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Autism, Aspergers and ASD - Empowering Parents
"Who Else Needs Help
and Advice With
Autism, Aspergers, ASD ?"
"I am here to empower parents and assist them in
starting to enjoy their amazing children."
"Our children are individuals before they are their label."
From: Kerri Stocks
Wednesday, 3:45 p.m.
Dear Fellow Parent,
I am a 37 year old mother of two children, and my son has Autism / Aspergers / ASD.
I have over thirteen years experience with ASD / Aspergers / Autism,
both as a mother and as a consultant to parents,
as well as holding the academic qualifications
as 'Post Grad Cert in Advanced Disabilities Studies'.
I am currently working on my Masters Degree In Human Services.
My son was affected very strongly by his social surroundings and his emotions that overloaded him every minute.
He was very suicidal, a self harmer, and had no school attendance due to severe meltdowns.
Watching your son wanting to die, and hating himself to his core is a very distressing experience for a mother and father and family to go through.
He was a runner who reminded me of “Forrest Gump”- he just kept running until he reached his destination.
When I share my knowledge with you I am coming
first as a mother and secondly as an academic.
My son is now full time in school and his last exam result was an A+ for his math’s test!
(Not bad for a child who has only been in school full time for three years.)
He is well aware of his surroundings and loves school, as much as any child loves school.
He is very talented in reading other people's body language, and "reading" his surroundings.
I needed to teach my son and daughter ways
to help them understand the world better.
I taught them through stories that I developed which teach them Social Rules and Social Ways, as well as addressing Emotions and Feelings.
I taught them how to respond in a manner that allows them to keep their uniqueness, and not feel they must change who they were originally meant to be.
My sons nightly prayers were, “Please God make me normal.”
" I set out to challenge the social belief of normality
and to show my son that “normal” does not exist."
"...work such as Kerri’s is critical in modern times, particularly when the mental health industry has much to answer for in relation to the wider social implications it has created..." " Contrived out of first hand experience, Kerri has a wealth of practical knowledge regarding the difficulties that kids face when growing up with developmental and social conditions. Even more valuable to parents and professionals alike, her determination to express that knowledge in an easily digestible format is inspiring and commendable. The technique she employs is simple, fun, and symbolically assimilating, especially for those without a background in behavioural sciences because the language and concepts she uses is plain enough for anyone to understand. Practical, front-line work such as Kerri’s is critical in modern times, particularly when the mental health industry has much to answer for in relation to the wider social implications it has created. Parents need to have resources that help them dissolve the myths about the rigid ways they have been lead to believe kids fit into contemporary society and empower them with the insight to help their children flourish, regardless of any behavioural or social deficits. Kerri’s work aspires to provide these resources and make them easily available to parents all around the globe." Adam J. W. Walker |
OUR JOURNEY (A BRIEF overview) Our son Brandon was born in 1995. Up until he was of school age we were always told how ‘perfect’ our son was. We were always asked “what is your secret ?" My answer, “I don’t have one. I am a new mum.” Once school started we were constantly told of our sons ‘faults’ - his ‘problems’ and his ‘mistakes’. He seemed just fine at home when he was on his own or just with me - put another person in the equation, and down hill it went. WHAT HAVE WE DONE WRONG ? Obviously as parents we blamed ourselves, why wouldn't we ? Especially when society was judging us greatly and slowly isolating us as a family. Not to mention the education institution removing our son daily in front of his peers, and showing him that he was not welcomed nor acceptable to be amongst others. RAPID DESTRUCTION ! As years went by we saw our son rapidly be reduced to a person who was surviving on:
WHEN YOU JUST DON’T FIT
Alarm bells go off, you know changes need to happen. We knew it was time for US to make STEPS WE TOOK THAT ALLOWED OUR SON TO FEEL JOY
Empowerment = Success ! |
OUR JOURNEY (In MORE DETAIL) I will share with you our personal experiences so that you may appreciate where these books have originated from. I am firstly a mother of two uniquely made children, Brandon and Jessica. When I had Brandon, my husband and I thought all was good, but that was until we entered the social scene of the educational institutions. That is when, from day one, we were told quite openly and freely about our sons ‘mistakes’ and ‘ problems’, his differences just were not accepted. After many years of searching for an answer, a real answer, and not just judgments and insults and personal opinions on our parenting skills or our home environment, we were informed our son had ASD, Autistic Spectrum Disorder. We thought we were doing the right thing. After years of taking our son to be analysed, observed and constantly labeled, it started to take its toll on us and on him. Brandon rapidly went down hill, knowing he was different and knowing he was not accepted by his peers or by society in itself. Being accepted is a normal and natural yearning that humans need and hope for. The more Brandon was isolated and excluded, the lower he became