Austim Awarness Month! Devon's story told by his mother Sara B. Please read below is a giveaway!!!

Have you ever wondered what Autism was? Do you or someone you know have Autism? Did you know that sometimes Autism is sometimes misdiagnosed? Think about how long a parent is thinking their child has a disorder and is being treated for that one disorder, only to be told months or years later that no your child has Autism. Do you know that a majority of children that have Autism get picked on because they are so called "different" they look normal just like a normal person would but yet they act different. The children and I am sure adults too that have Autism are being bullied at times because people do not quite understand Autism.

If you would like more information on Autism, what it is, the symptoms and other useful information please go to this website: http://www.autism-society.org/
While you are there, feel free to look around, and pass that website around on your blog, on twitter, anywhere that will bring more people to the site and help others truly understand Autism.

I have a friend who is going to tell us a bit about Devon's story. He is an amazing kid that I have not had the pleasure of meeting yet, but I do hope to meet him soon along with his brother and sister!!
If you feel like sharing a bit of your story please feel free to do so in the comments.

Devon's Story

Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life. My son Devon was diagnosed with "classic" autism high functioning and speech impediments in April of 2006 when he was 3.
My son was born perfectly "normal". He started crawling, talking, held his bottle, had his teeth grow in etc...all on schedule. He was up today on his immunizations until it was time for his 15 month shots I was pregnant and almost due so he was 17 months when I finally got him in to the Dr. to get caught up. Within a few weeks Devon completely changed! He quit smiling, laughing, talking, playing, he quit being loving and my happy little boy! He was lost within himself and there was nothing to I could do!
 As soon as we realized something was going on my husband and I started seeking help from Devon's pediatrician. When I heard the Dr. say I think your son is autistic I didn't really know what he was telling me, I didn't have a clue what autism was but we took it head on and here we are!
Devon will be 10 in a few days I wouldn't change him in any way ever! He has came a long way but has never given up! He's had lots of speech therapy and occupational therapy, a psychiatrist, fine motor skills/occupational therapist aides in P.E. and goes to a life skills class and he is still in regular Ed and has to work with another teacher in small groups. The kids at school tease him and know how to upset him so they do it every chance they can. Devon doesn't really realize that they are being mean or making fun of him until they do it so much that his light bulb finally turns out.
All I can do is tell him they are jealous of how awesome he is and just to ignore them. I tell him if you give in they will keep on but if you ignore them they will get bored and stop. But now he's in 3rd grade and the kids are getting meaner and more violent so I've told him to yell really loud 'LEAVE ME ALONE'!!! So that the teachers can hear him. I've been staying on top of the teachers principals, coaches, and super independent. I am very afraid of what could happen especially since Devon can't tell when they are being mean or are really his friends. So I try my best to educate others about autism and Devon by telling them they right ways to approach Devon and explain to them why Devon doesn't want them touching him or why he doesn't look at them when they talk to him etc.
 We have a facebook page Team Bigfoot and a personal page where I spread awareness as well. So please Google Autism.

~Sara Barrera~

I want to personally tell Sara thank you so much for sharing your story with all of us! And I want you to know that I am super proud of you because you have never given up on helping Devon, I can tell you have come a long way with helping him get the help he needs and never backing down with the school and what not. I give you big props sweets.


There is a rafflecopter below that various authors have donated swag or a book. A big thank you to authors from the Lil' Anchor group and to Teri Crain.

a Rafflecopter giveaway