Help Alex and All The Children Like Him

My son, Alex is an amazingly funny, warm, kind, trustworthy 14 year old boy who cares deeply for other's happiness and well-being. He once baked a Black Forest Gateaux from scratch for someone just because he thought it would make them happy and "that's what friends do". (BTW, he'd never baked in his life before that!)





And yet Alex has no friends at school. He has never been invited to a peer's birthday party and when we hosted a party for his fifth birthday at Chuck E Cheese, only five of the thirty kids invited showed up (one of those was his brother:) Even now he's never included in social events that occur out of school hours. Why? Alex has autism.

The problem is that traditional autism awareness education focuses on what autism is and the specific behaviors associated with it. So when children see a peer stimming or covering their ears and rocking, they know that it is because they have a "neurological disorder" and are "different", but that's as far as their knowledge goes. That's why I decided to dedicate my life to educating people about why individuals with autism like my son act the way they do and, hopefully increase understanding and empathy for them. It is only when people truly understand the challenges they face, that they will be accepted and viewed as the valuable members of society that they are.


I have written a program called "Understanding My Friends with Autism"
that is aimed at children between the ages of 5-10. The children perform simulation exercises so they can experience first-hand how frustrating sensory issues can make everyday activities.
The program has been well received and I have presented it to a couple of small groups. I have also sold a few copies of the DVD home version to people here in the States, in Canada and in Australia. (100% of the profits of those sales are being used to fund the presentations)


I am in the process of forming a non profit organization to enable me to present the program to larger groups, at no cost to them, and I have had a lot of interest from some local schools, but due to financial constraints, I have been unable to accommodate them. I also want to improve the quality of the simulation exercises included in my presentation by purchasing more sophisticated simulation goggles.


I plan to start going into schools in April (April is Autism Awareness month) and with sufficient funds to cover the materials, I could educate between 1,000 and 2,000 children in that month alone!!

Unfortunately the proceeds from the sales of my products simply aren't enough to fund my mission. I need $3,820 to buy the simulation equipment needed to educate 30 children. Once I have the equipment, it will only cost approximately $2.40 per child to present the program "“ that's only $72 for a class of 30 children!
To reach my goal of educating 1,000 in April, I need an additional $2,400.


Please help me make my passion a reality and lets work together to improve the quality of life for my wonderful son and the millions of children like him by helping to spread autism acceptance.


Thank you.