I joined Discovery Toys just a month after my oldest child, Briana, turned two years old and I also had a little baby boy, Kaleb, who was five months old. I joined thinking it might be nice to make some extra money and get some toys for Christmas, which was only two months away. By Christmas Kaleb was sitting and babbling. 

Kaleb’s first year and a half he developed right on schedule. He was walking and talking and he was my toy tester! Then when he was about 18 months old, things started changing. He slowly started losing words and he started to play in the corner and not with other children. I kept noticing that Kaleb was no longer doing the things he should be.

2½-year-old Kaleb Bohn

At the time I found out about my son, I was also very busy working my Discovery Toys business. I was a Group Manager, and also had a great consultant on my team that had just promoted to Group Manager. I was scared about how I was going to keep up with DT and my team and still be able to give Kaleb the support he needed. Convention was only weeks away and I was not sure whether I was still going to attend. But since my tickets were already paid for, I ended up going. 

The whole time at Convention I was pumped, but I was also focused on my son. On Thursday and Friday, I spoke to various home office staff, including Jane Leitch and Traci Dickson, and I told them about Kaleb. There was a real interest in my story, but no one seemed to say much. It wasn’t until Saturday afternoon that it became clear just why— Discovery Toys announced the new Autism Support Program. WOW! I cried and cried because they just gave me the chance to continue with Discovery Toys, plus help my child and other mothers like me.  

Two weeks later, I started hitting the autism community by simply talking about my son. I was able to keep up on my business and promote another great consultant on my team to Group Manager. My team’s calls kept me going through the rough months and helped me promote to Executive Manager. 

Discovery Toys gave me the tools to know that Kaleb was behind but also the tools to help him succeed. They gave me knowledge on how to help him. But they also gave me support, strength and a reason to still get out of the house. Most importantly, it is because of Discovery Toys that I can afford to pay for the doctor appointments and testing that he has been going through. 

Thanks Discovery Toys for being in touch with the autism community and understanding how you can help. 

I can’t wait to see where the next year leads us!

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Joshua Harris

I am very excited to be a part of something this huge for Discovery Toys and for families of children with autism. I've been an EC for three years, since Joshua was born, and recently I was so overwhelmed with my life, I was going to put my plans to become a GM on the backburner and then, the autism project was announced and my upline, Linda Giel, said, "Rachel, this project is for you!" And she is right. I truly feel now, that I have a mission to take with me on my Discovery Toys journey.

My son Joshua was diagnosed when he was about 2 years old with Low Spectrum Autism. Like any other parent I said, "Hey, I would know if my child had autism!" Though my son began school immediately after

I was extremely lucky to be introduced to an organization through a friend of mine and a wonderful heaven-sent neurodevelopmentalist put us on to a home program. (By the way, the moment your child is diagnosed with autism, not only does your life turn upside down but you have a whole extended vocabulary from neurodevelopmentalists to occupational therapists to speech therapists, you name it!) Because it was home based, I was able to support his learning program with all of our great educational products. At our recent convention I saw Dr. Krantz' demonstration. It was a lot like our home program! I am so excited to share with you that at our last evaluation in July, Joshua has accelerated a whole year of development into only 7 months! 

As an Educational Consultant, you are a desperately needed resource to us parents of children with autism who say the very same thing I did, "I want to learn how to connect with my child." And you WILL have answers and solutions that unfortunately are hard to find and even harder to implement from other sources. 

What do I want as a mom whose child has autism? I want to learn. I want to be able to talk about my son and I want people to be excited when he hits those milestones I secretly thought he may never do. Thank you all for giving me that opportunity. And thank you for being willing to give those same opportunities to other moms as well. 

I am looking forward to and am glad that Discovery Toys allows me the opportunity to stay at home with Joshua and learn about how DISCOVERY TOYS® products can support him to continue his amazing learning progress. 

10 Things That Kids With Autism Wish That You Knew
by Rachel Harris, inspired by Ellen Notbohm  

1. I am a child with autism. I am not autistic, just like you are not fat, lazy, or klutzy. 

2. I may seem withdrawn but the reality is I'm defending myself against bright lights and loud noises. 

3. There is a difference between “I won't” do something and “I can't” do something.  Remember Charlie Brown's teacher?  How did those kids learn anything? Short sentences with simple words work best. 

