover from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in an episode airing on October 28, 2011. A recap of this episode is available at this link. The following is the YouTube video of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team on their bus ride preparing to help the McPhail family and learning about their situation. It also includes a view of their home and situation before the makeover.

After the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was finished with the McPhail home this is what it looked like.

Lucas Family Extreme Makeover: Michael and Jean Lucas of Cullen, Virginia have two children with autism. They received a home makeover from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in an episode airing on March 2, 2008. A recap of this episode is available at this link.

Ray-Smith Family Extreme Makeover: Brittany Ray and Ron Smith have one child with autism and doctors are concerned that their second son also has autism. They received a home makeover from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in an episode airing on January 3, 2008. A recap of that episode is available at this link.

O'Donnell Family Extreme Makeover: Patrick and Jeanette O'Donnell of Austin, Texas have five children with autism. They received a home makeover from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in an episode airing on February 18, 2007. Jeanette O'Donnell was named an Autism Light herself on October 3, 2011 for being an exceptional autism mother. A recap of that episode is available at this link.

Social Media: You may follow Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on the following social media areas.

For more information on today's Autism Light visit these websites.

This is the first time a television show has been designated an Autism Light. It is a tribute to the decision to change the life of some very special families that are coping with autism. If you are interested in applying or nominating a needy family for a home makeover fill out the online application.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

This Autism Light post went into syndication at Autisable.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

First Baptist Church of Plano

Autism Light #84 is the First Baptist Church of Plano.

The First Baptist Church of Plano is located at 1300 East 15th Street in Plano, Texas. The church was started in 1872. Dr. Jerry Carlisle has served as the pastor of the church since 2002. The First Baptist Church of Plano is an Autism Light because one of their ministries is an Autism Book Club.

The Autism Book Club is one of the small group ministries of the First Baptist Church of Plano. Their website provides this introduction to the Autism Book Club.

Learning to cope with a diagnosis and treatment options for children with autism is a daunting process. Every journey in our life has a purpose, and even in the tough times there is so much God can teach us. We can enjoy our children and our role as parents as we learn to help our children conquer their challenges and celebrate their strengths and accomplishments. The purpose of this group is to find the hope, healing, and learning that comes through faith and trust in God. Our focus will be to find the inspiration that we receive when looking at and sharing the scriptures, and encouraging one another through the challenges of being parents and caregivers of special needs children (First Baptist Church of Plano Website).

The Autism Book Club meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm at the First Baptist Church of Plano and is led by Rose Henke. The following are some of the books they are studying between August, 2011 and August, 2012:

Raindrops on Roman
Life Without Limits
Autism's Hidden Blessings
Joni: An Unforgettable Story
A Friend Like Henry
Life Interrupted: Navigating the Unexpected

The format for the Autism Book Club is they discuss the above books every other month and on the other months they are going through Max Lucado's Life Lesson Series. On August 10, 2011 the group also had the special opportunity to meet Bobbi Sheahan and Dr. Kathy DeOrnellas discuss their book What I Wish I'd Known About Raising a Child with Autism. For more information on this program visit www.fbcplano.org/autism-book-club.

For more information about the First Baptist Church of Plano visit their website at www.fbcplano.org. The First Baptist Church of Plano's Facebook page is another source of ongoing information via social media.

Special thanks to the First Baptist Church of Plano for sponsoring an Autism Book Club that can be a spiritual inspiration for those people impacted by the autism of a loved one. Perhaps this program can serve as an idea for other churches as well as other types of groups to consider undertaking on behalf of autism support and awareness.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

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.

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.

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