Before I share the story of our logo let me first say that I have Michaels parents on speed dial and they have me on speed dial as well. Therefore I have been given permission to share his story. Without permission I would NEVER do this. Now for the story. When I first started working at a local Developmental Disability Agency (DDA) Michael (a participant there) came to me and introduced himself! That very moment I was thrilled to get to know him, he was quirky, funny and very excited to have someone who would listen to him and talk about his favorite things. Now Ill be honest I had no idea what he was talking about between Pokemon (my kids hadnt discovered those just yet) and Anime (still unsure on this one) but I nodded and asked questions making sure he knew I cared. Shortly after our first encounter I became a supervisor and the stories came pouring in about Michael. It was meltdown after meltdown and one thing he typically asked for was to talk to Ms Wendy. My supervisor at the time gave me lots of support and I always wanted to be there to learn more about this young man. Michael was 14 when I met him and was and still is a BIG kid, he towers over me! Well a year after starting, the DDA started Psycho Social Rehabilitation (PSR), and I got Michael in school. I was thrilled, but a little nervous as I knew he could take me out, but I stayed confident and did a TON of research. See Michaels coping skill when he is angry is to walk or even run away from the issue, which as we all know is not the best way to cope especially when it becomes a safety issue. He knew we would follow though. Any how Michaels meltdowns became more and more frequent where he was injuring more and more people, including himself. We got to the point that he had to be schooled at the DDA and there werent very many people who would work with him, so we called in an Autism Specialist. Dawn Stahlberg who is now a dear friend and an AMAZING mentor to me came in and began watching Michael, interviewing anyone and everyone who had ever worked with him and researching ways to help him. After weeks of doing so Dawn sat us all down. Mom, Dad, and all staff were bewildered on how to help Michael, we were all saddened that we couldnt do more, and couldnt get to the bottom of his behaviors. So we sat listening to Dawns recommendations holding our breath, and the words she spoke shocked us completely. She said: Have you ever thought of the fact that Michael is feeling insecure and he needs and wants control of the situation. I will NEVER forget those words, I will never forget the ah ha moment in the room and I will NEVER forget how I died a little inside realizing that this was exactly the case and how could I have not seen it. Michael lives in a world where he is told what to do and how to do it because people know that without direction Michael may hurt himself or others. Michael lives in a world where people fear his reactions may be counted against him, something may be taken away or he may not get the attention or the time he needs. Michael fears his emotions and when he loves he loves with all of him. I walked away from that meeting with tears in my eyes. My best friend and I had been talking about making a bigger difference in these kiddos lives and when I talked to her about Michael she had the same ah ha moment! I later spoke to Dawn about our idea about Rock That Ausome and asked her if she thought this would be something that would help Michael if he was involved. She said absolutely! I had no idea what we would call the group and she mentioned Michael and one of his favorite shirts that says: Ill bring the Awesome! She said what about Rock The Awesome I said: I love it So I pitched it to Michael he is so funny and so set in his ways and kept saying Rock That Awesome as thats how he heard it. So we changed that aspect, then I thought I want it to be specific to his diagnosis and my own sons and we changed the spelling of it. I spoke with Michael about the idea of him being a part of it. HE WAS ALL IN! When his behaviors got a little out of control and he would ask for Ms Wendy I would tell him Michael, check it out bud, if you get your work done then you can work on our logo a little bit! And our logo was born! Its on t-shirts, websites, capes, and just all over the world. Shortly after we started this adventure we figured Michael needed a title, but not just any title, one that he could be proud of! One that he could tell the world about. Michael is now our Ambassador! He walks around his school handing out fliers, and business cards, shaking hands and telling people about what he does as a teenager. Michael still has behaviors, and he still has his struggles, but dont we all? Michael has an amazing ability to make you smile when you are at your lowest, make you laugh when its the last thing you want to do and convince you to dance and sing in the rain! HE KNOWS HOW TO ROCK THAT AUSOME!
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 04:30:23 +0000
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