4. My language is literal. Please don't say something is a “piece of cake” when there is no dessert in sight! The same goes for other phrases such as “hold your horses” or “fighting like cats and dogs”. 

5. I have limited vocabulary. “I'm lovin’ it” might mean “I want to have lunch at McDonalds, please.” 

6. I do better with visuals. Show me, show me, show me. And, if you have my attention, show me again! 

7. Frustration comes from you wanting me to perform. If I don't know the answer, give it to me! 

8. Social interaction is difficult for me. But it doesn't mean I don't want to interact. It just means I need help with the opportunities. 

9. Meltdowns equal sensory overload for me. You have your bath, I have a good scream. 

10. I didn't choose to have autism. I may not be good at eye contact or have good social skills but you might notice that I don't lie, cheat, tattle, or pass judgment. I don't have a disability; I have a different ability. I may not be the next Michael Jordan. But I might be the next Einstein, Mozart or Van Gogh......they all had autism, too.                                                                              

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Joseph and his sister Renee

Leslie St. Jean, MA

Our Journey with autism began on June 24, 2004. My husband and I spent our 9 year wedding anniversary in a Neurologist’s office looking for answers.

This is what we shared with the doctor: 

“Our 2-year-old son Joseph is as cute as a button and a joy to be around, but we cannot overlook his odd behaviors. For example, when we call his name, he does NOT look at us.  He does not seem to hear us. We had his hearing tested and the results were “normal”. Why does he walk on his toes? Why is he not aware of the world around him?  For example, he does not

acknowledge a new person walking into the room. Joe cannot play with toys appropriately no matter how many times we show him. Whether it is a ball, car, shape sorter or book, he does the same thing, spin them. When I sit down next to him to read a book, he immediately stands up and walks away. Why doesn’t he talk?  Why does he not seem to understand me? He cannot follow any direction. Even simple ones like “Where’s Mommy?” Why does he jump up and down and flap his hands when he is excited? Why does he cover his ears to certain noises? Why does he make high pitched screams when he is “playing”?  If kids are playing on the left side of the room, Joe moves to the right side of the room. Why does he laugh uncontrollably at nothing?”

The answer to all these questions and behaviors was AUTISM. 

Autism impacts 1 in 166 children. 4 out 5 children diagnosed are boys. There is no known cause or cure for autism. It is, in my opinion, a silent epidemic. Maybe Discovery Toys can help, not just by supporting parents of children with autism like me, and children with autism like our Joe with wonderful products, tips and testimonials, but by helping us to feel able to talk about it. That’s why the foundation, Autism Speaks, must have selected its name, to bring autism out into the open. 

I joined Discovery Toys for the same reason many of us did: FREE TOYS. But these products mean more to my family than most would ever understand. 

From the moment DISCOVERY TOYS® products began arriving at my door, the door to my son’s mind began to open. 

Did Joe immediately begin to use the products like they were meant to be used? No, not even close, but at least he was interested. And interest goes a LONG way for children on the Spectrum. Because he was interested in the products, he was motivated to learn how to use them. A BIG positive! 

Whenever I meet a parent who has child on the Spectrum I recommend the following products, BUSY BUGS, ROLL & PLAY and IT’S A MATCH! 

BUSY BUGS was the first DISCOVERY TOY® product I opened from my Rocket Start Kit. Every child with autism has their little quirks or “stims”. Joe’s is picking up items that are the same and dropping them one by one. It actually is very impressive. Even his Occupational Therapist (OT ) has marveled at how many objects Joe can fit into his cute little hands. As I opened up the box for the first time, he screamed in excitement.  His hands literally dove into the box as he picked up bugs and began running around the house dropping them. I brought him back to the table, this time only giving him 6 red bugs and the all red square card. With my hand over his, (known in the autism world as “full manual guidance”, or “hand-over-hand”), I showed him how to match the red bug to the red square. For 3 months I worked with Joe on this skill and one day he just did it; independently. He can now independently complete up to card 3!

