Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

[Jackrabbit_Joe]

Hello to all,

I wanted to bring to everyone's attention an event that is happening in the Sioux Falls area. That event is the "Walk Now for Autism" event at Sioux Falls Stadium on Oct. 3rd.

This event hits our family pretty square in the nose since our 3 year old was diagnosed with Autism this past year. If you don't know what autism is, trust me you are not alone... We didn't either, until it directly affected our family. Statistics show that every 20 minutes a child is diagnosed with autism, that tells me that alot more people will become aware of what exactly autism is and how it affects people.

Please consider attending the event and/or donating to the walk. I have included some links below.

Thanks,
Joe

Links:
Sioux Falls Walk: http://www.walknowforautism.org/siouxfalls/
Our Team: http://www.walknowforautism.org/siouxfalls/wiemann/
Personal: http://www.walknowforautism.org/siouxfalls/joewiemann/

Autism Speaks

[Cowbell]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

Thanks for the nudge, Joe. It's right that you bring this subject forward.

[Jackrabbit_Joe]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

No Problem, Like I said, It directly affects our family so we have a bit of passion about it. It is coming up more and more, and trust me it is a very disheartening thing to deal with at first for many families.

[Jackrabbit_Joe]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

So we are about 20 days away from the walk... we are also well short of our team goal... I just thought I would give this a little bump and see if we could spur some additional donors. Please consider donating even if it isn't for our team. All links are in the original post on this thread...

Thanks to all...

JackRabbit_Joe

If you want to know more or would rather donate in person I will be out at the Jacks game on Saturday. Come on over to the Jacks Crew tailgating spot.

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

Joe - my now 8 year old was also diagnosed at the age of three. The strides that he has made since then have been nothing short of miraculous (even featured on the news and in print).

I know what you are going through so if you have any questions or anything please feel free to PM me.

Hopefully we'll be in attendance for the walk!

[yoteforever]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

Hello to all,

I wanted to bring to everyone's attention an event that is happening in the Sioux Falls area. That event is the "Walk Now for Autism" event at Sioux Falls Stadium on Oct. 3rd.

This event hits our family pretty square in the nose since our 3 year old was diagnosed with Autism this past year. If you don't know what autism is, trust me you are not alone... We didn't either, until it directly affected our family. Statistics show that every 20 minutes a child is diagnosed with autism, that tells me that alot more people will become aware of what exactly autism is and how it affects people.

Please consider attending the event and/or donating to the walk. I have included some links below.

Thanks,
Joe

Links:
Sioux Falls Walk: http://www.walknowforautism.org/siouxfalls/
Our Team: http://www.walknowforautism.org/siouxfalls/wiemann/
Personal: http://www.walknowforautism.org/siouxfalls/joewiemann/

Autism Speaks

This Coyote made a pledge or donation for this cause, and I would challenge the other USD posters on this board to do the same. Good luck Wiemann family. Gods speed.

[Jackrabbit_Joe]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

Joe - my now 8 year old was also diagnosed at the age of three. The strides that he has made since then have been nothing short of miraculous (even featured on the news and in print).

I know what you are going through so if you have any questions or anything please feel free to PM me.

Hopefully we'll be in attendance for the walk!

Tea,

I look forward to the opportunity to meet you and your family...

Joe

[Jackrabbit_Joe]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

This Coyote made a pledge or donation for this cause, and I would challenge the other USD posters on this board to do the same. Good luck Wiemann family. Gods speed.

Yote, I know I wrote you a private message as well... But God Speed to you as well...

and thank you for your support, not just of our family but for the Autism Community as a whole...

