May 30, 2008 2:48 PM
Alex Barton cards - update 1
If I get my son's class to make a card for Alex, will it really get to him??My first grade son has AS and I am grateful to report that he is a LOVED, RESPECTED, ACCEPTED member of his class as well as his family. I guess I am lucky, and I plan to thank his teachers tomorrow with tears in my eyes and a copy of the article describing Alex's incident, along with a request that they do something to make Alex feel as good about himself as they have managed to make my son, Mikey feel.
I know it is not always easy for my son's teachers or classmates, but they always manages to make my son feel secure and valued no matter what!! Alex deserves that too! Thank you!
Dana
Absolutely, it will get to him!
I am collecting stuff on my dining room table:
so far, 31 pieces of mail for Alex from:
Seattle, WA
Pittsburgh, PA
Baltimore, MD
Houston, TX
Winston-Salem,NC
Richmond, VA
Kansas City
Oakland, CA
San Antonio, TX (2)
Sayre, PA (2)
Laconia, NH
Laguna Vista, TX
Ft. Carson, CO
Oakland, CA
Boston, MA
Duvall, WA
Phoenix, AZ
Colorado Springs, CO
Cleona, PA
Telford, PA
Irvine, CA
Tetonia, ID
Petaluma, CA (Hey! I used to live there!)
Ann Arbor, MI
Florence, OR
Lansdale, PA
North Bay, CA
Winfield, IL
I plan to give daily updates - picture and stats.
Will have my kids decorate a box and send next Wednesday - and every Wednesday after that if stuff continues to come - as it probably will.
This just proves something George Will once wrote on his son's 21st birthday:
Like many handicapped people, Jon frequently depends on the kindness of strangers. He almost invariably receives it, partly because Americans are, by and large, nice, and because Jon is, too. He was born on his father's birthday, a gift that keeps on giving.
[from Jon Will's Aptitudes, an essay which appeared in Newsweek in 1993]
We are truly blessed - even more so because the Internet has made it possible for us to express such direct kindness and compassion.
There are several people that in my hurry to get this rolling while packing for Kansas I forgot to mention:
Misty Liu and Kim Hemmings came up with the card idea almost simultaneously.
Kari Murphy - One Thousand Gifts - came up with the button. My friend Beth came up with another button I didn't use, but which made it to national television :)
Also, Garth Choutou of PopCap, in addition to sending a package for Alex has offered to pay my shipping charges for this project - an unexpected and welcome blessing. These will go via FedEx so Alex should receive his first box next Friday. In addition to showing pictures of it leaving Virginia, I will ask Melissa to take a picture of Alex opening it when it arrives in Florida.
I want this to be more meaningful than just dropping cards in a box and hoping they somehow get to Alex. Let's celebrate this expression of joy, love and acceptance together!
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Comments
One of my friends suggested writing to him too. I think it's a brilliant idea.
Best wishes
Posted by: Maddy | May 30, 2008 5:14 PM
I have a book on Asperger's Syndrome for kids and was thinking about sending that rather than a card, since my son is now almost 15 (yikes). Alex may be too young to benefit from the book right now, but it might be helpful for his mom in explaining AS to people. But I wouldn't want to send it if it would just be a duplicate. Has anyone sent a copy of "Asperger's huh"?
Posted by: Renee | May 31, 2008 8:36 AM
I sent Alex a picture my kids did on the computer - my 2 oldest ones have autism and PDD-NOS (the younger ones with ASD didn't feel up to it) and a letter to his mom. I hope he likes it! he needs that smile on his face!
This is so awesome!!
Hugs,
Krystal, Florida
Posted by: Krystal - momofautism | June 4, 2008 3:59 PM