within himself, and self hate, self loathing, depression, hate, sadness, and resentment took over. We broke the years and experiences down into facts, started putting all the different opinions, theories and attitudes into perspective. We came to the realization that we needed to take our control back. We needed to start looking within ourselves to find out what our family’s needs were, as a collective unit and what we really hoped for Brandon and more importantly we started asking Brandon what he wanted. We knew that we had to try a different unique way of looking at how we were parenting. We realised that we firstly had to address the issues that could be changed in him. This required collective philosophies and actions instead of just focusing on what the medical model was telling us, but it needed to be done without giving our children the message that they were not ‘good’ enough. We realised that our son’s main area of undoing was in social situations. When ever he stepped amongst others, he struggled greatly in reading other people’s body language and changes in their behaviours and attitudes. This is when we made the decision to take things into our own hands and fill Brandon with the knowledge that he lacked in. We stopped looking at our child as wrong, different or odd. We stopped going against his grain. Once we started walking with him, and we all walked the same path, Brandon was open to learning and getting the knowledge of how the world works, or as I have called my books, “The Rules of the Game”. They come directly from the experiences Brandon has had during his everyday life and the things we have done as a family to help him through these times. I believe that my husband has worked hard enough to provide a home and good life for us all and I did not want him to have work even harder to help support us to pay for all the additional costs involved and all the traveling and emotional stress involved, just so we could take Brandon to a stranger who could only see him once a fortnight and who saw him as broken. This made no sense! I am a mother before I am a professional. I have studied in the field of disability but I hold a strong position in the knowledge standpoint, this means I am not promoting text books theories to you, I am handing you real life strategies that work, when coupled with, consistency, encouragement and open mindedness. I decided to share my books after receiving a lot of positive feedback from parents and other people who shared the same philosophies. I also wanted to help parents learn how to help their own children, without having the added burden of high costs. Our children have learnt how to see what they may be putting out there in the world that may bring back a negative response, yet more importantly they also know when the responsibility lays on others and have learnt to not take it on board. This is all due to us as parents taking our control back and talking to and listening to our children. It is about seeing them as who they were genuinely meant to be and teaching them how to be proud of whom they are. |
Reading the stories in the books helped my children to "read" their surroundings, broaden their perspectives, learn morals, respect and self responsibility, and finally experience joy. Once they were able to do this were they then able to succeed academically.
I have a deep compassion for children with Autism / Aspergers / ASD and my goal is to assist parents with obtaining knowledge
that will enable their children to evolve in a society
that is not always kind and compassionate.
I am sharing this information to make it easier for parents to think about what their children need to learn, and how to teach it in a manner that keeps the child's self dignity in tact and keeps the child engaged long enough to absorb it.
 Here I am with my 2 beautiful children as we read through the books together. Jessica, Kerri and Brandon |
| "...You have a unique ability to get inside the minds of these special people and be their voice..." "I really need to say that I have very much enjoyed your newsletters and the book which I have read. You have a unique ability to get inside the minds of these special people and be their voice. This is a great help the average parent who struggles to understand what is happening inside their heads. Understanding this leads to greater patience and tolerance. Outlining your personal experiences with the school system also helps parents to realize they are not alone in this confusing world nor are their children as terrible as they can appear. With patience and work there is hope. Thank you for being a pioneer in this area. I would recommend your books and newsletters to anyone looking for help in this area." Pauline F |
So here's what I've done, and here's what I've got to offer you:-
I have over thirteen years experience with ASD / Aspergers / Autism, both as a mother and as a consultant to parents,
as well as holding academic qualifications in Advanced Studies Of Disabilities.
I am currently working on my Masters Degree In Human Services.
The books are written in step-by-step format to make talking to kids about different situations easier for parents.
Due to all parents having extremely busy lifestyles, it can become like just another chore to have to listen and breakdown our children’s daily experiences and issues, and even then we may struggle to have the right words.
Children have a mountain of situations happen to them daily, and without the appropriate advice and strategies to assist them in dealing with these, they most likely show their discomfort and distress in behavioral manners that are deemed inappropriate in society.
I've developed these 4 books to assist my children in keeping their power and self dignity in tact.