[Jackrabbit_Joe]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

Our son Logan is three years old. He has blonde hair, big green eyes and the most adorable smile. He loves blocks, animals and sports. Looking at Logan you would never know that he has a debilitating disorder known as autism. Autism affects every aspect of Logan’s life…and the lives of everyone around him. Logan has come a very long way since his diagnosis in May. Since then, he has learned several new words, hums many new songs, and has some highly improved attention skills. This fall Logan has been taking a bus to school at the new Camelot School here in Brookings. Logan enjoys riding the bus and being able to interact with many other kids with special needs who also attend the school. At times Logan cannot interact appropriately with others. He has trouble processing the world around him. He has many sensory issues that prevent him enjoying the things that we all take for granted.
It’s hard to enough to focus on our daily lives, much less imagine what the future holds for him; and for the rest of the family. Melissa, who is now 14, just started her first year of high school, and Derek, who is now just over a year old, is not exhibiting any autistic tendencies. While this is a terribly exciting time, it’s also frustrating because we know that boys are 4 times more likely to be autistic than girls, and siblings of an autistic child are 3-5 times more likely to be afflicted with an autism spectrum disorder. The statistics are terrifying.

Autism is a complex brain disorder that often inhibits a person’s ability to communicate, respond to their surroundings or form relationships with others. Autism spectrum disorders affect people of all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds and occur in as many as one in 150 births, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. And the numbers are still rising!
Currently the cause of autism is unknown. There are no specific medical treatments or a cure for autism. Most people with autism require lifelong supervision and care. Only 7% of children with autism go on to be independent. Recent studies suggest that more than 1 million Americans are living with an autism spectrum disorder. Despite the strikingly high prevalence of autism, autism research remains one of the lowest funded areas of medical research by both public and private sources. But funding for research is woefully inadequate. Only through biomedical research will we ever understand what causes autism and develop methods to diagnose autism. Someday, with your help, we will find a cure!
As a family, we have decided to make an effort to increase autism awareness. This year we are participating in the Sioux Falls Walk Now Walk for Autism. The Walk will be held at the Sioux Falls Stadium on October 3, 2009. You can find our team website at: http://www.walknowforautism.org/siouxfalls/wiemann/.
　
There are so many ways that you can help our cause. You can choose to sponsor us in the event with a tax deductible donation, walk with us, or choose to do both. If you would like to walk with us, let us know and we will have a team shirt ready for you. The proceeds of the Walk will be used to support the efforts of Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks is the largest non-governmental supporter of autism research in the United States. If you are interested in finding out more about them, please check out their website www.autismspeaks.org. Please help us raise money for this extremely important cause by increasing awareness among your friends and coworkers. We realize that there are many charities that vie for your attention, but any contribution, large or small, will be greatly appreciated.
As always, thank you for your consideration, support and prayers. It means more to us than we could possibly express. We look forward to hearing from you!

This is a letter that we threw together to share with others -- figured it was only appropriate to share it here also.

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

Thanks for sharing Joe....again, hopefully our schedule allows for us to make the Autism Walk. Either way we'll make a donation. I know we'd see many old friends at the walk.

