Respite Care

As I've done searches looking for Respite Care (someone to care for our loved ones with autism/special needs and their siblings so parents/caregivers can take a much needed break) I've seen a lot of articles stressing the need for respite care but very little about actual respite care services. Some states fund respite care in different ways, such as Personal Care Assistants or PCA's or in home care, specialized centers, and others. Sometimes, though, we need emergency help or more hours. In my state of SC, there is PCA services available. I also have found one church, Saxe Gothe Pres. in Lexington, that gives excellent care for free for 3 hours one Saturday per month and they care for all 3 of my children. There were others but this one fit our family the best. We found them through a great local community non-profit for families with special needs family members. It's called the Family Connection Center and it's website is www.familyconnectionsc.org. There are some states with similiar organizations. A lot of the services are free or low cost for those of us who need it. Also a great website to find a babysitter or nanny is www.care.com/specialneeds where experienced and trained caregivers are listed along with their availability and rates.
I am still looking for respite care in emergency situations.
It's always good to have a plan for respite because we all need a break in order to be the best for our family members with special needs and not.

First Family Business Bazaar

I wish I would've taken some pictures but it completely escaped my mind as we were very busy with our family's first business Bazaar! The kids and I set up shop at our church's first annual Bazaar which had 30 booths or so, of locally-owned business presenters. We had information on Signing Time products (www.signingtimeacademy.com/rondapage), Waiora products, especially Natural Celllular Defense, (www.rediscoveryourlife.com/938812) and our iPad Challenge (http://www.thepuzzlingpiece.com/products_ic.html  challenger name Ronda Page). I didn't have a chance to put together anything for our Autism Awareness gift store for the Bazaar, so here it is (http://www.cafepress.com/pagesgiftsandsuch).

MJ had a great time handing out business cards, Nathan was so enthusiastic watching the Signing Time videos by signing along with Rachel and laughing contagiously with the music (everyone kept asking how much HE was to buy!) and Lydia had a great time eating the various samples the other booth owners gave out. Our PCA was a great help and we wouldn't have been able to do it without her!

I followed up today with the names we gathered and look foward to earning more income for our family!