These are the 4 "Rules Of The Game" books | |
 | Topics covered in Book 1
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 | Topics covered in Book 2
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 | Topics covered in Book 3
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 | Topics covered in Book 4
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Children are not born with the knowledge of emotions nor social situations, regardless of label or no label.
I believe some children ‘go with the flow’ and this can assist in making them seem ‘normal’ and ‘able to understand their social surroundings’.
Others do not ‘go with the flow’ and hence the negative reactions they will show throughout their days to express this discomfort they are experiencing.
It is easy to assume something when on the outside the person is seeming content, when in actual fact their inner being can be quite troubled.
“Rules of the Game” books allows children to understand the semantics of
their emotions and of the world’s social ways and also allows them to learn
what responsibility they own and what responsibility does not belong
on their shoulders and in fact belongs to another person.
These books are very thorough and are not just books that can be read and put away.
They were developed so parents and children can use them daily, flick to whichever topic suits the situation and read through it, then mould it to fit different situations.
They are broken up into different stories, and when used consistently,
allows the child to take the knowledge and utilize it in the every day situations.
Allowing the child to break down situations into different segments (e.g. if someone says something offensive they can think to themselves, “oh that is an opinion and everyone has one, and it does not mean it is the truth”) allows for a sense of control and understanding, and they can then focus on what is important in their lives, and not waste time in becoming worked up on things they cannot control.
The “Rules of the Game” books were initially developed for my son
and daughter to assist them with their every day experiences.
| "...Children with Spectrum Disorders often struggle in finding a way to be understood..." "As a social worker and therapist who has worked with children for over 17 years, I was thrilled to see a resource that will help children navigate the complexity of communication and social interaction. Children with Spectrum Disorders often struggle in finding a way to be understood and to understand how to fit into the world around them. "Rules of the Game" is a wonderfully crafted tool for parents and other care givers to utilize in helping children communicate their needs, understand social cues, and help the world understand them." Jayne Holden |
"The Rules of the Game" books are made to assist in:
Challenging existing assumptions, beliefs and behavioural strategies that actually may bring about negative emotions/reactions in your child.
Allowing the child to start to replace negative patterns of behaviour with more realistic, useful and helpful beliefs and strategies that are incorporated throughout the book.
Working in partnership with professionals, but is used in ways that ensure you can follow up at home daily with your child, instead of waiting for a fortnight or more to address certain issues.
Most importantly it is the visual factor that allows the child to remain engaged throughout the learning process.
Here is an explanation of one of the topics covered in book 2. THINK IT, DON’T SAY IT © I realised my children did not deliberately say things to hurt other people; they simply spoke the truth as they saw it. I don’t believe in shaming children when they say something that may bring embarrassment on my family and to me out in public, instead I focus on teaching them the appropriate way. My daughter spoke this ‘truth’ quite often and it was extremely embarrassing and yes I could have easily yelled at her and punished her, but what would the point of been, what would that have achieved. To a Childs mind they are stating a fact - if they see some one overweight and mention it out loud, they are stating a fact. They are not aware of the ‘social rules’ nor do they have the ability to hold their tongue and think it quietly. In this story I validate the fact that what they are saying may be fact, yet I also assist in helping the child to realise and become aware of how the other person may feel hearing them say that. (This assists with learning empathy, responsibility by helping the child to think of how the other person may feel and see it, and then to take the responsibility by not saying things that may hurt other people’s feelings.) It is important to remember that children need to be reminded consistently and repetitively on the different situations throughout my books. They do not have the ability with such young minds and also through their busy days to retrieve information for different situations unless they are prompted. If you notice the words I have bolded, they are very empowering words. |
These 4 "Rules Of The Game" books are yours today for just Regular Price $197 $97
That's right, only $97 gets you all 4 of these books.
Why do you sell your books so cheap ?
( Yes I have been asked this question, in this manner.)
The only answer I can give that is honest, is I really want to see these kids have a break and be able to evolve positively in their lives.
Unfortunately when someone is labeled in society
it seems to be a common occurrence that so called
“normal” people feel the need to fix, fix, and fix.
For goodness sake, these are children, and they need guidance, guidance, guidance - along with compassion, compassion, compassion - and not to forget joy, joy, joy.
It would seem in society that ASD / Aspergers / Autism is a ‘new diagnosis with letters’.
What a hard burden for young shoulders to carry.
These false assumptions and social beliefs only affect the child in the long run.
