In It Together! Site Plan

Overview

Purpose

Have you ever been in an elevator and wanted to push all of the buttons, or been at an event where they are serving cookies and you pick one up and take a bite, then set it back down? Most likely not, well my two sweet autistic sons have. Raising my sons has been a rollercoaster. I have had people who are either annoyed with them or others who want to help and try giving advice, unfortunately I usually come away overwhelmed. I have created a website to help those who are dealing with autism. It’s a place to be able to laugh at the quirks of Autism, to ask questions and find resources. There is no fit all solution for Autism. My hope is to bring people together to share experiences and support one another on this rollercoaster of life.

Audience

We want to reach out to parents, family members, care givers, anyone who is needing support in helping someone with Autism. We want to provide a safe place for them to connect with others and share their own experiences, relate to others and even be able to laugh at the quirks of Autism. To help we will provide real life experience posts, question and answer section, along with resource links to help individualize each person’s needs. To make this service available to all, our site will be across all platforms from desktops, laptops, and mobile devices.

Branding

In It Together Logo

Style Guide

Color Palette

Typography

Heading Font: Playfair Display

It is clear to read but adds a fun style to catch your eye for headlines. It will compliment my sans-serif choice of Roboto nicely.

Paragraph Font: Roboto

Roboto is easy to read as well as a great variable font. This site will have a lot of personal blog posts that will need to be read easily.

Normal paragraph example

I have two sons with autism. They are both diagnosed as severe and non-verbal. From the very beginning, I wanted life to be normal and did all that I could to feel like I had a normal life. The truth was, I had my own special family, and it includes my husband and four great kids! We have learned that, as for autism and its quirks, we are "IN IT TOGETHER"! We welcome you to our family and hope to lighten your load, make you laugh, and even let you cry that you may feel lighter.

Colored paragraph example

“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear; my courage is reborn.” Anne Frank

Navigation

Site Map

Content

Home page

Medicine for the soul:
Abraham Lincoln called together a special session of his war cabinet members to discuss an incredibly important topic. Every member of the cabinet was there, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Treasure, the Attorney-General, and more. As people entered the room, Lincoln was reading a book and smiling to himself. Once the people were settled. Lincoln started the meeting by reading a humor story from the book. After reading it, Lincoln laughed aloud along with no one else. The room was silent. So Lincoln decided to read another story. Again, silence. Lincoln did not waver. He did not apologize or feel like he made a mistake. Instead, he said, “Gentlemen, why don’t you laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die, and you need this medicine as much as I do.” (The Story-Life of Lincoln by Wayne Whipple. The JC Winston Co, 1908)

Some of the wisest words said came from my grandmother at the funeral of her husband. “I can either laugh or cry, and I prefer to laugh.” Amy Evans Hollingworth So, in her honor I have decided to make a space for laughter in my life. I personally get a kick out of Jeff Foxworthy’s comedy routine of “You know you’re a redneck IF...”. Here is my version of “You know you care for someone with Autism IF..”

Images for the Home page

Blog

Mother perspective:
I never wanted to say it was hard. Somehow it was all going to work out. If I could just have enough resources and supportive people then my boys could succeed. I was angry at people who said they wanted to help but would never get in and handle the hard parts, they were always able to walk away. I could look into my boy’s eyes and see longing and intelligence, they themselves didn’t understand why people didn’t get them. I knew I had to exude confidence and calmness to be able to handle people’s comments and judgement. If I acted frazzled it was worse for those around us, but if I acted calm and assure of myself then others around me would be calm and not react afraid or unsure. I would receive comments that I was so amazing with my boys and they didn’t know how I could handle it. The truth was that I had no idea what to do other than love them and stay calm, but truly just wanted to curl up on my bed and cry and cry wishing my boys could talk to me, tell me what they needed, and know that I would move heaven and earth for them. I realize now that I was in survival mode, I don’t harbor necessarily any regrets over that but it did have a huge impact on my relationships, especially with my husband. We both had to survive and we both handled it differently, now that my boys are in a care facility, we are learning to come back to each other for support and help, remembering that we are truly best friends and have been surviving apart for too long and need to be patient with each other as we learn to breathe again. Sometimes this is too painful, I feel like I have to choose between children and spouse. I did choose my children over my spouse and that is one regret that I am now fixing. I am learning to let go of some things and slow down. Which is hard because I like to keep going, and I now know that I was scared to slow down, afraid that if I stopped, I wouldn’t get back up again for how tired I really was. I don’t know why I thought that it was all on me to take care of, I am grateful for a knowledge of a loving God, who is patient with me as I learn to rely on Him and others for support and learn to let go. Through all of the very toughest of times I have relied on knowing that Christ is coming again and all will be healed and comforted,that this season will pass and something greater lies ahead for me, my husband, and our children. I know that there are so many of us out there who need support and a shoulder to cry on. I hope through this blog and site that we can become good friends and laugh, cry, and share together. I want you to know that we are “IN IT TOGETHER”! Thanks for listening to me, I look forward to listening to you!

