Cullen 4.0

Cullen is now 4 years old! It was a tough year compared to others, but these past two months Cullen has been doing extremely well physically and developmentally. We are grateful for the prayers of family and friends! Here are some recent pictures... especially for "Great Pop-Pop"!

The Cullen's Choice Awards!

Presenting... the Cullen's Choice Awards!

As you can see, Cullen has learned the little boy art of enjoying a good, educational video. Those of you who have already seen Food, Inc. and the Temple Grandin movie might be looking for the next big educational video. So perhaps you probably wonder, what might Cullen recommend? Here's your answer...

One of the first videos Cullen grew to love was The Letter Factory, recommended by a friend who is a school teacher. This letter captivated Cullen and helped him learn all his letters and all their sounds. He has since graduated to The Talking Words Factory, also recommended.

Cullen loves Baby Babble and Baby Babble Two. Which is amazing, because the the plot is remarkably thin. Objects are shown, sounds are made, people appear and say things like "Mmmm" before quietly exiting the screen. Videos like this must be heavily researched, because you'd never guess something so stultifyingly simple could captivate a kid for hours. Similarly, the Teach2Talk and Teach2Play videos have been a giant crowd-of-one pleaser as Cullen's been learning to talk or engage in age-appropriate play.

The first Thomas video I bought was this one, because it was a collection of songs. The strategy seemed to work, because Cullen enjoyed it and grew to like the other Thomas videos too. But then again, kids just seem to love Thomas - I hear this is especially true of kids on the spectrum. I recently bought Thomas' Snowy Surprise at Walmart for $5 - an appropriate theme for the past month! Cullen calls it "Thomas Snow" with the emphasis on the word "snow."

A friend told us about the Laurie Berkner Band. Just bought this today, and Cullen has already tested it out. I think it's going to be a big winner. Which is good for Berkner, because if you receive Cullen's nod of approval you really could go far.

But as for Cullen... as long as the weather is cold outside, he's not going anywhere too far away!

Cupcake *Cookies* for Cullen!

As you have hopefully heard by now, we are doing a fundraiser called "Cupcakes for Cullen" during the month of December! Our friend Angelique will make you six of the most exquisite cupcakes you can imagine for a $25 donation to Cullen's ABA therapy.

But there's a problem: we have had some inquires from out-of-town friends, but we can't ship the cupcakes.

We can, however, ship cookies!

Cookies are available in almond or vanilla and can be customized for any event, just like the cupcakes. Have a look at some examples....we know you won't be able to resist!

So, for all of our out-of-town friends, a donation of $25 or more to "Cupcakes for Cullen" will net you a certificate for a half dozen personalized cookies, carefully packaged and delivered to your door. The certificate is redeemable up to one year, plenty of time to plan for your next special occasion.

For all the fundraising details, click here!

FUNDRAISER: CUPCAKES FOR CULLEN!

Q. When was the last time you donated to a great cause and netted six delicious, creative cupcakes at the same time?

A. Face it—it’s been far too long!

This month we are having a fundraiser to help with Cullen's therapy costs. For a donation of $25 or more, you will receive as a thank you gift a half dozen amazing and tasty cupcakes from Sweet Treats by Angelique.

You can request the Autism Awareness puzzle piece cupcakes shown with Cullen above, or choose an alternate theme for your cupcake toppers (a holiday theme, perhaps?). Check out Sweet Treats to see just how creative Angelique can be!

Our goal for this month is to raise $1000 for Cullen, which will pay for the cost of 40 hours of ABA therapy. ABA, or Applied Behavior Analysis, is the most fundamental therapy for children with autism, and the most successful. Studies show that children receiving a minimum of 20 hours per week of ABA therapy have the highest success rates in overcoming the significant developmental deficits of autism.

Donations can be made directly to the Mea’Alofa Autism Support Center: (757) 465-3933 or http://www.learnwithmasc.org/ and click "donate" for PayPal. If you donate online, please make a note that your donation is for “Cupcakes for Cullen.” (The note option appears near the end of the process--you may also use the "Contact" page to send a note to Mea Alofa.)

We will send you a gift certificate for six cupcakes that you can use anytime! Orders must be placed 1-2 weeks in advance, especially through the holiday season.

We are grateful for the many ways we are encouraged by our family and friends. Thank you so much for your interest in our journey with Cullen.

Cullen's Team - Part 1

Bonnie and Lily are two of Cullen's ABA therapists. ABA has been shown to help kids make great gains in their development, and is highly individualized. I often say it's like Cullen has a tutor (or tutors, plural!). We recently received this summary concerning Bonnie and Lily's work with Cullen and thought we'd share it here...

Bonnie and Lily have had the privilege of working with Cullen for the past year as his ABA therapists. At the start of Cullen’s therapy his language was limited to one word and he had difficulty interacting with peers and adults. He was unable to show excitement using verbal or facial expressions. It is now easy to identify his excitement by his face, physical actions, and voice. In the past year, Cullen has acquired numerous skills including the beginnings of play skill imitation, the ability to communicate his wants and needs to others, academic skills such as identifying and labeling colors, letters, numbers, and responding to functional instructions.

Bonnie and Lily have enjoyed seeing Cullen succeed with difficult targets and interact with his peers. His improved ability to communicate his wants and needs and the development of his unique personality has by far been the most rewarding part of working with Cullen. It is exciting to see his progress and his increased interactions and it is an amazing feeling to know the impact that ABA and the staff at MASC have had on Cullen’s world.

The reference at the end is to Mea'Alofa Autism Support Center (MASC), which you can visit here.