Jim and Nuala Gardner

Autism Lights #58 are Jim and Nuala Gardner.

Jim and Nuala Garder are from Scotland. They are parents of a son and daughter with autism. Both Jim and Nuala are praised for their hardwork and dedication that went into facilitating a healing relationship between a Golden Retriever named Henry and their autistic son Dale. Jim and Nuala Gardner are Autism Lights because their story of being engaged parents has had an impact on other families around the world who may be considering getting a dog for a child with autism.

Jim and Nuala Gardner had a lot of problems with their son Dale's self-destructive behavior. As they struggled with what they should do, they acquired a dog for Dale, and the dog changed everything. They were able to create a voice for the dog to facilitate their communication with Dale and other positive effects poured in over time.

Nuala Gardner wrote the book, A Friend Like Henry (2008) to document the dramatic change in her son Dale (now in his early 20's) as he developed a relationship with their Golden Retriever named Henry. The book is evidence of the positive effect that a dog can have on some children with autism. In Dale's case his dog Henry helped improve his behavior, communication, and self-concept. The following is the YouTube video made to give a brief glimpse at the story of Henry and Dale.

After Thomas was a movie based on the Golden Retriever Henry and Dale's relationship.  Henry is called Thomas in the movie because of Dale's love for the Thomas the Engine character.

Nuala Gardner is an encouragement to all parents. Nuala Gardner said the following to help parents, "Be your child's mother but be their carer, their speech therapist, their lawyer and their champion, too. And never, ever give up hope (A Boy's Best Friend, The Telegraph)."

The dog in this story called Henry died in 2006, but his legacy of having changed Dale's life lives on. Dale said, "He was my dog and I loved him. He died in April this year (2006) and even though I love our new dog (also called Henry) it was terrible for me. The first Henry was special (A Boy's Best Friend, The Telegraph)."

Dale Gardner's parents are very proud of what he is accomplishing as a well adjusted young adult. After Henry arrived into their life, Jim and Nuala Gardner had a daughter Amy who also developed autism. More information on their family can be found in an article written by Daphne Lockyer.

Special thanks to Jim and Nuala Garder for being Autism Lights and being engaged parents who showed the world the tremendous value a dog can have on a child with autism. If you liked this post you may like to read about other Autism Lights with the label "Animal"

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

This post went into syndication on Autisable.

Sergei Morozova - Svetlana Morozova

Autism Lights #57 are Sergei Morozova and Svetlana Morozova.

Sergei Morozova and his daughter Svetlana Morozova run the main autism charity in Moscow, Russia called the Dobra Association for Autistic Children. Sergio and Svetlana are Autism Lights because of the leadership and advocacy they are doing for the needs of people with autism in Russia.

Sergei and Svetlana Morozova run The Dobra Association for Autistic Children, which was founded in 1989. Dobra means "good" in Russia.  The organizations has a school component that uses a variety of techniques in order to meet individual needs of students.

Sergei is a professor that, in addition to leadership of the Dobra Association, teaches autism at three Moscow universities. Sergei and his daughter Svetlana have found that Russia has some of the same needs regarding autism as the rest of the world like early intervention and how to help adults with autism find productive employment. However, some of their concerns are unique to Russia. Sergei Morozov said this about autism in Russia.

We have no legislation specifically for autism here. We have laws referring to mental retardation, deafeness or blindness-but not autism. So even if parents receive the correct diagnosis, they cannot find where to go. There are simply not enough professionals capable of working with children with autism (Source).

Sergei and Svetlana Morozova were mentioned in Adam Feinstein's book A History of Autism: Conversation with the Pioneers, which was published in 2010. Sergei and Svetlana are advocates and experts on the history of autism in Russia. They mention that Samuil Mnukhin (independently of Leo Kanner) discovered autism cases as early as 1947 in Lenningrad, Russia.

Svetlana Morozova is also a Russian author and has written two books on autism which were called:

• Autism: The treatment of severe and combined forms
• The principles for creating individual treatment programs for children with autism. 

For more information on Sergio and Svetlana Morozova reference these online articles.

• Interview with Adam Feinstein.
• A Letter from Moscow at Autism Connect

Special thanks to Sergei Morozova and Svetlana Morozova for shining a light for autism in Russia.


Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

---

This Autism Light post went into syndication at Autisable.

Jeanette O'Donnell

Autism Light #56 is Jeanette O'Donnell.  

Jeanette O'Donnell is from Austin, Texas. She is a mother of 5 children with autism. When she has made public comments on autism, Jeanette O'Donnell has chosen to explain her unconditional love and acceptance to her children rather than emphasize the cause of the autism or any other specific treatment or intervention.

Jeanette O'Donnell described herself to American Online Health in March, 2010 this way:

I am the proud mother of 6 children. 5 of our children have autism. We do not feel our world has ended, but just begun. We do not chelate, intervene biochemically, give shots of any kind, practice ABA, etc. We treat them as we treat any human being. We treat them with kindness and respect and expect the same from them. They are exceptional children.

