Autism seems to touch me in so many ways

It wasn't until my mom went back to work that I became aware of Autism. And I think initially, I equated it to my brother's learning disabilities. However, since then and through my mom's work, I have learned more. I have been touched by autism ~ not directly, but through the lives and stories of those affected by it and those living with it. I'm addicted to this crowd... I'm drawn to try to help these kids.

So, here's my story. My mom has assisted two children with very different forms of autism. She met them in junior high school... and they have both moved on. One is in college and one is in high school. They are both doing incredibily well and my mom is very proud of them. She speaks of them as if they are her own.

Through my many conversations with my mom and her stories, I have learned about various behaviours, tendancies and habits that are often displayed by those with autistm. But one thing that stuck with me, for some reason, was that she was able to calm them... or settle them in whatever they were doing by giving them a stress ball, hackey sack or something similar. I learned this through her stories of her positive and negative experiences with her students. It stuck with me and rolled around in my head for many years.

Then we started World of Whimm. I am passionate about the items that I sell on my site. Each one has meaning and most have been living in my head (or my mom's) for many months before they become anything material. My goal is to provide items for all ages (and abilities) vehicles to promote their imagination and creativity. I focus mostly on costumes - dress up clothes and accessories. I don't do one piece costumes as I don't feel they lend themselves to flexibility and creativity. Who says a lobster can't have a dinosaur tail? Or a butterfly can't have a toucan's head?

But after Halloween, I was burnt out. I was tired of making costumes and so we changed our focus temporarily. I focused on toys. Educational, creative toys. My mom made the alphabet bean bags which have been a huge hit. Off this idea, I was finally able to solidify my idea for the i-spy bean bags. I tried various ways of making them, used different amounts of filling, and finally came up with a product that I was proud to offer in my shop. I have made some of them educational; colors, letters, matching, etc. Not only that, but this new product had potential of helping others.

I found myself, my kids and other adults, sitting there for long stretches of time just manipulating the bags. Moving them around in our hands. They provided a calm activity. My first thought went back to my mom and her students. I hoped that these bean bags could help the autistic community. Not being an expert in autism, I didn't want to tag them as such, but I did put a tag for "sensory" hoping that those searching for such an item might stumble across them.

Eureka! It happened. Long story short, I met Julie. I had admired her daughter's site just weeks before she bought something from me. Her daughter's art is amazing and I hope to one day be the owner of one her pieces. Julie is working on forming an Etsy street team for Autism and I'm there 100% to support her. I think it's the perfect place for World of Whimm to lend their support.

So, please, check out her site (she wrote a small blog on our products) and her daughter's artwork. World of Whimm will be providing a percentage of each I-spy bean bag sale to an Autism charity each month. The amount is still to be determined. Stay tuned!