shannonj - A Hopeful Heart
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City: Harpswell
State: Maine
Country: USA
Member since: Jan 23, 2007
Last logged in: Dec 01, 2008
shannonj's Bio
 

My name is Shannon and I have a great husband and 2 amazing kids.

My oldest, Wynn, has autism and still struggles, after all these years of treatments and therapies, with anxiety and aggression. At his best, he is funny, intuitive and sensitive.

My daughter, 12 year old Haley, is strong and independent, creative and musical. She has been a shining example for Wynn and taught him many of his first words and skills by sheer example.

Steve is my husband of 19 years and partner in this endeavor to be a family in this crazy world of autism. Out of a need we had to have better communication with Wynn's team members, he created a web application called iAbida.com. It has been a project from his heart, and he makes it available to all families, around the globe, for free.

And me? In spite of being a terrible klutz, I have learned the fine art of juggling....motherhood, advocacy, household management and working from home. Foggyrock is my latest project--to fulfill my own need to be associated with other fantastic folks, like you, who I knew were out there.....Thank you for allowing me into your life through this community.

Favorite Compositions (6)

- New closet doors $200
- Repairing four walls with holes - $100 and hours of ...Read more
By stevej on 01.01.70
Comments(5)
My son Wynn has autism. As a result, his social skills are stunted. Neverl...Read more
By shannonj on 01.01.70
Comments(10)
Every once in a while, the planetary structures all come together in just th...Read more
By shannonj on 01.01.70
Comments(2)
My 12 year old son struggles, for some reason, with understanding the difference...Read more
By shannonj on 01.01.70
Comments(5)
I’ve heard the weather reports and recognize that it is surely inevitable that I...Read more
By shannonj on 01.01.70
Comments(13)

shannonj's Compositions

My Stroke of Insight
by shannonj on 09.09.08 - public - 239 visits

I'm currently reading a book called
My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD

She is a Harvard neuroanatomist (brain scientist) who experienced a stroke at age 37. She walks you through the symptoms, the experience of the stroke and the steps of the recovery as a brain expert on her own brain--from the inside out. What I have found so intriguing is how similar to autism her impairment after the stroke seems....and how she is able to describe so well the dysfunction in each part of the brain and how it affect vision, speech, receptive language, motor skills etc....Makes it sound like our children on the spectrum are certainly brain injured!
Watch her on youtube (not to replace the book, mind you)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU

Comments(9)

houseelffywinky
Posted on Thu, 9 Oct 2008

wow thats just amazing I really need to look into this more thanks for sharing

Christopherrobinsmom
Posted on Fri, 12 Sep 2008

Thank you, Shannon. I will definitely read that book. I thought the program was so interesting.

steadman
Posted on Tue, 9 Sep 2008

This is interesting...I have came across some blogs etc. in regards to our children having high cholesterol. Which I think I will get my kids checked to see.

Motherof4
Posted on Tue, 9 Sep 2008

My husband told me about this book after listening to an interview with Jill Bolte Taylor on NPR. Like carmel66, I forgot all about it until now. Thank you so much for posting this, sounds fascinating!

LisaAKAmom
Posted on Mon, 8 Sep 2008

Thanks Shannon...with both my boys troubles...sounds like something I should look into.

Beausmom
Posted on Mon, 8 Sep 2008

Thanks Shannon I will certainly keep this book on my list to look for.

Monstermom
Posted on Mon, 8 Sep 2008

Thank you. I will certainly look for this book at the library.

LifeCoachLaura
Posted on Mon, 8 Sep 2008

Thanks. I'll check this out.

carmel66
Posted on Mon, 8 Sep 2008

I've heard of this book before and how amazing it is - thanks for reminding me.

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