A Personal Touch On Autism- Autism Awareness Month 2011:
A courageous mother copes with son's Autism gracefully while spreading awareness for National Autism Month and helping many others with similar children.

      In general, my son, Ethan was diagnosed with ASD(Autism spectrum disorder), also he was said to have pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).

* "All children with ASD demonstrate deficits in
1) social interaction,
2) verbal and nonverbal communication, and
3) repetitive behaviors or interests.

In addition, they will often have unusual responses to sensory experiences, such as certain sounds or the way objects look. Each of these symptoms runs the gamut from mild to severe. They will present in each individual child differently. For instance, a child may have little trouble learning to read but exhibit extremely poor social interaction. Each child will display communication, social, and behavioral patterns that are individual but fit into the overall diagnosis of ASD."

  At 7 years old Ethan is considered nonverbal / limited verbal. I don't focus on what end of the spectrum he is on because in the scheme of things it is not important. Ethan remembers EVERYTHING. He is loving and very funny, likes to be tickled & hugged, he is smart, can do anything on the computer, his fine motor skills (writing) are not so good but he can cut and paste letters to spell words and he can type certain words he wants to get things he wants, he needs motivators to get him to do the things he needs to learn. In his mind "why should i do it if it is not what i want to do" just like most kids.

He collects DVD's & VHS's to organize and watch even if he already has them. He is a visual learner, and like me - he loves to sing & listen to ALL music. Some sounds bother him, some lights bother him, tight clothes are a no no, he does not like my attention to go to anyone else but him, he uses picture schedules so he knows what comes next in his day. He is still not potty trained even though I have been trying with him since he was 3, and have tried every thing I can think of. I think we are getting close though. Getting to know someone on the spectrum is a good way to understand more about autism and definitely helps you be more aware of how if may affect you directly. It may have touched you or someone you love already and you just may have not known it. Now is the time to learn a little bit more.

Thanks for reading! ~Catherine



A Wonderful site that is run by parents whose child is on the spectrum is www.thepuzzlingpiece.com. They are giving an iPAD to anyone who completes the "iPAD Challenge". Anyone who sells 60 fundraiser puzzle piece necklaces or key chains @ $20 each will be shipped an iPAD! In addition to helping a family with an Autistic child receives a tool that may be one of the only ways for them to communicate, you are also donating money to a few organizations that research and help families dealing with Autism through thepuzzlingpeice.com.

Catherine and Ethan are taking part in that challenge and they could use some help to meet their goal. I, TJParsons want to help them in their goal, and through it try to help some other families and spread awareness for something that has had staggering increases in just a few short years and now can no longer be ignored. We cannot afford at this time not to wonder what is being done about something that afflicts roughly  ** 1 in 110 children; and what's even scarier is those numbers are from a few years ago - and critical cases have only been becoming more prevalent. So at those numbers if you think it doesn't effect you now, it will - and sooner than you would probably expect.

"Studies are already indicating the iPad and the iPod Touch as good tools for autistic children. Because of the iPad and iPod Touch, some autistic children have been able, for the very first time, to communicate their feelings and thoughts to adults. Other autistic children have been able to learn the life skills that have escaped them for a long time."

  To help Catherine and Ethan reach their goal and give some help to Autistism research and schools go to www.thepuzzlingpiece.com, CLICK PRODUCTS, scroll down to PURPLE GLASS NECKLACE or ALLOY KEY CHAIN. Select one and for challenger's name type "CATHERINE REC". So the credit goes towards her goal. It is really that simple. The people that run this site and promotion have a real personal connection with Autism as well. So every purchase not only goes towards helping a family receive a tool for communication with their child and teaching / learning, it puts money towards organizations who support and work for a better understanding of the alarming mystery of Austism. If you know someone who is interested in joining the challenge to receive help for their loved ones, family members or friends send them the link to www.thepuzzlingpiece.com, and tell them to click FUNDRAISING to get started.

Also A Wonderful Site to Connect you With Someone On The Autism spectrum looking for support or otherwise:
http://www.weareautism.org/ - A Social Network for those on the spectrum and their families & friends!

*  Taken from "What Are the Autism Spectrum Disorders?" By The National Institute of Mental Health
**  Taken from The Center for Disease Control 2006 statistics of Children with Autism

We humbly introduce "Sweet Truth" In Honor of National Poetry Month. This short was comprised of meaningful material in the form of a visual poem to honor a dear friend and inspiration. It was decided to take an old animation and give it new life in the form of a memorial to someone that was the catalyst for many's artistic passion and perseverance . May this video live long honoring his memory; a symbol to stay on track with confidence and keep going wether you are fully understood or not. We released this video for free on YouTube so that everyone would have access to it.

Chellini states "When I was just starting out playing in the garage he showed up out of nowhere. I'm not really sure how he even knew we there.    He always saw potential in me as a musician; even in my teen angst punk rock days. I know we must have sounded terrible but he was there guiding me in directions that I would never have imagined were possible. It was like he dropped out of the sky."

He continues "As for this project it just seemed like the right thing to do. The music was inspired by Josh's unique bass style. I only hope in some small way I was able to capture just a part of that essence. "

TJParsons " He was truly someone that had a tendency to motivate and teach. He inspired us to ask questions about music and train our ears better. I remember having heated discussions on what ears perceive versus what we play or what we think it sounds like. He was one to open us up to accept all forms of music and learn to appreciate it all for the content and structure. He got me personally to listen to things that I never would have given a chance. Something that has stuck with me to this day in both the music realm and the film realm. Without his guidance I would have been stiffled and walking around with blinders on(artistically). We both shared a fascination with the music of Zappa. He couldn't stand it if we were not working towards our potential, and that is priceless and never will be forgotten."

We miss you even now dear Jbonair. I hope you find pleasure in seeing what all this has become.

thanks for everything,

TJPARSONS and MATT CHELLINI

This website may be nearing its end after many long years of hard work. TJParsons after a brief altercation with confidant and collaborator Matt Chellini,  decided to quit writing, quit directing , quit designing and animating and focus solely on his new more focused career as a hip hop musician. Perhaps taking a cue from 2010's Joaquin Phoenix fiasco involving his abrupt severance from Hollywood limelight, TJ has been reported commenting on Phoenix's brave step into a new chapter in his life. Should someone tell him the whole thing was staged? Perhaps not, lets have some fun with him for a while.

When asked about the degree of commitment and seriousness of the unpredicted change he just said " Some people have a.. well you know... know what I'm saying?" Know what he is saying we do not. However we will miss his strange wit, his eccentric behavior and his bizarrely cryptic and humorous films.

So this site will be up for sale shortly. Pending paperwork drawn up just before he begins his "How to enjoy the taste of a diamond studded grill in public and feel secure with yourself" workshop and seminar starting the middle of this month.

We will miss you TJ. Godspeed and remember even though they say you can do anything once you put your mind to it ...we are not really sure about this one. So if the site isn't sold in the meantime we will be keeping the office chair warm for you so we can sit and watch Wilbur Farsee's  asinine micromentary "I'm Not All There" when you come back and smack you in the back of the head for what a dunce you have been.

Sincerely,

The New TJParsons.com Staff


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THIS JUST IN!!
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Farsee just released the Micromentary "I'm Not All there" literally five minutes after this article was posted!! Lets take a look, and marvel in his idiot-ness. Come to your senses man. Seriously. What is this guy thinking? His skills made me cry not out of beauty, but out of pity and its ability to make me sick to my stomach. I don't think you will ever work in this town again.