2012 Greater Hartford Walk Now for Autism Speaks

Today we registered our team for the 2012 walk! Feel free to sign up to walk with us, or make a donation. You can find our team page here.

Grant from Funagain Games!

Tonight we were notified by Funagain Games that we were awarded a $100 board game grant that we had applied for! This will help us grow our game library which will eventually be available for special needs service providers to borrow from. These games are also to be used at game days we host to raise Autism awareness and funds for Autism Speaks.

2011 Walk Now for Autism Speaks

Yesterday we participated in the 2011 Greater Hartford Walk Now for Autism Speaks. We had a strong showing from our team and we were even chosen to cut the ribbon to kick off the walk.

Overall we had a great day, and a great Walk season overall. Our official funds raised to date is $3,275.00! The final count will be even higher as we’re waiting for several donations to post.

First I’d thank to thank everyone who donated. Every bit helps. I’d then like to thank our corporate sponsors for their generous donation of funds, items, etc… I’d like to thank our team for being there to walk with us, and supporting us every step of the way. I’d like to thank my wife, Beatrice, for managing every aspect of everything that had to do with our team and fundraising.

Last, but certainly NOT least, I’d like to thank Aiden. I’d like to thank him for being so awesome. I’d like to thank Delfi and Grey too for being so supportive of their big brother, and gracefully allowing him to hog the spotlight for an entire day.

Even though the walk is now over you can expect to see more events from us in the near future. We hope to see you there!

Giveaway Winners!

We drew the winners for our giveaways today. Here are the winners and what they’ve won!

Bikram Yoga Basket - Chris Haas

Barnes & Noble Gift Basket - Susan McCabe

CT Science Center Tickets - Libby Terra

Stepping Stones Annual Membership - Sarah Ryor

Of course we can’t forget our iPad 2 winner…Paul McCann!

Congratulations to all our winners, and a big thanks to all those who donated! We’ll be contacting each winner individually to let them know they’ve won and to arrange delivery of the items.

Though our giveaways have ended, you can still make a donation here.

We’re Cutting the Ribbon!

We just received an e-mail notifying us that from all teams that raised over $2500, Aiden’s Awesomeness has been randomly selected to cut the ribbon on walk day! We are so excited to receive this amazing news, and hope you will join us this Sunday, June 5th, at Rentschler Field to walk for Autism Speaks!

Our Walk Banner is In!

Here’s our Walk banner, ready for Walk day on June 5th! If you’re attending the Greater Hartford Walk Now for Autism Speaks event, there’s no way you’ll miss us!

Cora Auction

We’ve decided to put one of the Cora dolls we have up for auction on eBay. Bidding starts at $15, and 100% of the winning bid will be donated to Autism Speaks. Shipping via USPS First Class mail will be provided at no cost.

Autism Spectrum Disorder and Gaming

As supporters of autism awareness, our goal is to build a game library and host regular autism friendly gaming events. We hope to provide opportunities to learn through gaming while raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society. The game library will be available to all who attend. We hope to maintain an atmosphere of comfort and understanding for those families effected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Children with ASD benefit tremendously from games. Cognitively, games assist with problem solving, deduction, and planning skills; typically areas of weakness for those with ASD. Games also develop memory and math skills. From a speech-language perspective, games assist with vocabulary building as well as pragmatics. Games teach turn-taking skills that can be applied to conversational language. Multiplayer games encourage social interaction and conversation, a very important yet challenging skill for children on the spectrum to develop. The preset rules of the game provide a structure that children with ASD find comforting. Social gaming encourages sharing, being a good winner and loser. Gaming evokes emotions, and active participation in social gaming is a great platform to teach about both emotions and the social rules of gaming.

Games can strengthen gross motor skills and/or fine motor skills. Children with ASD may be deficient in one or both of these skills. Sensory processing can also be effected by the child participating in a social gaming event. The child will be exposed to a new place, with new people, sounds, sights, smells, and games. Though this can be overwhelming, a game of interest to the child can be a point of focus for them and aid in self regulation.

There are so many ways games can help children with ASD, especially in a social gaming situation. We want to provide that opportunity to families in the community. We want neurotypical families and families effected by ASD to enjoy gaming while gaining a better understanding of what ASD is really like and how games can strengthen development.

Soon we’ll have an area of this website dedicated to our gaming, and more info on events and our gaming library.