"...Every parent is sure to learn new and wonderful things about their children by filling in these pages..." "These simple no frills workbooks give lots of space to write and also to add personal touches like favourite stickers or drawings and this makes the books really unique to each child. A beautiful idea and something to treasure forever. Every parent is sure to learn new and wonderful things about their children by filling in these pages." |
I want to share my experiences and perceptions that may enable parents and professionals to re-adjust certain mind sets they may have been taught, or grown over time.
These small ripples will eventually grow in momentum and genuinely benefit children, regardless of label and diagnosis.
In order to get my theories out I need to be compassionate to parents and their needs, abilities and that includes financial situations. Hence keeping the price very affordable. I live in their world too.
I experience similar situations that you do, and I know I personally you do not need another theory lesson on these children’s ways, or societies boxed beliefs on these children.
I needed verbs, and I needed a way to get things rolling (so I will make a small assumption that other parents, not all, may possibly be open and welcoming to new ideas and theories).
I developed this plan and am sharing my knowledge with parents to get the most out of my books, spread a positive word around and in turn my theories and success’ will make its way back to the children ... Children that are my love, my energy and where my compassion lays.
Finances are not my main focus. It will eventually come around and give me what I need to further my education to empower more children and parents.
I have no need to profit grossly from anyone, because my devotion is to the children with ASD / Aspergers /Autism that are being oppressed, isolated and basically treated differently in society - that in turn do not help the child to learn their talents and attributions they could give back to society and the community.
The other reason they are so reasonably priced is because they are all ebooks.
That's right.
Because they are ebooks I don't have the huge expense of having to get them printed and then the shipping costs to get them to you.
The other benefit to you is that as soon as your credit card transaction has been approved you are given immediate access to a secret webpage where you can download all four of the "Rules Of The Game" books, as well as the 3 Free Bonus Workbooks.
And just to sweeten the deal a little more I am gong to include a "Secret" unannounced bonus which I know you will love.
And don't forget our Full Money Back Guarantee.
There is no risk to you whatsoever - I am covering all the risk.
If for some reason you decide to get a full refund, I am happy for you to keep all of my books that you have downloaded.
This is my way of saying Thank You for at least checking them out.
And if you thought my offer above wasn't great value, then take a look at this.
As well as the 4 "Rules Of The Game" books,
for a limited time I am including at no extra cost,
3 Workbooks for Free.
That's right, for a limited time you get the 3 Workbooks for Free.
(The regular price of these Bonus Workbooks are $29 each, so you are saving $87 - that's a pretty good bonus in anyone's terms.)
Your 3 Super Free Bonus Workbooks | |
 | Free Bonus #1 "This Is Me For Oldies" Why did I develop the "This is Me” series of workbooks ? I developed them for my children so I had a record of who they genuinely were as unique individuals. The books allowed me to document specific needs, wants, information about them, their likes, and dislikes as well. The books also allowed me peace from having to constantly repeat myself when I was face to face with yet again another individual who would be working with my children. I developed a “This is Me” book for parents, to share who they are, their wants and needs, for their children to read if they should suddenly pass away. I believe that until we learn about who we are, residing within a family, then we can all have compassion towards each other and have a successful flowing life. |
 | Free Bonus #2 "This Is Me For Kids" This book has been made so you can learn about your child. Inside this book are all the things that make your child who they are. It will help their transition into your family be a lot smoother for everyone. Your child has lived a life that is different to yours and been brought up differently to you - they may not be able to mould into your belief system easily or ever. With this book, you will learn things that may have taken a long time to learn and this will help stop a lot distress for each other. You will learn their likes and dislikes, what makes them sad and what makes them happy. You will learn what makes them the person that they are. They may still be little, but they have an opinion - they have a personality and they are a separate individual. Just because they are little, doesn't mean that they aren't still a person. |
 | Free Bonus #3 "This Is Me For Mum and Dad" This book has been filled with a lot of different personal things about Mum and Dad. I am hoping that through reading this book you will learn of the love we have always had for you. We will tell you about what it was like for us as a child, funny stories we want to share, and our dreams. You will learn that there is more to us than just ‘Mum’ or ‘Dad’. We have loved, we have made mistakes and we have hurt. We want to offer you advice that we have learnt on our journey through life. We want you to know about us as a person. This book will help you, should anything unfortunate happen and we never get that chance. Just know that we love you and always will. |
* * This is a limited time offer, so take advantage of this super FREE Bonus offer while it is still available.
