Since the average enrollment of an American public school exceeds 500 students (EducationWeek, 2019), by the numbers associated with autism prevalence (CDC, 2021), an administrator can be statistically assured that the school’s count of students on the spectrum will be in the double digits. It is likely that the least restrictive environment for those autistic […]
March and April are hands down Good Friend, Inc.'s busiest months. We're right in the thick of our two big annual fundraising events: the ongoing Highlight It Up Blue campaign, which this year involves four stylists and runs through April 23; and our Hoa Aloha Autism Awareness Bowling Event, coming up on this Sunday, April […]
Last week, Denise and I attended and presented at the 6th annual WisABA Conference. At first, the disparity between the numbers of capital letters after our last names representing our degrees and certifications was intimidating to me. There we were, in the company of many highly-educated and -trained professionals in the fields of skilled service […]
We are now in the hourly countdown of our KICKSTARTER crowd-funding campaign! With some additional donations made to our website and by check by Benny B., Pamme W., Les & Jeannette S., and others, I was able to post a large pledge for "We ALL Fit". We are now in a mad dash to find $6,400. Donations made […]
You are invited to make a difference. You are invited to be an inspiration. You are invited to celebrate friendship. You are invited to participate! So far, 21 of you have accepted our invitation to participate in backing our new autism peer sensitivity film, "We ALL Fit". Special thanks to $100 backers Kim Braatz, Jessica […]
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 […]
It's a busy month in the Good Friend calendar: Autism Awareness Month. We caregivers are all bustling about with blue in our 'dos and shining our lights and wearing our puzzle piece pins. And as my own children with ASD get older (they're now 14 and 11), they're taking more notice of all the buzz. […]
Welcome to the 2nd annual Good Friend HighLight It Up Blue for Autism campaign! Last year, well over 100 of you in the metro Milwaukee area visited Salon Brillaré in Pewaukee, or went to one of our on-location events in Waukesha, New Berlin, or Milwaukee, to get blue natural hair extensions, feathers, and/or sparkly tinsel strands to help create autism awareness. This […]
An article published online in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine last week regarding autism and bullying set the news and social media ablaze with headlines and commentaries. As a parent, professional, and advocate, I noticed a disturbing but familiar pattern about the "angles"; there was a lot of victim blame going on. Just read […]