Monday, June 09, 2008

Autism Awareness....

HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE.....


I found a fabulous autism site the other day where you can purchase products for autism awareness. MOST of the products are made by people on the spectrum and ALL the orders are filled by people on the autism spectrum. They have lots of valuable information as well.....

I am not one to wear jewelry but you can also purchase keychains or hang these things from your purse or car rear view mirror.....etc.

I found this site the other day when I was doing some autism awareness research and they are one of the first autism awareness beaded items I have seen that actually had an excellent way to show awareness......I don't know...I just liked them a lot and found their site and items for sale very very nice and helpful.

If you are interested go check them out here:

LUCAS WORKS

LucasWorks was started by Lauren Padgett, mother of two terrific children, one of whom (Lucas) is autistic and mentally retarded. Lauren and her husband, Alan, saw the need for both autism awareness and daily living products to help Lucas, and the eventual need for Lucas to have employment. They decided to put these ideas together, and LucasWorks was born under the philosophy, "It works for Lucas and it gives Lucas work!"

As parents of a child with autism, Lauren and Alan were dismayed to discover that many of the products that are supposed to help autistic people are mainly focused on either medical or educational settings. Like many other parents, it was on the home front that they were seeking help.

So they began to devising their own items to help Lucas if they couldn't find anything on the market. The LucasWorks "Apparel Indicating Weather Thermometer" was born this way, and it is indeed the first product of its kind, hence the patent. The "Child's Placemat", that shows children how to set a table correctly, came along the same way, and we're working on some other things that we hope you'll like, too.

Lauren has years of experience working on behalf of children, especially those with disabilities. Among other advocacy efforts, she has Co-Chaired the State of Delaware's "Partners' Council for Children with Disabilities" (PCCD), and served on the PCCD's Professional Development, Family Involvement and Inclusion sub-committees.

Lauren has also devoted time to serving on the Delaware Autism Program's (DAP) Strategic Planning committee, the Kent County DAP site School Improvement Planning committee, founded the Staff and Parent Autism Resource Center at Lucas' school, and is serving her 4th year as Chair of the Kent County, DE Autism Program's Parent Advisory Committee. She is a member of the Autism Society of Delaware and the Autism Society of America. Of course, that's all worked in around the needs and schedules of Lucas and his brother, Robert!

All of LucasWorks' products either promote autism awareness or help those with autism. By focusing on these lines, we are able to spread the word about autism while offering items to help those dealing with this disability.



This is Lucas, the inspiration behind LucasWorks. Lucas thinks Deep Thoughts and works hard to understand life. He has a great sense of humor, and loves to hang out with his big brother.

1 comment:

Melissa said...

Neat site Melinda. I like the bracelet.