The Momentum of NOAH

I promise to make this short.  I have been lamenting on The NOAH Project and the momentum it gained in our community.  Autism and its treatment is still getting a fair amount of media because autism is still a mystery and has become quite prevalent among our children.  So much so that I believe every person in this country knows at least one family dealing with this phenomenon.  

The NOAH Project speaking series addressed so many of the challenges faced by the families of children with autism.  Following are some of the speaking topics and brief descriptions that were a part of our Speaking Series which was held in the Plano Centre.  We had as many as almost 500 people show up from around the metroplex.  Those attending were teachers, therapists, parents and caregivers of children with autism and other special needs.  The passion I felt to help these children and their families just seemed infinite.  After so much suppression by the legal system in this fabricated case against me, I am beginning to finally feel regenerated, thanks to a recent visit with my dear friend, Dorothy, who helped me start this school years ago.  Rather we have another school or not I can sure write about it and finish the book I started.

Next are some pictures of a few of the amazing people who attended and community leaders that helped:

Many of the kids represented by the adults attending in the above pictures are young adults now.  Perhaps its time to focus my energies on providing a meaningful program for the adults.  This first large generation of affected kids (from the 90's) are giving us a new challenge...never have we had so many special needs adults at a time while mental health funds across the nation are being cut.  The times call for us to be especially creative, so our grown up kids can continue to learn and be a part of society in the best way.

HOPE

I had been incarcerated about a year following my trial when one Sunday morning I woke up with HOPE on my mind and knew I had to write.  We always had breakfast about 4a.m.  Once everybody ate they all went back to sleep as was the routine on Sunday mornings.  So I sat down by myself on that peaceful morning and wrote the following in about 5 minutes and smiled the rest of the day.

People seem amazed saying I never stop, I never give up, even after 5 long years of this struggle [4 years prior to the trial and 1 year incarcerated].  The truth is hope never gave up on me!  I wasn't able to stop it even when I tried (and I did!):

• I could stomp on it.
• I could spit on it.
• I could call it "false".
• I could even fool myself, for a moment, into believing I could turn my back and walk away from it.

But, I finally reached the conclusion, so long as one chooses life, there is hope.  Hope is part of the human spirit, the underlying belly of faith, a driving force in our existence:

• Hope is persistent.
• Hope is audacious.
• Hope is fathomless.
• Hope has no bounds.
• Hope soars in the face of potential destruction.

When I set aside anger, sadness, resentment and have exhausted the victim script...there remains HOPE, as solid as the earth and as ethereal as God Himself.

To this day I refer back to this when I get to thinking this will never end.  I also have to remind myself all things have beginnings and endings.