AMAB
$4.99 Issue 11 July-September 2020
Autism Moms Are Beautiful
CHANA BENNETT-RUMLEY
The Millennial Twin Mom Autistic & Beautiful
ANGELA KIMBLE
Autism Mom who Rocks
MARIA MERRICK Legislative Corner
JESS WESSEL-BORGIC Fabulous Autistic Mama
MARTA BRAIN
Fabulous Autistic Mama
Editor-in-Chief
Nichole Wilson
Lead Advisor
Haley Ahart-Keiffer
Associate Advisor
Donna Shatara Porche
Associate Advisor
Maria Merrick
Associate Advisor
Marta Brain
Associate Advisor
Gayle Fisher
Associate Advisor
Catherine Hughes
Creative Director
Nichole Wilson
Managing Editor
Sindu Alakot
Style Editor
Nichole Wilson
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Follow us on IG: @autism_moms_are_beautiful amabmagazine@gmail.com www.amabmagazine.com
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES PLEASE EMAIL AMABMAGAZINE@GMAIL.COM On the cover: Chana Bennett-Rumley Photographer- Nathan Rumley
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Nichole Wilson
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Letters From Our Readers
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A Moment with Jsss Fabulous Autistic Mama
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The Millennial Twin Mom
Autism Mom who Rocks
Anonymous Autism Mom
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Let it out Autism Moms
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Encourage and Motivate
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Inspiration of Love
A Moment with Marta
Let me Brighten YOUR Day
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Legislative Corner
www.amabmagazine.com
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What's the Haps? with Caden Jax Porche
Go-To-Beauty Selections
Let me Brighten YOUR Day
Legislative Corner
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Whats the Haps? with Myah TenBrink
Editor's Note
Nichole Wilson Editor-in-Chief Ms. Pearland Texas Regencey Pageant 2020 Page 5
I enjoyed reading the 2019 summer issue! Kiesha Carr is a LETTERS LETTERS wonderful Autism Mom who Rocks! Write to us!
Share your thoughts with us at amabmagazine@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for space and clarity. All submissions become the property of AMAB Magazine.
KIESHA'S ARTICLE "Inspirational story and it was good to read a story similar to mine. Thank you Kiesha for sharing your story."
Anonymous
Dallas, Texas
Confessions "The confessions part of the magazine was so hard to read not because of anything negative but because I feel this way sometimes and I am happy I am not alone."
Anonymous Atlanta, Georgia
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Angela Kimble Great meeting Angela a few years ago. She is truly an angel and loves to support every mom raising a child on the spectrum. She is known for her beautiful smile and uplifting laughter. I am excited to share this beautiful interview with you Autism Moms and our AMABeautiful community. Nichole Wilson: How many kids do you have and how many are on the spectrum? Angela Kimble: I have three kids and two of my sons are on the spectrum. NW: How did your life change with the diagnosis? AK: My life changed a lot because my focus went straight to my sons! I had to completely change everything for the betterment of my two men now! I also knew that I had to make it work for us because they would need all of my time and attention. NW: During their school years, did you have any conflicts with receiving services? AK: No, but I did run into problems when it was time to transition my oldest son. NW: If you could have changed some things or have done something differently while raising them, what would you have done? AK: Nothing. I believe you do the best you can as a parent and when you know your kids are special, you just try to pour all your love into them. NW: What encouraging words can you give Autism Moms? AK: Never give up and never stop pushing. Always keep your head up and don’t let anyone tell you what your child can or cannot do! Anything is possible through God!!!
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I have high functioning Autism. Our oldest child is high functioning and getting him to understand what I am asking him to do, he doesn’t do. I am asking him to do it because I am unable to do it. Participating in ABA parent training was the best for both of us because it's obvious we learn the same. As his mother, I want him to do it the way I want it done. I ask him to clean off his desk and pick up his things off the floor but he picks the things up off the floor and put them on the bed. So frustrating! When I speak to him I have to tell him exactly where to put the items and name the appropriate places. For example: if the books are on the floor, I have to ask him to pick up the books and place them on the bookshelf. This is so hard for me but I realize I have to teach him verses telling him what to do. Page 8
Confessions of an Autism Mom
"I am always tired! I don't have any help from my child's father. Anytime I contact him for assistance, he tells me to give him custody because he doesn't want to pay child support and if I don't do this he is not going to help me or give me a break. I don't understand why he wants to make this hard for me and on top of it, I have to deal with him not wanting to support or help me raise our child on the autism spectrum. I cry every night!" Anonymous Autism Mom
Share your thoughts with us at amabmagazine@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for space and clarity. All submissions become the property of AMAB Magazine.