My sons story sounds real similar to yours. My mother noticed something wasn't right. Tucker was our first born and we weren't really sure what to expect (we have since had three other healthy, happy children). My wife called to tell me that my mom thought Tucker had Autism on my way back from an Iowa-Michigan football game. I thought she was crazy. But the more thought about the more it started to make sense. Tucker was non verbal, he had some sensory issues, he had a very limited appetite, he had trouble transitioning to even the smallest of things and he would often shut out other people completely. I can't tell you how heartbreaking it was to go to the park and have a little girl chase him around talking to him and he didn't even know she was there. I remember going into the library w/ tears fresh on my cheeks just trying to find something out about this new world of Autism. I remember wondering if Tucker would ever be able to feel love. Not even show love but just to be able to feel our love. Those first two weeks were the toughest of our lives. My sister called me everyday just to talk and listen and something small like that was just so huge. We were lost, we were scared for the future and we didn't know what to do. We quickly educated ourselves, read anything we could get our hands on (I love the book Let Me Hear Your Voice). We heard of a therapy called ABA. I quit my job and made it my mission to learn this therapy and give it to my son. We also enrolled him in the "birth to three" program at our local school. That first year he made some progress, but not as much as we would've liked. We then learned of Children's Care here in SF. We made it our mission to get him to this place. Our school district disagreed. Several long and tough and bitter meetings were held trying to get them to do what we knew was best for our child. Thanks to my wife (the brains of the operation) we would finally get Tucker into Childrens Care. And let me tell you, what a place that is. WIthin weeks we were seeing major improvements. He went to Childrens Care for two full years, summer and all. The work that they do there is nothing short of miraculous. It's such a special place w/ so many special people like the late Bruce Rens, Fay McClanahan, Carol Wulf, etc. Tucker went from there into Kindegarten back in our district and is currently in second grade. He has had an aide these past three years at school but other than that he's expected to do what other kids do. He knows math and can read and write and I guess today you would never know this kid had the issues that he did. Heck, he just left a half hour ago to go to a sleep over at his best friends house. He is a little behind the other kids in many ways but his journey has been amazing. It's not uncommon for people to ask us why he is Autistic b/c he just seems so normal. Not only that but he has turned into this happy big brother w/ a huge personality who talks to everyone he meets. We often go to the local convienience store after school and he'll sit right down w/ these two retired older men who go there everyday for coffee and talk about his day. I drop him off at school and 3-6 kids usually rush up to meet him and form a circle to listen to whatever the heck he tells them.

There is hope...and help.

[Jackrabbit_Joe]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

Thanks for all the support, information, and prayers...

We have less than 2 weeks to go... so you may see a push from me to try and gain more donations, spread the word etc... hopefully it won't bother anyone... Send me a private message if you think I should back off a bit..

The donations that have been coming in have been wonderful, thank you. I also know that not everyone can do a monetary donation... but please keep in mind that even thoughts and prayers can do wonders. I honestly have been amazed at the people who have come forward...

This is a rather humbling experience for me and my family... thank you again.

[Jackrabbit_Joe]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

keep the donations coming in -- we are still well short of our goal.. thanks so much to those that have already donated...

http://www.walknowforautism.org/siouxfalls/joewiemann

Much thanks to all... I am hoping we can still hit our goal... but obviously time is running short...

thanks for all your support, thoughts and prayers...

Joe

[yoteforever]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

I have been watching this thread now for 10 days. I don't know the Wiemann family whatsoever, but they are dealing with a tough circumstance like many other fine people across this nation.

For SDSU fans, it's a fellow Rabbit calling out for much needed assistance, and for people in general, it's a wakeup for us to help those that are far needier than the majority of us. This isn't rivalry talk, this is a challenge to those of us on this board to support an excellent cause. Whether it is for the autistic charity, cancer, heart, etc....millions of people need our prayers and hard earned dollars to deal with strenuous situations.

I challenege all the posters on here to give what you can to help this family out. God's blessings to all, and especially to this family. Please take 3 minutes to go to websire and make a tax deductible pledge.

Good luck Wiemanns.

[Jackrabbit_Joe]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

For those of you who don't know much about autism or how it affects people I found a great site today so I thought I would share it since there does seem to be some interest in the topic....

http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/tp/topfacts.htm

I thought that the information there filled a great need for a concise introduction to autism along with links for more in depth information.


Yote - thanks so much for the support and encouragment of our cause... we sincerely appreciate it.

I have a feeling that others have donated to the walk from this site as well.. as well as additional thoughts and prayers for the autism community... thank you to all of you as well....


If you read my post about my son, you will find this tidbit of information.

As a family, we have decided to make an effort to increase autism awareness.

I hope I am accomplishing that by posting on this site. Based on some of the responses in this thread it would appear that I am...

Thanks for anything and everything the members of this site are doing for this thread and all of the people it truely affects. trust me, the reaches go out far beyond my family and my son.

[Jackrabbit_Joe]

Re: Oct 3 - Walk Now For Autism - Sioux Falls

Today marks a week out from this event... please consider donating or participating in this walk...

I cannot express what this means to all those involved in the autism community....