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Sue Scheff recently interviewed the great Jaylen Arnold for examiner.com. Their conversation was so engaging (and so important) that we are reprinting it here in its entirety.
Enjoy!
Quoting Elyse Bruce:
Recently, the news carried an item about Canadian Blood Services. In light of the H1N1 flu and vaccines, blood donors have been shying away from donating blood. Blood donations are important all year round however they are even more important at this time of year. In some areas, blood donations are half of the required weekly minimum for hospitals in their region.
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After hearing the news, 14-year-old Lewis “Codeboy” Schofield decided to do what he could to help get the word out that blood donations are greatly needed, after having undergone IVIg treatments in 2008 and 2009. So he scripted, filmed and produced this 55 second PSA currently uploaded to YouTube.
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Please forward the link to this video to friends, family, colleagues and the media in your area. It doesn’t matter if you live in Canada or live in another country … blood donations save lives!
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Thanks!
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Elyse Bruce
Lewis Schofield’s mom
Peterborough, Ontario
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To buy Lewis’ beautiful art cards (with 20% of the proceeds going to autism organizations) CLICK HERE.
And then…
Read Irked posts tagged “Lewis Schofield”
Read Irked posts tagged “advocacy”
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Here’s an AWESOME YouTube video—a Trent University-produced “vignette” starring the multiple-award-winning Mr. Lewis “Codeboy” Schofield:
By now, you all know Donna Williams. Here’s a poem called “Butterflies” that Donna wrote recently.
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if someone takes your disabilities and makes them your
gilded cage
then you take charge of your disabilities like never before
for they are your fallibility, the keys to your cage
a key you allowed someone else to call theirs
because they taught you this was love and caring
and in the light of day you realise it had nothing to do
with you
so you look in the mirror and say, wow, there’s a fool
and brush off the dust and say, ok, so the world is full of
fools so I’m in good company
and you look at your life and say, wow, there’s an island
but islands can build bridges
and you look at your smile and say
wow, I’d forgotten I could wake up with this
and you look at your time and say
you ain’t Florence Nightingale, so follow that smile
because a heart shouldn’t be heavy
it should be light
because a heavy heart will never fly
and butterflies can.
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Buy Donna’s gorgeous (and reasonably priced!) paintings
(Holiday tip: Nothing says "I love you" like original art!)
(With a name like Donna and The Aspinauts, how can you resist?)
Read Donna’s blog and visit her website
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If you live in Canada, you can support Donna and Irked SIMULTANEOUSLY:
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Read Irked posts tagged “poetry”
Read Irked posts tagged “painting”
Read Irked posts tagged “autism”
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Lizzy Clark, represented by Cinel Gabran Management, was the first child with Asperger's syndrome to play an Asperger's syndrome role in a major television drama.
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This is Mr. Lewis Schofield’s latest painting. It’s entitled “Undersea Stroll” and it’s about to be exhibited at an autism conference…
Isn’t it totally awesome?!
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Click here to read the story behind the artwork >>
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The book Cowboy & Wills opens the day after critically-acclaimed author Monica Holloway’s adorable three year-old son Wills is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She takes him to a pet store; and from her first impulse purchase of a full aquarium, Holloway quickly graduates to hermit crabs, hamsters, African dwarf frogs, and a rabbit. But like all children, what Wills wants most is a puppy. That Christmas, eight-week old Cowboy arrives and forever changes their lives.
Where Wills is cautious, fastidious, and tender hearted, Cowboy is rambunctious, affectionate, and impulsive. Soon, the boy who could barely say hello to his kindergarten classmates is going on playdates, learning to swim, and sleeping in his own bed. Through it all, Cowboy is there, dragging him toward other children and giving him the confidence to face his fears—with her by his side. But love is not enough to save the beautiful Cowboy from her fate, and the cruel world of puppy mills quickly catches up to them. When Cowboy is diagnosed with lupus, Wills and his family realize that they must be there for her, just as she was there for them.
Monica Holloway sat down with Simon Spotlight Entertainment (a division of Simon & Schuster) for a discussion of her life’s path as a mother and memoirist, and the unexpected trajectory this path has taken through her life. Here are the highlights:
Back in July, we introduced you to a very, very amazing young man named Jaylen Arnold—who has had Tourette’s Syndrome for most of his nine years. Jaylen’s on a mission to educate the whole world about bullying. (And he’s off to a fantastic start: even Leonardo DiCaprio is a fan!)
Watch this phenomenal video segment that aired last night on the CBS Evening News:
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For more, visit…
jaylenschallenge.org
twitter.com/Jayschallenge
youtube.com/user/jaylenschallenge
Then…
Read Irked posts tagged “bullying”
Read Irked posts tagged “self-esteem”
Watch more Irked videos
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According to John Elder Robison’s official Twitter account, the title of his next book is called “Geeks Rule”, and it should be available in the fall of 2010.
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BUY John’s best-selling first book
And visit…
johnrobison.com
robisonservice.com
jerobison.blogspot.com
twitter.com/johnrobison
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Read Irked posts tagged “asperger’s syndrome”
Read Irked posts tagged “writing”
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Tim Page, author of “Parallel Play: Growing Up with Undiagnosed Asperger’s” and a Pulitzer Prize winning music critic, was online at washingtonpost.com Tuesday, October 27 to take readers’ questions and to discuss the effects of Asperger’s syndrome on his life and coping mechanisms he uses to treat it.
The entire conversation was fascinating (and well worth the read), but in case you’re in a hurry…here are some excerpts from Tim’s responses that leapt off the page:
