The band, Five for Fighting, is generously donating $0.49 to Autism Speaks for *each time* the video is viewed. The funding goes toward research studies to help find a cure. When you have a moment,  please visit the link below to watch the video and pass it along to your  friends and family. They are aiming for 10,000 hits, but hopefully we can help them to surpass this goal:  http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214%A0 

 Wow!  October is a big month for awareness, especially in my family.  Earlier I dedicated the Breast Cancer post to my mother and today, to my niece who is autistic.  Her story follows beneath their family picture!

My niece is autistic and she is adorable.  She was diagnosed with autism at about age 15 months and she is now 19 years old.  Her twin brother was ahead of her developmentally.  We all just thought she would “catch up,” until there was an article in the newspaper about Autism.  It listed the “symptoms” and my niece had most of them.  My sister took her to the doctor and the doctor said, “you’re just comparing her to her brother and you shouldn’t do that.”  My sister pulled out the article on Autism, she had circled the characteristics that my niece had (most were circled), that got the doctor moving forward on some testing and thus, we received the diagnosis. 

My niece is adorable, but when we received the diagnosis, we decided hold a family “fast” for her (fasting and praying is something that we do in our religion - if you want to know more about that, I can send a couple of missionaries to teach you.)  Well, a  while after the “fast” my mother asked my brother if he was still praying for our niece.  He said that yes he was.  My mom said, “are you praying that she will get better?”  Then, my sweet, tender younger brother started to wipe tears from his eyes and he said, “I want to pray that she will get better, but she is just so darn cute the way she is, that I don’t want her to change.”  Then my mom started to cry and said, “You’re right.”

My niece has a sixth sense about people.  My younger brother started to date a girl and on one of their first dates, he took her to my sisters home.  The next day my mom called and said, “You’re brother is going to marry that girl.”  I wondered why she would say that so early in their courtship, then she explained that my niece had just loved the girl and the girl had just loved my niece - that is the family litmus test!  Yes, my niece has a sixth sense about people!  And, my brother did marry that girl!

My nephew (my nieces twin brother) is serving a two year mission for our church.  He left last December.  He kind of missed his parents, his friends, the family, the cousins, etc., but he missed his twin sister so much that it was really hard for him.  She misses him, too.  Sometimes, my sister will find her on her brothers bed.

My niece has been such a blessing to each of us.  Sure, life would be so much easier for my sister and her husband if she was a typical child rather than autistic.  But, through her, we have been given the opportunity to see how kind and loving people really are.  Her teachers and aides, at her school, are such kind, loving and caring people that it is a blessing for us to see them and to know them.  My sister and brother-in-law have a wonderful attitude about their daughter.  Rather than thinking that they will always be stuck with her, they say that they will never be lonely because they will always have her with them.

It is easy for me to talk about what a blessing my niece is, I’m not the one “in the trenches” with her.  But, as I watch my sister’s family take care of my niece, I am so touched at the way they care for her.  They have truly chosen to have her be a blessing in their lives rather than a trial.

P.S. The family picture, above didn’t scan very well.  If any of you have suggestions for scanned images, please share, I’m still learning!