Autism Atmosphere

This Owen’s practitioner, Kelley and his friend, Michael. If you ever see Owen and his friends spell you will forever change the way you see them. They are brilliant, kind and thoughtful people that just want to be given a chance.

'Spelling to Communicate' gives Knoxville man a voice Nonverbal and unreliable speakers are learning to communicate with a letter board, allowing them to share their thoughts and dreams.

Do you follow us on Instagram yet? Please go check it out!

Owen’s Autistic Life

Have you joined followed us yet? We are hosting a live every evening at 7:00 EST.

Autism Atmosphere 🌎✈️ on TikTok 1629 Followers, 1627 Following, 2888 Likes - Watch awesome short videos created by Autism Atmosphere 🌎✈️

This is a webinar you should have everyone you know join!

Whether you're new to the nonspeaking community or are looking for a refresher, this webinar has it all! Learn new strategies for presuming competence, nurturing growth, and creating pathways to success. Learn how to evolve your approach to presuming competence in nonspeaking individuals to excel and achieve their dreams.

Register here: https://i-asc.org/event/presuming-competence/

Whether you're new to the nonspeaking community or are looking for a refresher, this webinar has it all! Learn new strategies for presuming competence, nurturing growth, and creating pathways to success. Learn how to evolve your approach to presuming competence in nonspeaking individuals to excel and achieve their dreams.

Register here: https://i-asc.org/event/presuming-competence/

🗓️ May 16 | Spring into Spelling 8:00PM | Join us for a spectacular evening as we "Spring Into Spelling" with I-ASC's virtual event! Mark your calendars for May 16th at 8 pm ET as we celebrate our neurodiverse community in style. Expect an evening filled with fellowship, inspirational stories of hope, strength, and determin...

Milestone birthdays are emotional for me. I’ve cried every year leading up to his birthday but it seems this one makes me even more emotional. 😭

As Owen approaches his 21st birthday, reflecting on the journey since he was two, we've been relying on therapies and other professionals to help us navigate raising a nonspeaking autistic child. It's a profoundly emotional journey, filled with constant worry and uncertainty about meeting his needs, as well as ensuring his safety, since he struggles to communicate. Only parents of children like Owen can relate to these feelings.

This year, we are thankful for the progress that has been made using Spelling to Communicate (S2C). He’s now able to express some of his thoughts and desires to us using his letter boards. While complete independence may not be attainable, our hope for Owen is to achieve autonomy, allowing him to make choices about where he lives, works, and spends his time.

Milestone birthdays serve as reminders of the unique path Owen walks compared to his peers, highlighting the challenges he has faced and will continue to face. Rather than planning a typical 21st birthday celebration, he received a letter from the government stating a change in his disability benefits since he is no longer considered a child. Despite no longer being classified as a child, he still requires daily support for various tasks like choosing clothes, grooming, meal preparation, and receiving reminders for routine activities. Certain everyday tasks, such as using a men's public restroom independently, remain challenging. Without the ability to drive, he relies on us to take him to all appointments and activities.

While the road ahead still seems long, we remain committed to enhancing Owen's quality of life and providing him with the support he needs. Adulthood services is a whole new world and we will definitely need help navigating these services and help from
our family to hang out with Owen. 😁

If you are a parent of an autistic person then you know birthday parties and gifts are also a big challenge. Any suggestions? 🤣😁

Owen had a great time hiking with Pat and this amazing group of folks. I was told him he laughed, squealed and flapped to express how happy he was to be there. Clearly he didn’t like stopping to take a group picture. lol 😂

Today is World Autism Day!
To use it’s a day to spread autism awareness and promote autism acceptance. Owen is now 20 years old (turns 21 this month) and we are still advocating daily for him to be fully included and treated like his peers that most people take for granted. For example he in PE at school he and his classmates only get to walk on the track while his typical peers are learning how to play a new sport or in music class he only gets to tap to the beat of the music on his lap while his classmates are learning to play an instrument. His school believes this is inclusion but I see things differently. It seems they believe he is not capable of these things when he continues to prove that he is when given a chance.

So please be reminded to truly include someone who has difference because if you believe they can I promise you they will if you take the time to teach them.

This is an article I wrote a few years back about our journey discovering Owen has autism. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. If you have questions about autism or how you can help please don’t hesitate to ask us.

Autism: From Awareness To Acceptance Plus Diagnosis And Help Owen’s story is not much different than a lot of children diagnosed with autism. Mama April shares her experience and hopes of helping others.

Sometimes, as a mom, we keep our children from trying difficult or new things, thinking we're protecting them. However, our expectations on what we think they can achieve might hinder their full potential.

It's rare to find someone who believes in your child's abilities more than you do, and when you do, you have to step back and faith in that person because they may just take your child to places you never believed possible.

Cassidy from The Resilience Movement Fitness and Adaptive Training has enrolled Owen to be in the Tough Mudder in Atlanta. Yes, Im terrified but I won't let my fears stop Owen and Cassidy from trying.

Recently, Owen’s direct support person asked if he’d ever tried archery. I admit, I was skeptical, but I didn’t discourage her from taking him for a lesson. When Owen returned, his direct support person was beaming with pride and excitement as she explained that he had accomplished about 90% of shooting an arrow and requested a second turn, even if it meant he had to wait in a long line.

Owen has relied on professionals since he was two, but finding someone as caring, determined, and excited as his current direct support person is a treasure. Her genuine excitement for Owen’s progress is a rare and beautiful thing. As parents like me know, when your child has autism, finding professionals who believe in their potential is very rare.

We need more people like her in this world! 😁

Thank you Chattanooga for having such great opportunity for Owen to try.

Owen completed this fun puzzle.

School breaks mean time for puzzling 😄

Merry Christmas from Tennessee!

Owen visited with Santa this evening.

Here’s a sample of Owen’s senior pictures. I have 100 fabulous pictures to choose from. Thanks to the very kind and patient Kelly Duncan Photography
If you have an autistic child you know that getting a posed picture with a genuine smile is nothing short of short miracle so needless to say we are extremely happy with these gems.
Owen’s dad and I were in awe of how much Owen seemed to enjoy himself.

Which one is your favorite?

I believe I can fly!

Working while riding Luna.

Do you follow us on TikTok?

TikTok · Owen Check out Owen's video.

We had a great time in DC with family and we even fit in a little sightseeing during our short visit. The highlight was the tour of the Capitol.

Owen surprised us with how engaged he was with everyone. He sat at the table with 15 plus others and had dinner and stayed right with the family the majority of the time. Owen also managed to be in the same room with a family dog and he petted her several times. These are all big steps for him and it amazes us at how much he’s grown this year.

We also showed off a little of his spelling to communicate and of course the family was amazed.

What did you do this Thanksgiving?

Where’s Waldo? Happy Halloween!
What costume are you wearing? Share a picture in the comments. Please 😄