Autism Awareness Preparedness

World Autism Awareness Day is just over four weeks away.  How are you preparing?  In my house, I'll start bringing out my exterior blue light bulbs and hanging the Autism Awareness ribbon garden flag in a couple of weeks.  I'll get my Highlight It Up Blue hair extensions and wear my button on my jacket.

I love it when schools plan their activities thoughtfully.  While many of us are "aware" of autism, how can we make that meaningful?  How do we hone awareness to understanding, and channel understanding to acceptance?

At one school, the parent-teacher organization has decided that Good Friend's curriculum is worthy of an annual budget item.  They are so prepared for our return that our Awareness-Acceptance-Empathy message has become part of their school culture.  And that culture is inclusive of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

By giving the school community a common vocabulary for discussing ASD, we've also encouraged budding self-advocates.  One student, pictured below, took the pole position in the presentation for his grade level this year.  He came up to the front of the class, explaining what autism is like for him.  Of particular wonder was his self-coined term, "brain overload".  He said that when there's too much information coming in (as sensory input), he gets confused and needs some quiet time to get re-organized.  He shared his strengths and his interests, encouraging classmates to look beyond some of his autistic symptoms to see the person who wanted connection.

And it was our pleasure to provide a positive platform for self-disclosure today for another student with ASD in middle school.  We don't want to "out" a student with autism in front of his peers in 6th-8th grade, but give him an opportunity to share (or not) about how his differently-wired brain impacts him.  The student knew we were coming and the topic of our presentation.  We took our cues from him as we discussed the science of autism with the class.  And while he was participating by answering general questions throughout the first 20 minutes, at minute 23 of 60, he began to connect himself with ASD in front of his classmates.  Following the 16-minute screening of Choosing To Be a GFF, the last third of the Individualized Classroom Presentation was so very meaningful as he continued to engage.

Certainly, those middle schoolers are aware of autism.  And they understand.  Time will reveal the level of acceptance they extend.  And we look forward to hearing about it!

LAUNCHED: Campaign for New Film Project

We've been planning for this for a looooooooong time (just ask Good Friend co-founder Denise Schamens -- she'll tell you): the official start of our new elementary school film project!  It's hard to believe it's been three years since we started work on Choosing To Be a GFF for middle school, and that How Can I Be a Good Friend to Someone with Autism, our first film, was released nearly six years ago!

If you saw our award-winning middle school film, you know how much we grew as filmmakers between our first and second productions.  Can you imagine what our THIRD will be like?  We sure can.  And we have quite a crew assembled who will make it come to pass.

Want to be part of the action?  Check out and share our KICKSTARTER campaign!  We need people to catch the creative vision we have to make this film come to life.  We have less than 30 days (until the morning of July 17) to find $10,000 in pledges.  Here are a few things you should know about this platform and our specific project for We ALL Fit (the title of our upcoming film):

• Because Good Friend is a 501(c)(3) public charity, donations made through the campaign are tax-deductible as allowed by law.  However, if you receive a "Reward" through the campaign, the cash value of the reward is not considered tax-deductible.  Therefore, your acknowledgement from Good Friend will reflect the difference.
• If you pledge an amount other than those listed on our Rewards section, you may still be eligible for Rewards.  Email us for more info.
• Kickstarter uses Amazon Payments to collect pledges, but will not do so until after our campaign has ended (July 17) and ONLY IF we meet our $10,000 goal.  You do not need an Amazon account to make a pledge.
• Backers could be anywhere, and time is of the essence. Help us find them. Please spread the word via email and social media.

We would be negligent if we didn't offer shout-outs to some key players to date in this project ...

• Our creative team, including returning techies Dan Kallenberger and Tim Miller.  You two have been SO patient with us as budding filmmakers and incredibly supportive with our last two projects.  THANK YOU for being on board this time and bringing some fresh talent with you!
• Greg Marshall of Figureheads, Inc.  Our meeting was no accident, and this collabo is going to be EPIC!
• The participants of our May 2012 Community Conversation on Meaningful Inclusion in Elementary School. Your energy that night was inspiring, and made us realize there's NOTHING we can't accomplish when we as parents, therapists, educators, and administrators work together!  (And though I promised notes more than a year ago, they really ARE coming this week!)

Thanks to each of you for BACKING our mission!

We need your support this Friday!

It's not so much that we as co-founders of Good Friend need you (though obviously, we do, and are so thankful for you!).  It's more that we need you to help us recognize some wonderful people.

• We need you to cheer on high school student and Master of Ceremonies Ellie Trewyn, who's the voice of Choosing To Be a GFF and is an aspiring broadcast professional.  
• We need you to congratulate Good Friend in Education Award winner Alexandra Krysiak, who, perhaps more because of than in spite of her own challenges, is a wise and powerful advocate for her elementary school classmates with autism. 
• We need you to put your hands up for Shelly Dretzka, Good Friend's Top Fundraiser for FY 2011/12, who rallied a dozen teams to participate in our 4th annual Hoa Aloha Autism Awareness Bowling Event and ultimately was responsible for bringing $2,862 in to support autism awareness, acceptance, and empathy.

And we want to have a blast while we're doing all that!  So we'll have a few black jack and roulette tables, just for fun, and at the raffle you could win some lovely home furnishings, including hand-tied fleece blankets!

And check out these fine silent auction items!

Handmade cuff bracelet and earrings donated by
Potawatomi Bingo Casino, valued at $200.

Handblown glass bowl donated by artist Craig Derby,
valued at $200.

Priceless handmade puzzle piece quilt donated by Cari Short.

Matted and framed limited edition Terry Doughty print,
"Phantoms of the Tamarack", donated by Jeannette &
Les Schamens and valued at $300.

Please say you'll come to Steinhafels in Waukesha, Wis., on Friday, Aug. 3, at 7 p.m.  Just let Denise know you're coming (262-391-1369).  We always welcome your online donation, too, in case you wish to give a gift in honor of Good Friend's 5th birthday without attending the festivities.  Thanks in advance!

Ce-le-brate Good Friend, C'MON!

OK, so it's not quite Kool & the Gang.  But we do have a lot to celebrate!  August 10th marks Good Friend's FIFTH incorporation anniversary, which is a big deal in the life of a nonprofit organization.  It means we're here to stay.  It means that, though the economy has been shaky these past few years, our mission is valuable enough that people are investing in it.  It means, in the eyes of some larger foundations, that we are worthy of support.

THANK YOU for what you've done to enable us to present the Awareness-Acceptance-Empathy® message to nearly 17,000 people since December, 2007!

Our fiscal year ends June 30th.  This last week is the perfect time to get your donation counted!  We have two HUGE projects coming up this fall (one being University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's independent study of our elementary school staff and student services, and another that's so big, we can't even tell you about it yet!) which will require a lot of resources.  And since school's out in the summer, we're generally not generating as much income.  So while we're already up more than 12% this year over last in revenue, we've fallen rather short of fully-funding our operations.  Any amount you can contribute, whether by mailing your check (to Good Friend, Inc., 808 Cavalier Dr., Waukesha, WI 53186) or donating through our website, is greatly appreciated and goes a long way!

And did you hear that Choosing To Be a GFF was named by the American Library Association a 2012 ALSC Notable Children's Video?  Another reason to celebrate!  We hope you'll join us at 6:30 p.m. on August 3rd in Steinhafels' Community Room (Waukesha, Wis.) to celebrate these successes and the people who helped make them happen.  The registration page will be on our website next month.  Stay tuned for details!