In my opinion, ROLL & PLAY is the best “floor time” therapeutic product for children on the Spectrum. Most young children with autism are unable to talk and have audio processing issues. This means they are unable to decipher or decode what we are saying. However, many are successful at understanding and interpreting a picture. For this reason, many children on the Spectrum begin communicating through PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System). When my son was younger and wanted a drink, he was unable to verbally express his need in the form of the spoken word, “drink”, “cup” or “juice”. Instead he removed a wallet sized picture of a sippy cup from our refrigerator door and handed it to me. He was “exchanging” a picture for the item. He was communicating through pictures. ROLL & PLAY is “PECS in a box”. We have used ROLL & PLAY to teach Joe the parts of the body, gross motor skills imitation and how to follow directions, (“find something yellow”). Gross Motor Imitation is a prerequisite to expressive language (spoken words). This is also a game Joe’s big sister Renee (age 5) can play with him. Imagine having a brother very close to your age (they are 17 months apart) who has no idea how to “play”. With this product it is bridging that gap and providing a means for my children to interact! 

I recommend to EVERY FAMILY of autism IT’S A MATCH! When Joseph was completely non-verbal and we had no idea what he was capable of in an academic sense. Well, through IT’S A MATCH! we found out he knows his letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and animals. It also reinforces matching, which is a HUGE educational program for children on the Spectrum. From that moment on, we changed the programs in Joe’s therapy, we kicked it up a notch and that has made all the difference. He has progressed more in the last 18 months than I thought was possible. Joe not only can identify his letters, numbers, shapes, colors and animals through matching, but he can SAY THEM! 

SPLASH ROCKET has become Joe’s favorite DISCOVERY TOY® product. Therefore, it has become Joe’s “most preferred reinforcer”. What is a reinforcer? A reinforcer is the reward that Joe earns for doing what is asked. Most of this summer you could find me in my back yard with flashcards and a SPLASH ROCKET. I would show Joe a flashcard, if he was able to identity the object and say the word, (“expressive label”), I would blast off the rocket. It is his reward for doing something he finds very difficult to do. Through the efforts of Joe’s dedicated teachers and SPLASH ROCKET as a reinforcer, he is able to identify and verbally express close to 200 words! 

I share my stories today to give you an opportunity to learn how autism can affect a child and how important it is to support the child and their FAMILY. You are making a difference! You are providing these families with affordable educational products, potential reinforcers, and fantastic therapeutic tools. 

Are you providing the families with a cure? No. But we are showing them that we care and we want to make a difference in their lives. And this means more to the Autism Community than you will ever know! 

You are not expected to know everything about autism. Nobody does. If a parent asks you a question and you do not know the answer, that is ok. Through our Sales Directors you have access to DT Consultants who are Educators, Speech and Language Pathologists, Behaviorists, Occupational Therapists and Parents who work with autism everyday. 

So how is Joe today, 2 years after his diagnosis? Well, he is a different kid. He is a child that all the preschool girls and teachers fight over. He is a quiet cute, kid with the “all teeth showing” smile. He is no longer considered to be non-verbal. My son has words, however, he is still considered non-conversational. He is just starting to put 2 words together. My favorite is “Luv Ya.” His favorite is “Sit Down!” And why is he asking me to “sit down”? …to play. And what do we play with… DISCOVERY TOY® products.  Because playing with Joe everyday is the best investment I have ever made in my son’s life.

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Lenore P. Wossidlo, PA

After my older son was diagnosed with autism, I chose to become an Educational Consultant because Discovery Toys offers the most outstanding DEVELOPMENTAL products for families — products of the highest quality with extraordinary value. Through a high level of open-ended play, DISCOVERY TOYS® products encourage a child’s positive growth and development no matter what their ability. For me, Discovery Toys provides a meaningful business opportunity. It’s a career that allows me to build my work schedule around my family and to be there for my kids, while earning an income that supports my lifestyle.  

Because of my flexibility with my Discovery Toys business, and to help my son with autism and all individuals with autism, I am able to give presentations on autism awareness to law enforcement. God gave me a son with autism, for many, many, wonderful reasons. I invite you to to join Discovery Toys or share the products with your friends and family while you shop for free.  Either decision will have a positive impact on your life and the kids in your life!  

Today, my older son is in 7th grade in the autistic support classroom and the typical classroom.  He can cook, loves math and uses sign language to communicate.  My younger son is 6 and enjoys the benefits of these wonderful products too. I am proud of both of them for their individual accomplishments.

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