Images for the Page 2

Resources

Here you will find links for government and state programs, educational articles, and even what are some fun toy ideas for my loved one. Please comment on my blog if you have any other good resources to add to this list.

1. https://www.autismspeaks.org/resource-guide
   Autism Speaks does not provide medical or legal advice or services. Rather, Autism Speaks provides general information about autism as a service to the community. The information provided on our website is not a recommendation, referral or endorsement of any resource, therapeutic method, or service provider and does not replace the advice of medical, legal or educational professionals. Autism Speaks has not validated and is not responsible for any information, events, or services provided by third parties.
2. https://nationalautismassociation.org/
   The mission of the National Autism Association is to respond to the most urgent needs of the autism community, providing real help and hope so that all affected can reach their full potential.
3. http://www.nationalautismcenter.org/
   The National Autism Center’s mission is to provide leadership and comprehensive evidence-based resources to families, practitioners, and policymakers, to programs and organizations, and to the national community by adhering to the following commitments: • Provide unparalleled resources to individuals and families affected by autism. • Support best practice models for nationwide implementation. • Shape the national dialogue through the transfer of expertise and knowledge.
4. https://www.autism.org/
   This includes an Index of links regarding the developmental disabilities Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome; including topics such as: definitions of autism, specific issues, libraries, regional interests, items for sale, and much more!
5. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/ssi/
   apply online for Supplemental Security Income
6. https://www.medicaid.gov/about-us/contact-us/contact-your-state-questions/index.html
   Find your state’s contact information for medicaid
7. https://www.myautism.org/information-kits?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvouYssqA7wIV0xZ9Ch34kwT7EAAYAyAAEgLqEPD_BwE
   The American Autism Association works tirelessly to provide families, caregivers, teachers, and supporters the information they need about autism. Our team strives to keep you up to date on information that will assist you in learning about autism. Below are various autism resources for parents with children on the spectrum, for adults with autism, or for caregivers and teachers.
8. https://carmenbpingree.com/blog/best-sensory-toys-for-children-with-autism/
   Carmen B. Pingree Autism Center The 10 Best Sensory Toys & Gifts for Children with Autism
9. https://nationalautismresources.com/autism-toys/
   Our autism toys help a child build essential developmental skills as they play. They are safe durable, and work well in the home, classroom, or therapy center. Use them to build verbal expression, social skills, fine motor skills and more as you play together.

Images for the Page 3

Wireframes

Create three wireframes for your site. One for each page and list them here

Home

In the header is the logo, webpage name and links to 'blog' and 'resources' and 'home'. An about me and the webpage section along with an image. A section for humor with rotating images and two sections for information on the 2 child pages (Blog and Resoureces). The footer has the copyright, and social icons.

Blog Page

This page includes a daily blog post with a place for comments, comments are to be shared by clicking a button that will bring up a form for the comments to be placed in. It includes an image above the blog post and recent comments made on the blog to the right side of the post. Logo and webpage title with links in the header. Copyright and social icons are in the footer.

[Page 3]

This page is a resource page with a resource image banner under the header and several boxes that include text/image with a link to the resource.