On April 12, 2008 we will be walking for the Autism Society of Nebraskas "Puzzle Walk" at Chalco Hills. The money raised from this walk will help local families here in Nebraska who have children with autism. We have a personal interst in this walk because our son Ethan has autism. If you are interested in sponsoring us for the walk you can click on: "Sponsor Me" . If you want to hear more about our son Ethans story you can read below. You may also forward this page to anyone you know that may be interested in sponsoring us for the Puzzle Walk by clicking on"Share this page". Thank you for your support.

                                            Michaela and Brent Newman and Family

   Ethans Story

I think the number one question people ask me is "How did you know"? Looking back things seem so obvious, but autism awareness was not what it is today. Actually I only heard about autism from a segment on the Today show. Little did I know that program would save Ethan.

    In 2002 we gave birth to our second child Ethan. He was so beautiful and completely healthy. He continued to develope like any other child. Around 18 months I had concerns with his language developement so I talked to my pediatrician. They told me not to worry and that our older son is probably talking for him. They said if I was still concerned at 2 years of age to call. I couldn't wait any longer and called a few months later. We had Ethan evaluated by the school and he qualified for speech therapy. We did speech therapy for about 3 months, but something inside told me somthing is not right. That was around the time I saw the segment about autism on the Today show. When I voiced my concerns and asked about autism,  they said "no" he is to social and is making to much progress.  We continued to wait. Once again I couldnt take it, I called the school and had him evaluated by the psychologist. Sure enought he was diagnosis with autism. We had no idea what was to come.  When you get this type of diagnosis you go through a mourning of the child you will never know. You go through self blame, denial, guilt, any possible emotion the human body has. I just remember asking "Why" over and over. I think it was so hard because we knew so little about autism and had no clear answers.

To answer the question: How did you know", All we knew is that Ethans language development seemed delayed and that is where it all started. We did not realize that many of the things Ethan did were signs of autism. As we think back many of those things now make sense.  Ethan did not respond to his own name, we thought he was just ignoring us and had his hearing tested. He did not point, have reciprical play or joint attention. He didn't  pretend play and had very little eye contact. He loved to line up his cars and trains and spin the wheels over and over while holding them up to the corner of his eye. Ethan would be in a room full of toys and walk around like he had no idea how to play with them, he didnt'. These are all possible signs of autism.

Ethan just started Kindergarten.  Through lots of hard work, Ethan has developed  lot of words but we struggle every day trying to get him to use those words. We struggle with spontaneous speech,echolia (repeats what you say) sensory issues and socaliation. He works hard at school, has great teachers and is well liked by his classmates. He can not ask a classmate to play or tell us he had  a great day at school ,but he can sing entire songs without missing a beat, its baffling!!

 Many people dont realize that the majority of insurance companies do not cover autism, ours is one of them. Your sponshorship will not only help Ethan, but other local families who have children with autism who stuggle to find the funds for greatly needed therapies such as:  PT,OT, speech and behavioral therapy. Early intervention is key with autism. These families need as much support as they can get.

We want so much for Ethans future and worry every day for what the future holds, but we will continue to fight for him each and every day and we hope you will too. We want to thank everyone for their prayers, support and understanding during this journey.

 Thank you for visiting my fundraising page!

                                                                              The  Newman Family

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!