Begin Within

When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and you take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for you to stand upon or you will be taught how to fly.

Dr Patrick Overton

To all the moms along the trail,

The quote above was just what I needed to hear in order to gain the courage to help my son become independent. I posted this quote around my house to give me the strength, and it worked. Brandon now has twelve years of independent living under his belt, and in some ways he has learned how to fly, and so have I.

I have found that it is the lack of trust and the fear of fear itself that will stop us dead in our tracks.

I have used many tools that helped me to move along the trail and helped my son accomplish this amazing goal of independence. I would like to share a few of them with you. These tools are to help us to be the best we can be. That way we have more to give, especially to our kids.

1. Trust and believe in yourself and the decisions you make.

2. Look for the positive in ever situation.

3. Stay centered and balanced by eating well and taking good care of yourself.

4. Find someone you trust to share your innermost feelings with.

5. Find a way to vent frustration or other unwanted emotions. I found writing to be a great release.

6. Laughter is a necessity. Be silly. Rent a funny movie, laugh out loud, and enjoy yourself.

7. Live in the moment. Living out into the future can rob you of the courage to move on.

8. Be kind to yourself. Do something just for fun.

9. Get all the help, assistance and support from people who care--as often as you can.

10. Don’t believe everything you hear.

11. Trust your heart and trust your motherly instincts.

All the best,

Amalia

Visit www.raisingbrandon.com

The Back to School Autism Conference in Pasadena on August 14 and 15 was wonderful. I had a booth where I sold my books and met many terrific people. It was a great event for professionals and for parents to learn more and get support from others on the same path. Visit www.raisingbrandon.com

Hello everybody, I am thrilled to announce the release of my new book, Raising Brandon. You can purchase a copy right here on my website. Visit my new website at www.AmaliaStarrSpeaker Autism.com or visit www.raisingbrandon.com

Another 4th of July, and it has such personal meaning to me. Independence is one of the greatest gifts we have and it is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our children--in whatever form that manifests. It's a day to celebrate our freedom, and that is exactly what I am going to do. Visit www.raisingbrandon.com

Yesterday, I had a booth at the Autism Walk event.  It was amazing.  There were around 20,000 adults and children having a great time playing games and playing on the apparatus.  I had hundreds of visitors at my booth and it was a pleasure to meet them and hear their stories.  My book sales were fantastic.  It was a great day for all attendees.   Visit www.raisingbrandon.com

I was watching The Ellen Show today.  One of her guests was a mother  whose son was recently bullied to death.  He took his own life, because he couldn't take the constant teasing, bullying and harassing.  It's tragic. We do have to do something about this before more children take their lives, and our innocent children are harmed both physically, and emotionally.  My son, Brandon, was one of the luckier ones.  After years of constant teasing, bullying and physical abuse from some of the students at the schools he attended he somehow survived.  However, today at age thirty-six he still has scars and very deep wounds from being bullied.  As Ellen said, "Words can kill you."  She is right they truly can.  Visit www.raisingbrandon.com

Free Author night with Amalia Starr

 I will be speaking at the South Pasadena Library on February 12 at 7:00 pm in the Community Room at 1115 El Centro Street.  Doors Open at 6:30.  I hope to see you there.

Visit www.raisingbrandon.com