Happy Birthday Robb!!!

Robb you are officially 14!! On 12/31/1999 you came into this world, at three you developed autism, and you have been a joy, amazing role model to the many lives you tuch every day!!! I love you!!! And may everyone have a prosperous New Year!!

Kids with special needs in books

Though many people don't know it there are lots of books about/with kids with special needs! Here are a couple of book that I have read, I am reading, and my friends have recommended:

Al Capone Does My Homework is a  book I am currently reading about a boy
and his family who live on Alcatraz in the early 1900's. In this book
he has a sister, Natalie, has autism! When she gets accused of burning
down his old house him and his friend will try to prove she's innocent!
So far it is an AMAZING book!

Another book I have read is Rules. In this book a girl writes
rules for her brother with autism. The cover represents
her rule "no toys in the fish tank". It has a weak ending, but
a good book none the less.

Please comment if you know anymore! If you write a recommendation I will put it on my post!

What I'm giving Robb for Christmas

My family celebrates Christmas and every year I try to top the present I got him the year before. I don't think I'll be able to top this year though because I got him something he loves more than ever......

A Custom Dish Towel!!!!

Robb loves to swing around dish towels more than monkeys like to eat bananas, but he always swings around one that my family needs to use. Now he will get his own that he can swing to his hearts content!

SHHHHH! Don't tell him though!! and have some

HAPPY HOLIDAY's!!!!

Ravens Games

I don't know about you, but Robb loves Raven football games! He cheers the loudest, yells the most, and is truly a die hard Ravens fan!  He just loves all of the noise and stamina of it all! It makes him so happy when everyone else is happy and he will try his best to keep everyone happy! Most importantly though, 

GO RAVENS!

Letters about Literature contest

Hi y'all! Their is a contest for kids in 4-12 grade called "Letters about Literature". You have to write a letter to author who has written a book or poem that has impacted your life. I wrote a letter to Yeats about his poem the Fiddler of Dooney and how it has impacted my life involving Robb. Here it is:

Dear W.B. Yeats,

“When I play on my Fiddle in Dooney, folk dance like the wave of the sea”. Does this line from your poem the Fiddler of Dooney just talk about a fiddler, or does it mean a little more? I ask myself this question when I think about my brother, Robb.

Robb has autism, a mental disease making it more challenging for him to communicate. I used to always hold inside my thoughts and feelings about the different fits he has, the ways he entertains himself and people’s opinions about him, but your poem made me wonder. If I play my fiddle or write about Robb maybe folk will dance or listen, so I decided to start a blog “Robb’s Life” to express my thoughts and feelings for Robb, and it worked! There were viewers from South America, Europe, and Asia, but that is not what matters.

In the process of making and maintaining Robb’s Life, I realized something else from your poem that stay true to me forever. You said that “the good are always the merry save by an evil chance”, and autism saved me. It saved me from being unable to handle responsibility. It saved me from being ignorant to the different people in the world. It saved me from really being able to understand the difference one person can make.

So I want to say thank you for teaching me lessons.  I would never have been able to learn myself.

Sincerely,

Astri Doub