Christmas Greetings from BuddyBoo

BuddyBoo Stationery has officially entered Christmas mode - stationery style!

Think about it. You're opening cards from your friends and family and eventually see the same card you picked out with someone else's photo on it. Avoid that by going with a customized design from BuddyBoo! Let's come up with something totally you and exceptionally dramatic for your holiday greetings.

Below you will find samples I also have posted on my website. This is just the beginning! These are samples - if you like these, great. If not, let's come up with something different. I'm ready!

I'm running a special for the month of October - don't miss out!

If you contact me to begin your Christmas cards this month and we finish them in November, you will receive 15% off your entire order! Remember: we have to finish them in November to get this great deal.

And remember: when you have your Christmas cards made by BuddyBoo you are giving back: a portion of all profits go to autism charities. How amazing is that! By ordering your cards through BuddyBoo, you're giving a gift. Let's get started today.

As always, share the site, pass the blog.

Jean

BuddyBoo Stationery

"A Mom's Perspective" on Raising a Child with Special Needs

I was recently interviewed by NewMom, Inc for their blog for new moms. I thought I'd post a "reblog" (stealing the term slightly from retweet on Twitter) in mine to gain more exposure. Click the title of this blog post for the link to the interview!

The title of the entry is "A Mom's Perspective - Raising a Child with Special Needs." My son "Buddy" is one of the inspirations behind my company. A portion of BuddyBoo Stationery's profits are given to autism charities. It feels good to give back and bring hope to others.


NewMom, Inc is a Minneapolis-based company gaining good ground as a resource for mothers. Watch their blog for more interviews by other mothers on a wide variety of topics. NewMom has a ton of resources and helpful links for all things mommy.

As always, share the site, pass the blog.

Jean
BuddyBoo Stationery

As stated in my answers and what I need to state again is that the answers to the interview questions are my opinion.

BuddyBoo is in the News

I am pleased as punch to share with my little corner of the world a story our local cable channel did on BuddyBoo Stationery. Cable Channel 12 came to our house last Friday and wowed the kids with their camera and lights and caught a glimpse of how glamorous my work conditions are.

The link will work for a month and I don't want to lose the incredible story written by reporter Shannon Slatton so I'm copying the text to this blog.

For now, please click here to access the story. This is why BuddyBoo exists.


Maple Grove business pays it forward
For Jean Tate, the path to a second career all started with Christmas cards.

"I've made them for friends and family. It got up to about 90, but then I had to cut back," said Tate.

As the feedback kept coming in, the ideas kept churning."Everybody would write in cards -- this was really cool. You should do this for a living," said Tate.

So what convinced Tate to start up a part-time job?

"Having the strong support of all of my friends and family combined with the strong desire to have more time with my kids."

In April, Tate decided to use her marketing skills to tailor-make stationery for customers. She started up a website and a business out of her Maple Grove home. Tate decided to name her new stationery company BuddyBoo Stationery after her two children, Jordan, 7, whose nickname is 'Buddy,' and Ellie, 3, who she calls 'Boo.'

"I thought I would see how it goes and keep my day job and grow BuddyBoo and someday I'll be able to have BuddyBoo be it and I'll have more flexibility with my kids," said Tate. Tate's goal is to have that happen by the time 3-year-old Ellie is in Kindergarten.

But what makes this home business different from others is she started with one big commitment.

"Even if I make $5 and that's it, then I'm going to donate part of it to autism awareness," said Tate. Three years ago, doctors diagnosed her son Jordan with autism.

"That basically rocks your world, when you go through that whole process and you have somebody say I think there's something wrong with your child," said Tate. "It took me a long time to pull myself off the floor and say this isn't about me, it's about him."

Jordan's autism is high-functioning, which means most people probably wouldn't notice it. Tate says he's a very bright boy with a good vocabulary, but sometimes struggles with language and social skills.

"He'll have a hard time finding the right word. He'll say 'do you like milk in your bucket?"' said Tate. "The brain is in the right category but can't filter through everything. One day you are dealing with this, and the next day it's not an issue. One day you will try this tool in therapy, but the next day it won't work."

