The Balloon Release for Autism Awareness held in Muskogee on
September 11 was a huge success! We had a response from a lady in
Strawberry, Arkansas, which is 315 miles away. I'd like to share
her e-mail with you as it is so inspiring!

Hello,
my name is Lisa Brady, I live in a small town in Arkansas
(strawberry) I was on my way to work this morning when I found about
seven of your balloons in a field. I stopped to pick them up, after
reading the cards attached I was amazed that they were talking about
autism. See, I work in Batesville at "The Community School". This
school's purpose is to help and teach children with learning
disabilities, such as autism and related disorders. We have children
from newborn to 18 years old. I love the work I do even though it
can be so demanding and challenging. But absolutley the most
rewarding thing I think I've ever done. for instance, we have a
child who just a year ago couldn't hardly speak and this morning was
able to sing four songs with the class and he also used his hand and
finger motions. This made all the teachers in our class so proud of
him and proud at ourselve for working so hard with him... It makes
it all worth it at the end of the day.
I would like to hear from you and a little about your program. I
would also like our class to maybe color some pictures and send them
to your school. We are also going to send balloons up.
Thank
you for taking the time to read this

LIsa Brady

(Strawberry, Arkansas)