Autism Moms Rock music video Over 80,000 Facebook views!
https://953jamz.com
CHANA
BENNETT-RUMLEY
Nichole Wilson: When you found out you were pregnant with twin boys, how did you feel? Chana Rumley:
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NW: As an Autistic Adult, did you think that you would give birth to children on the Autism Spectrum? CR:
NW: When you found out you were Autistic, did you feel it was going to be easier to understand the twin’s experiences? CR:
NW: I enjoy watching your page and seeing how much love you show towards your family. Do you feel there were some obstacles that you had to face with having two boys on the autism spectrum? CR:
NW: How do you balance it all? CR:
NW: What do you do for “me time” when the boys are not with you? CR:
NW: What advice can you give Autism Moms and Dads? CR:
Let it out Autism Moms IT'S OBVIOUS THERE IS SOMETHING YOU DID DURING YOUR PREGNANCY TO CAUSE YOUR CHILD TO HAVE AUTISM! How many Autism Moms are tired of hearing this? This is how we really want to respond:
Unfortunately, we don't know what causes autism but its sure not healthy food. Actually I did everything exactly according to the pregnancy books and so no, there was nothing I did to cause my son's autism. Why are you asking? Unless you can explain to me what you think, with factual documentation, the "obvious" is, I owe you no response. Yep, and its even more obvious that its something your mom did during pregnacy to cause you to be an uneducated fool! Did your mother do something during her pregnancy to cause you to be stupid? That's interesting since my daughter was progressing normally and hitting each milestone until she was 15 months old? Do you want to think of another reason why this is my fault? I'll wait... Thank you: Contessa Cooper, Patti McCloud, Jean TenBrink, Marilyn Jones-Hatton, Cathy Crate, Makesha Hairston
Beautiful Quote's to Live By!
AUTISM MOMS ARE BEAUTIFUL
AUTISM MOMS ARE BEAUTIFUL Page 25
THANK YOU
APRIL GREEN #1 Best Seller in 3 catagories under new releases *Parenting Children with Disabilities *Disability Parenting *Special Needs Parenting
"2020 has been a bizarre year so far. Dealing with so many challenges in society can be that much more taxing for families living with autism. I know...my household feels like we’re all walking on eggshells some days. I have to make the concerted effort to truly focus on our triumphs. Human nature simply craves routine and consistency, but people on the spectrum need it that much more. How can you create that reassurance for your children in such uncertain times? Having a schedule that you can stick to is so important. Front load any changes as much as possible. In my household...while we’re not able to travel as much outside the home right now, I try to keep things as consistent as possible. We do learning activities in the morning and social activities in the afternoon. I’m homeschooling during the summer time, so we have a little more structure to our routine. I schedule time to play games, play outside, read, etc. I also have a schedule of the therapists coming into our home to work with my children. Anxiety is contagious, but so is calmness. Our children feed off of our energy, so do what you need to do to take care of yourself during these uncertain times. When you feel at ease, your children will sense it! You have the strength to do this...just take it one day at a time and celebrate those victories! I leave you with a final thought...in the words of Josiah Gilbert Holland, “Calmness is the cradle of power.”
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Inspiration of Love Shalita Thomison Photo credit: Instagram @thenashvillephotographer
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Thank you Chou Hallegra
These days, we see ever-higher stakes on why we must educate our children of neurodiversity to somehow handle the chaos of the world. One of our worst parental fears: What if they get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time? They won’t be seeking trouble, but could slip into it accidentally. For example, my 13 year-old son has a challenge in processing complex requests, putting sentences together under pressure and following rapid instructions. What if our kids get caught up in something they don’t understand? They don’t sense the danger nor know how to handle it. Therefore, we practice. We practice what to do and we practice short sentences he can use when the pressure is on. We have to train developmental delay to see traps ahead, to calculate social risks, to pay attention to the clues from others. By no choice of their own, our kiddos are naive, distracted, sensory-overwhelmed and challenged in processing language and yet, adapting to these risks is what helps them step into their desires, their motivations and to be able to move into their adult lives. So how do we get them to react faster and be more aware of such dangers? We are playing the Emergency Game at home: processing each Amber alert, every ambulance siren. Asking the question: Is it real or pretend?
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When a fire truck goes by, what is happening there? When we go anywhere, can he find his way back? I let my kid lead the way retracing our steps. A gathering of people these days will catch our eye: What is going on? Is it an emergency? Does he need to do something? Or need to escape to safety? What is safety, exactly? Randomly, I will playfully holler at him to “come here, quick”. He dillydallies, so I call out “emergency!”, and he laughingly comes trotting over. “Doesn’t seem like an emergency to me, Mom” he says. So we label that a pretend one. Years ago, I made these cards to give away when my son would have a baddecision-emergency, and onlookers wanted to give me an earful. As you already know, helping your child through such an important and urgent teachable moment requires your full focus. Not much time to educate advice-givers, you have your hands full. The times that I ignored the spectators and didn’t say anything to educate them, I felt shame and regretted they still had their wrong presumptions. With these cards, I could hand them a bit of understanding, and then focus on helping redirect my child through our own little emergency. What ideas do you have? We are working on an interactive workshop to train our kids. “Training Neurodiversity To Be Aware of the Unexpected, Avoid Danger & Practice Escape from Entrapment”. Our kids need good solid neural pathways and awareness of emergency-responses. They need to know how to read body language and tone of voice. So they will have automatic tools to use to survive if they are ever in the wrong place at the wrong time. Let’s keep talking. With great respect to all, Gayle
Gayle Y. Fisher, M.Ed., Ed.Tech. Page 32 Improving the World of Learning Differences gayle.fisher@usa.net
Legislative Corner
with Maria Marrick Page 36
Legislative Corner We Have Come A Long Way-or Have We?
contributed by: Maria Merrick Be the Voice for Those Who Have None
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Legislative Corner
Goldsberry & Associates, PLLC
Getting Child Support for an Adult Disabled Child
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Legislative Corner
Legislative Corner
The Autistic Mind "What's the haps?"
Caden Jax Porche "My name is Caden and I love to play outside, swing, play in the water, and play on my iPad." Page 39
Autism Dad's Rock! We are excited to share Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. in our Fall 2020 Issue!
