My Podcast on Autism Hangout

Check out my Podcast of December 30, 2008 on Autism Hangout, where I discussed autism twitter day, autism articles at BellaOnline and a future autism twitter day in April of 2009.

Halloween Experiences for those on the Autism Spectrum

Halloween is just around the corner. Stores have had costumes stocked for a few weeks now. With school back in session students will be discussing which characters they will be wearing as a costume or if you are The Sewing Mom you are making costumes.

I have one article on my site for Halloween, which I did three years ago. I want to have more options available for readers to gain insights into the Halloween Experience for the child on the autism spectrum.

My 12 and 13 year old do not participate in Halloween. Their Elementary Schools had parades. I would pick up Matthew early and he would wear regular clothes to school. Now that he is in Middle School I am not sure what the procedure is for this Holiday in terms of wearing the uniform to school or allowing a costume. Nicholas is homeschooled with California Virtual Academy so he will be home.

I am looking for input from families that have had past experiences with their child on the autism spectrum by wearing a costume to school, participating in a party at class or elsewhere, and also those that have parties in their home and take their kids out for trick or treating.

If you have blogged about it and interested in sharing your link please post it in the comments. If you want to create a blog post please let me know your website address so I can follow when it gets posted. If you are planning already for this year you can also comment here about the preparations and let me know if this is something I can include in my article.

As an example I can just say that a Mom in NY to a 4 year old boy did this and that. If you want me to link to your blog please indicate that as well. I would like to have an article helping new families gain insights from other families on what type of costumes kids can handle, how long they last outside doing the visiting of homes, what about barking dogs, diet issues for treats and parties and sensory issues with the costumes and makeup, etc. If there is a certain book, CD or DVD you have used to help prepare for Halloween, please share. I have reviewed a few Winnie the Pooh ones and curious to know if any exist specifically for those on the autism spectrum.

I am looking forward to hearing from other autism families on their experiences sine we just bypass the Holiday and wait for November to show up. If you have any recipes or blog post on gluten casein free treats please share those here.

Seeking Toy Reviews for Kids on the Autism Spectrum

I am hoping to find some families that have a child on the autism spectrum that can share a review on a toy, game, sensory item or something similar. If you are not already an Amazon Associate, I suggest Signing Up for their affiliate program.

The reviews I am requesting are for the Autism Spectrum Disorders site at BellaOnline. September is just about here and traffic pick up at this time for families looking for holiday gifts for their children on the Autism Spectrum.

I am a single parent to two boys on opposite ends of the spectrum, ages 12 and 13. I am interested in getting some reviews from families who have girls and also younger children so there is something recommended on the site for all ages. This call also goes out to those with children who have the diagnosis of PDD-NOS or Asperger Syndrome.

I have been writing at BellaOnline since June of 2005. There is a 400 word minimum for articles. This should be no problem. My articles average 1000+ words. You will need to sign a Guest Contributor Agreement. This is what an article consists of:

Title - under 50 characters
Article Author - you would be listed here as guest author
Date - the article stays in archives and under subject header (toys, music, etc)
Article description - this is 300 characters
Keywords - under 300 characters
Text - 400 word minimum
Subject - I will help with this
Three links - these would be other articles on my site linked at bottom

You can do a sentence or two bio that can be placed at the bottom of the article and include your personal site or blog. Give me your amazon ID and the item on amazon you are reviewing and I will add that to the article. While the article is on the site you will get the amazon associate credit. Articles are never deleted so the article could be at the site for several years. I can help you with the title, description and key words as well.

Here are some examples of mine:

Crayola Folding Table Top Art Easel

This example has more than one product being reviewed, which is also a possiility should guest contributor have a few items and want to combine into one article. An affiliate link for each item can be placed in the article.

Leap Frog Phonics for the low functioning child

Matching and Sorting Activities for the child on the autism spectrum

Movies for children

Music and Software Reviews


I am looking for families that use toys in their home. This is not for those who own companies to market their products. The site gets 55,000 page views a month. This will be an opportunity for sharing about your family, making some amazon affiliate money and linking to your site. There is no compensation, writing at BellaOnline is a volunteer gig.

A newsletter goes out each week so the article will be linked there. Currently there are 1100 subscribers. An article can be clicked to Digg or Del.icio.us. There is a section where visitors can email an article to a friend, bringing more readers to your article.

BellaOnline does not have a comment section, but there are is a forum for the autism spectrum disorders site. I can start a thread there linking your article and can be a place for discussion of the article.

Here is what a Guest Author article looks like, note the top with the name and bottom with contact info.

Please leave a comment if you are interested and let me know the age, sex and toys or related items you can write on. Remember to check out the guest contributor agreeement as well.

Twitter Tag

I practically start each day checking out Twitter and end the night or early morning hours by refreshing the page one more time as I pass the computer on my way to bed. So when I came across this twitter tag at Swept Away where I was dropping an Entrecard and seeing twitter caught my eye.

{start copy here}

Rules:
+ Answer all the questions.

+ Add your twitter username to the list and leave a comment on this post so I can add you on the master list.

+ Tag other twitter users you know.


1. Who invited you to join twitter? Lisa Shea

2. How many twitter updates have you made since you signed up? 2,835

3. How many direct messages have you received so far? 220

4. On an average, how many twits do you make a day? 20+

5. How many followers do you have? 461

6. How many are you following? 437

7. Have you ever blocked/denied follow requests? yes, spammers and one recently

8. What did you write in your one line bio? writing on autism and advocating for children to be treated with respect from general public

9. Did you even bother to customize your twitter page? Nope, not interested

10. Do you think twitter is cool or is just a waste of time? cool and neat


Twitters: cherryrose | maileen1| autismfamily | Your Twitter Username

{end copy here}

An Introduction to Autism Family Adventures

I have been writing online since January of 2000, starting at Epinions. In June of 2005 I became the Editor at http://autismspectrumdisorders.bellaonline.com site at BellaOnline. I also did a spin at the Insurance and Children's TV sites at BellaOnline for a few years.

I will be using this Autism Family Adventures Blog for posts that do not fit at BellaOnline and to share about sites and resources I find along my travels. The id "autismfamily" is not new for me since this is the ID I utilize at many sites.

Perhaps you have sold an autism awareness item to me or purchased books from me when I was selling items. I have the ID autismfamily on ebay as well.

I stated a yahoo group in January of 2004 entitled, MakingPECSCards. There are now 480 members. I implemented Round Robins, which are similar to coupon trains, but we share pecs or picture cards instead of coupons. If you are a parent, teacher, therapist, aide or professional feel free to join. There are links, photos and files at the group for your perusal. The Round Robins are for those in the USA and Canada.

I am also known as "autismfamily" on CafeMom. The two groups I started there are Wish Upon A Hero Members and Autism Resources

I have granted wishes at Wish Upon A Hero under the autismfamily ID. There is a large autism community at that site.

I have an ebook, Educational Autism Tips For Families

I run several groups on gather, including Autism Families and AC Writers for those who want to bring attention to their articles on Associated Content.

I have a profile over at MyLot and have written a few articles on >Associated Content and Helium. I am also on FriendFeed, Myspace, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, Cre8buzz, Plurk, Mom Logic,Oozzl, Healia, Trusera, MedHelp and Revolution Health.

I am moving my way around the internet joining sites and meeting new people that may or may not have an autism connection. I look forward to meeting new people and sharing what goes on in an autism family.