These 4 "Rules Of The Game" books are yours today for just Regular Price $197 $97
That's right, only $97 gets you all 4 of these books.
Plus you get the 3 bonus Workbooks valued at $87
And if that isn't enough value, you can check out this whole huge package for 60 days risk free, and if for some crazy reason you are not totally happy with it, then you get a full refund - no questions asked, and you get to keep it all anyway.
So, here's my written guarantee to you :-
| |
| And here's an additional "Special offer" FREE Bonus I am including for a strictly limited time so that's 4 free bonuses I'm currently including | |
 | Free Bonus #4 "Poetry For Emotion" I remember as a child not having emotions explained to me and also being told by some adults to "just get over it". I believe if we validate and listen to how our children feel, this brings a sense of normality and comfort to them and they will be happier and healthier adults. This series of comical poems helps to raise, in a non threatening manner, some difficult issues faced by children, and encourages laughter, open discussions and helps them to develop their own practical strategies when faced with real life problems. This book is full of A LOT of fun and engaging poems and very visual. |
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Autism has always been a primary concern of mine after experiencing what Autism can do to people of all ages during my previous law enforcement career. This is also a very important medical condition that needs immediate attention, exposure and more support from everybody in the world. Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or to play during activities.
One should keep in mind however, that autism is a spectrum disorder and it affects each individual differently and at varying degrees - this is why early diagnosis is so crucial. By learning the signs, a child can begin benefiting from one of the many specialized intervention programs.
Autism is one of five disorders that falls under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category of neurological disorders characterized by "severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development."
The five disorders under PDD are:
- Autistic Disorder
- Asperger's Disorder
- Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)
- Rett's Disorder
- PDD-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS)
Each of these disorders has specific diagnostic criteria which been outlined in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR).
Prevalence of Autism
Autism is the most common of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders, affecting an estimated 1 in 150 births (Centers for Disease Control Prevention, 2007). Roughly translated, this means as many as 1.5 million Americans today are believed to have some form of autism. And this number is on the rise.
Based on statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and other governmental agencies, autism is growing at a startling rate of 10-17 percent per year. At this rate, the ASA estimates that the prevalence of autism could reach 4 million Americans in the next decade.
Autism knows no racial, ethnic, social boundaries, family income, lifestyle, or educational levels and can affect any family, and any child. A child or adult will generally act out emotionally when attempting to speak or in watching TV or video programs. Presently there is a world of programs actively working on Autism treatments and cures.
And although the overall incidence of autism is consistent around the globe, it is four times more prevalent in boys than in girls.
What Parents of Children with Autism have to say ...
http://www.babybumblebee.com/autism.htm?gclid=CLidk-m4xJACFQSOFQoddl0UWQ
Doubtless most of you by now have heard of conservative talk radio personality Michael Savage's asinine commentary about autism. But hey, I'll repeat it here for you:
Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is.... What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' Autism—everybody has an illness. If I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, 'Don't behave like a fool.' The worst thing he said—'Don't behave like a fool. Don't be anybody's dummy. Don't sound like an idiot. Don't act like a girl. Don't cry.' That's what I was raised with. That's what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You're turning your son into a girl, and you're turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men.
Aw, Michael...
As much as I do agree that many conditions in our society are over-diagnosed, that doesn't change the fact that you're a fucking moron. Pity you didn't listen to your dad, because you're sounding like an idiot. Not that this is anything new, of course.
Actually, your father sounds like an idiot, too.
Has a priest in Minnesota forgotten the Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you? Or has he in fact, upheld the Golden Rule in the interest of many rather than one? The Reverend Daniel Walz sought and was awarded, a temporary restraining order barring a 13 year-old autistic boy (Adam Race) and his parents from attending the mass services offered at the Church of St. Joseph in Bertha.
In court documents, Rev. Daniel Walz claimed that Adam was “…disruptive and dangerous…”. He added that “…Adam spits, urinates and once struck a child during Mass”. Adam’s mother, Carol Race, argued that she, “..can't discipline him out of his autism…”. The family also added that they, “…typically sat in either the church's cry room or in the back pew to avoid disrupting other parishioners”.
Should a religious figure such as the Reverend, have been more tolerable, or did Reverend Walz act appropriately by protecting the interests of the greater good, ensuring that the other parishioners were not distracted or endangered while at Church?
How would you have liked your child to be treated in similar circumstances?
This report was contributed by Danielle Morrison
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