I was actually asked my opinion by a Dr he wanted to know what i think really works with a child who has Autism since Mav is doing well he has changed since the first time the Dr saw him a year ago.Me ? Mandy Koeppen you want my opinion wow never been asked that one before but I had an answer.want to hear my answer? Living everyday life, teaching everyday skills, Get into the world of Autism everyone always wants to bring the child into this world and if ya really think about it is this world really normal? Try going into their world it does get you somewhere. Don't label the child Autistic refer to them as this is so and so my child with Autism you don't go around saying oh this is my cancer child instead you say this is my child who has cancer same goes with Autism I think.I think it's hard for alot of people to understand the label thing but for me He is still Mav not Autistic Mav he is Mav who has Autism, The Autism doesn't come first Mav does.Treat them real they are someone too, they are not dumb heck most are smarter then you and me,treat them like you treat your "A" typical child(I know you can't do this with everything but alot of things you can) and Love I can't express this enough love them and they will love you back they may not show it the same way you or I do most of the time it's in their own way. Can you believe the Dr agreed with me this is a man that has a sentence of this and that's after his name and me I have nothing special, I never stepped a foot into college, I have no fancy degree hanging in a frame on the wall, I am just your average (I hope average) momma that loves her child and wants to make a difference.It really made me feel good if you couldn't tell lol. The Dr also told me what a good job I am doing with Mav and how wonderful and beautiful my child is. Love that! Thanks for reading this and letting me ramble I hope I made sense.

The month has come to an end but I will still be posting on this blog so please come back and check to see what's happening with Mav, Autism, and raising awareness. I am still on a mission raising Autism Awareness one person at a time. I will make a difference for Mav!
I thank you all so much for your support! Much love Mandy Koeppen

The month is almost over

It's kinda sad to see the month of April end. One more day to go and this years Autism Awareness month will be over. Have you done your part to raise awareness and help solve the puzzle known as Autism? I hope you have and I want to thank you!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!!
Have you enjoyed this blog? Please let me know if you have I think I am going to continue with it I think one day Mav will read this and have an ahha moment wow my crazy mom loved me so much she really did do her part to make this a better world for me!(at least that is what I am hoping for).

Most of you reading this blog know that I am a scrapbooker and that I turned to scrapbooking when Mav was diagnosed my hobby released my stress and got me through some of our most difficult times. I have only scrapped one of mav's baby pictures since Autism has come into our lives,it is still too hard and emotional for me too look at his baby pictures. I think back to that time when everything was fine and there was no life with Autism he was a perfect little baby and it's too much (yes he still is perfect to me)In some ways I have had to let the child in those many baby pictures and the life I thought that child would have go. I know it's hard to understand and it is hard for me to explain it's like we lost that baby Mav but hey we have our Mav and he has Autism we live it and we love him. Anyhoo back to the scrapping here are a couple layouts(scrapbook pages) i worked on yesterday afternoon.

The dude is sick again. Has a headcold/sinus thing going on that effecting his whole system. He was home from school today.Hopefully he's back to the norm soon i hate it when he gets sick.

A good cry

I read my blog entry from last year (you can also read it if you haven't already it is the link at the side that says "Our Story")and had a good cry thought I would share this with you all.



"He is an awesome child that I love more then words can express and I am blessed by him and his autism. You are probably thinking how can she be blessed by autism well let me tell you since Mav has been diagnosed life is now seen through a different set of eyes I don’t take the little things in life for granted anymore since those little things are what mean the most.3 of my favorite words are live, laugh, and love.Those affected by Autism will know why these are my favorite word but for those who are out there wondering why ... You need to Live- Live life to the fullest you can't dwell on the fact that your child has Autism. You need to Laugh and Smile- we do this all the time because of those little moments the smiles, the smooches,the giggles,and the Mavness. You need to Love- there is so much love in my heart for this child and the love that he gives me is amazing! I know I am missing bits and pieces of our story but this will give you the idea of what we went through to get to where we are now and make you aware of Autism. There is no known cause or cure for Autism right now so please spread the word it’s time to solve the puzzle!!"

DUDE

We had a funny thing happen lastnight during our nightly outdoor adventure time. Mav decided that it would be the perfect time to try aim his "junk" (aka his peepee) and see where the stream would go. He grabbed hold for the first time and whoosh the stream hit dad's muck boots the perfect target woohooo!He stood there proud with a big ol grin on his face I wish I knew what he was thinking at that moment. I started clapping and jumping up and down yelling for daddy to come see then the 2 of us told mav how awesome he was and what a big boy he was. We were so excited wish I would of had the camera to get the memory on film.The Dude was all happy with himself too it was funny. Yes we are a bit crazy but this was a total big deal for us because Mav isn't potty trained has showed no interest he didn't even want to touch or have any one help him aim his "junk" before. I think Avery starting to potty train and seeing what a big girl she is made Mav think hmmm maybe I could try that too. We have 4 weeks left of school after that Mav will be wearin some big boys or just being happy with nature for the summer unless we are out and about and he can't have the junk hanging or in case of accidents he will have the pull up on.Even if he isn't potty trained for awhile I am still so happy that he is trying the aim action. We have gotten some pretty cool ideas on new targets to use instead of dads boots too like cheerios, changing toilet water colors, and bullseyes in a bucket. I will be taking requests for those who would like him to personally write his name on the barn or a tree nah just kidding. So excited about this new adventure and his new discovery.
Have a great night!

Mav had a good day at school we used a safety harness going to a from the car so I know he is safe it worked out good not too much of a change for him to have a prob with it.