In 2007 the O'Donnell family was featured on the Extreme Makeover show for receiving a free home improvement.  The following YouTube video is from 2010 when Jeanette O'Donnell discussed her family for the first time after the Extreme Makeover show.

Here are some news articles written on Jeanette O'Donnell and her family.

• USA Today (2005) - This is the oldest news story on her family.
• AOL Health (2010)  - This is based on an interview with Jeanette.
• Statesman.com - This has a description of all 5 of the children with their uniqueness.

Jeanette O'Donnell is an Autism Light for being light to her 5 children with autism and for setting an example for all parents who somehow feel they can't carry on.  If you have heard of amazing parents with 3 or more children with autism please feel free to make recommendations via email to Autism Light, and we may be able to showcase them in the future.


Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

---

This Autism Light post went into syndication at Autisable.

Gary James

Autism Light #55 is Gary James.

Gary James is from England and in 1992 moved to the United States. He now lives in Connecticut. He is the parent of two children with autism. He is also the founder of two companies that specialize in helping families with children with special needs. Gary James is an Autism Light because of his commitment to help families with children with autism, whether it be with Nanny needs or to utilize App resources of the iPad.

Gary James left his job working for Rolling Stone Magazine after his son Benjamin was diagnosed with autism, in order to dedicate his time to helping families with special needs children.  He first formed a company that located and screened Nannies for families with special needs children. Nannies for Children with Special Needs is a free service of Connecticut Domestics.

Then after seeing what the iPad did to change the life of his own children, he started A4CWSN, which stands for Apps for Children With Special Needs. Through A4CWSN Gary James has quickly become an expert on iPad apps for special needs children and his website had over a million visitors in the span of a year. Gary James says this about the iPad, "from one father to all the Fathers and Mothers out there, if you can afford to get an iPad, get one. It's going to change your life (Source)."

The following video is Gary James being interviewed by Craig Evans at Autism Hangout. Craig Evans was Autism Light #178.  In the interview, Gary James reveals that he feels the tablet technology is the future of education, especially for special needs children.

This quote by Gary James is a practical explanation of why he is so invested in Apps for Children with Special Needs.

Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum (ASD) particularly need to be taught in a way where they can literally touch the words and watch what the characters do when under their control. Apps on an iPad provide a huge benefit, allowing a match to be made between the pace of reading and interacting that works for an ASD child's unique style and needs (Source).

A4WCSN has had many programs over the years to help families that need an iPad or information on Apps. Some initiatives have been completed and some are ongoing. They including the following:

• 40 iPads in 40 Days was announced by Gary James on his Facebook page on June 3, 2012. You need to subscribe to his Family email list to be eligible for free codes and opportunities to win an iPad in this current campaign.
• Demonstrations of Apps for children with special needs, so that parents and educators can see how they work before purchasing them. Excellent video demonstrations about the most common Apps are featured on his website or YouTube Channel. Gary James does not rate Apps because he realizes that every App could be good for someone, so he just explains how they work and positive aspects of them. Gary James writes on his website, "Our aim is that these videos, along with relevant information and advice from an independent source you can trust, provides valuable insight into whether a product is suitable for its intended purpose or not, enabling sensible buying decisions to be made."
• App Parties where Gary James makes available codes from App companies that allow them to be acquired either for free or at discounts. These are normally conducted via the A4CWSN Facebook page.  App Parties take place often and the best way to find out when the next one is taking place is to stay in touch with the A4CWSN website or follow their status on Facebook. 
• IPads 4 U Campaign to offer subsidized iPads to needy families. Families pay $199 and Gary James is securing donors for the rest of the cost.  iPads are being subsidized as money is available and their is a waiting list of people set to receive future iPads.
• 50 States/50 iPads Campaign where Gary James is raising money to give away 50 iPads (one in each state in the United States). Gary James is personally delivering each iPad to a needy family as funds are available to do this. The following is a news story on Gary James program to deliver 50 iPads to special needs children in 50 States.

Social Media: The following are ways to follow Gary James on Social Media or other online areas.

• Official Website
• ITunes
• Facebook
• Twitter (A4CWSN)
• Twitter (A4CWSN News)
• YouTube

Support: There are many ways too support A4CWSN.  One can give direct donations or purchase products through the links on the A4CWSN page.

Contact: I personally contacted Gary James via his email at gary@a4cwsn.com regarding a technical question before I purchased the first iPad for my son with autism. Gary provided a very quick and helpful response. I had asked him what size of an iPad to purchase and he indicated the entry level with 16G memory will work because one can upload programs to the iPad from the computer as needed, but he said the more memory one can get will make it more convenient.

Special thanks to Gary James for helping special needs children and their families secure the right Apps for their iPad and for helping some of the most needy to receive a free iPad for their child.  

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Photo: Photo in this post used with permission of Gary James.

.