thank you!

This book is dedicated to our brave, beautiful children--the real life Rosie and Buddy. We are proud of Rosie's willingness to share her story to help other children and families.

There are way too many people to thank, so this page is a work in progress. First and foremost, we are thankful to God for our countless blessings and for being there always guiding us through each day.

Thank you to Cheryl, our illustrator, who helped make a dream become reality and gave us the ability to touch the lives of toddlers and youngsters where very few, if any, books like this exist. (I know there were none many years ago when I felt tossed into the deep end of the ocean with an autism diagnosis for our first child as a toddler following many confusing years of sensory processing challenges which were first noticed in the NICU.) We hope this book will provide helpful tips for the early years that can be scary, overwhelming and frustrating.

We want to thank our family, friends and those who helped make brutal days and years easier. Our Saintly and compassionate pediatrician, Dr. Usama Mousafa, who we could never begin to properly thank, because he is just that amazing. The dozen therapists who are angels that taught, listened and tried right along with us (Lisa, Alisha, Alice, Jessica, Jen, Dr. Deb, Gina, Kathleen, Allison, Miss Nikki, Narcine, Mary and Brittany - along with the many paras and assistants). Miss Hollie and all the volunteers (Beth, Lauren, Rachel, Ken, Donna and many others) at Reins of Life Therapeutic Horseback Riding who made therapy not seem like therapy.

Holistic mommas who know about amazing supplements, essential oils and the immune system (there is absolutely a brain and gut connection). The countless special needs parents who helped us over the years (who were in the trenches long before us). Also, the many more people, volunteers and teachers (you know who you are!) who touched all our lives along the way.

Countless doctors, specialists and nurses (Dr. Carol Macmillian and so many others at the University of Chicago Comers Children's Hospital, and also Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis) who were extremely kind, patient and careful with our baby over the years. 

Thank you also to Dana Kay who took these beautiful pictures of our family and chased our little girl all around to get the perfect pictures, because she would not hold still. (Find her on Facebook at Dana Kay Photography.)

We cannot say thank you enough to these amazing people for working so hard, teaching us, and successfully pulling our precious girl out of her little mind where she was stuck not speaking and not doing all that we knew she could. As a mom, I knew she had such potential; we just needed to make the haze go away. We love all of you for helping us to help our sweet daughter to become the thriving, outgoing, happy, talkative person she is today (with little friends...which we wondered if that would ever happen). 

God speed and blessings to you, because if you are reading this then you have or know a special child that needs help with their super senses. Keep your chin up and your heart open, because anything is possible if you keep faith and keep on trying - even when there is very little "try" left in you. Autism and the sensory system are heartbreaking and difficult to navigate, but it can be done. You can come out the other side. One day soon we will start a blog, because I need to pay forward all the help that was given to us and things we have learned over the last decade. Our sweet, innocent and brave children deserve to heal and reach their fullest potential. May this book help you with a few hurdles. We have four more books written, with a fifth in mind. Just need to find a good publisher. It is our goal to use all these tools and life lessons, and put them on paper, to help others like us.

Much love, Karen & Nathan xoxo