Since Jordan's diagnosis, the Tates have become very involved with the Walk Now for Autism. They were one of the top fundraisers for 2008. Tate says more people need to be aware of high functioning autism cases like Jordan's.

"I want people to know there is another side to autism besides kids who can't speak or adults who can't speak," said Tate. "Every kid is different."

So while she hopes her personalized cards will pull on a few heart strings, she knows part of the profits will go to a cause that's close to her own heart.


Shannon Slatton, reporting
sslatton@twelve.tv
Tuesday, January 20, 2009

High-Functioning Autism Through Mom’s Eyes

I might have some more people seeing this blog now. I sure hope so anyway. Can I have your attention for a few minutes? Do you want to learn something new?

The media has done a wonderful job of getting the word "autism" into homes and conversations. Cameras have followed families and young adults into their private and personal lives to show how autism has an effect on more than just the individual challenged with it. The camera has shown fear and frustration on children who have so much to offer but can’t verbalize it. It has shown exhausted mothers and fathers trying to find ways to cope with challenging behavior at the grocery store or in a restaurant. Celebrities have told their stories of success, failure, opinions on therapies and causes. You’ve heard some of this, right?

What the media hasn’t shown yet, at least from what I’ve seen, is those people who will fall through the cracks unless someone is a strong advocate and never rests.

What does high-function autism (HFA) mean anyway? Is it different from Aspergers? What about PDD-NOS? For our family it means we feel blessed to have a child who speaks and is considered very high functioning. He has a lot of struggles getting the right words out and often ends it abruptly with, “Nevermind.” Sometimes I see it as a form of silent autism because so many people have no clue our son has any special needs.

Why do I use the term silent?
When he scratches his back it’s not because it’s an itch. There are hives covering his entire torso because he’s worked up about something happening and internalizing his fear/worries/anxiety. But you see him scratching an itch.

When he stomps his foot on the floor you see a kid working cause and effect. He’s doing it for the deep sensory impact it’s providing his body. Shortly after that, he’ll be jumping from the highest point of a couch or playset onto his knees. Makes me cringe just thinking about what his knees will be like at 45.

When he’s trying to tell you a story, you hear him stumble on a couple words. Those words never come to him and if he does get something out without your help, the word is wrong. An example of this is if he wants to say, “Would you like water in your cup?” it will come out, “Would you like water in your bucket…I mean, um, not bucket….I mean cup?”

Buddy was at a birthday party this past weekend. It was a bowling party, something he’s really enjoyed lately. After 2 short hours, he was ready to leave. He was overwhelmed with the lights, the music, the massive projector screen playing a movie with no sound. The arm that holds the pins while it’s pushing the tipped ones out of the way was a complete distraction. How does the ball come up that shoot? Where do those pins go anyway? Who is working the machines in the back? I had to bring him back to reality after each roll of the ball. Sure, that’s an attention-span issue, I understand that. But he’s on medication to help that. If he wasn’t on that medication, how would he have been? He’s also on another medication to help with the worries and hives, yet he still was covered in them all day yesterday.

Why do I care? Why should you?
Buddy will not fall through the cracks on my watch. He will not miss out on academics because I didn’t push to get something to happen. He will not slip into a spiral of sensory overload because I failed to recognize his needs and do that beanbag sandwich. He will not miss out on most normal kid activities because I didn’t do my research first on how he can get the most out of it without breaking down. He is my son. I do everything for him.

BuddyBoo Stationery also cares. Since inception, my first priority is to pay it forward. So with each purchase made with BuddyBoo, a donation is made to making sure autism is not a feared disorder and making sure autism research continues to move forward.

Why should you care? Because if you’re reading this, you know autism or you know me or you know Buddy. And now, officially, autism has touched your world. Please spread the word, spread this blog posting, and follow any of the links I have placed in the blog above to educate yourself more on autism and its effects on people. Most importantly, believe you can find the beauty in everything around you. I believe in the beauty in my Buddy. There is so much more to him than autism. While I need to focus on it more sometimes than not, it’s so his world can be as normal as possible so others can see his beauty as well.

Thanks for reading, thanks for sharing with someone else.