I hope you are all having a wonderful summer, I can't believe that it's going by so quickly. Dougie just finished summer school, so we are packing up our RV and heading down to our house in Florida for a few weeks (before football season starts and Doug has to go back to work as a college football analyst for ESPN/ABC). Dougie does very well when we travel down to Florida, he enjoys riding in the RV (we drive because that eliminates the stress of flying for all of us) and we go to our own house so Dougie is very familiar with it and very comfortable there (which eliminates the stress of staying at different hotels). Our house is fairly close to Disney World so we are able to make day trips to the different parks. Dougie handles the crowds great and enjoys the lower key rides, his favorite rides are the Buzz Light Year ride and the Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom, but we only go to the parks a day here or there, a week straight would be to much for him (and us, haha!).
We spend a lot of time just hanging out at the house relaxing and swimming in the pool. Dougie has become quite the good swimmer this year. Our pool in Florida is salt water and only 6' deep (in the deep end) so now that Dougie is about 5'7" he can swim into the deep end and push his feet off the bottom and the salt water helps him to float better and because of this he has learned that if he kicks his feet and uses his arms he can swim back and forth across the pool. It's awesome, he just started doing this this summer, so now when we are home in our house in MA and he swims in the pool there (which is deeper and not salt water) he has the confidence and knowledge to kick his feet and use his arms, so now he swims great there too!! We are very proud of Dougie!!
I want to thank everyone who joined us for the Harley Ride and party at the Hard Rock Cafe on August 3rd. Everyone at Pitching in for Kids and the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation did a great job planning such a fun event, the Flutie Brothers Band played at the Hard Rock and we all had a great time!! Thanks also to Pitching in for Kids for being so generous to the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation, we really appreciate your kindness!!!
Thanks again for your continued support and generosity! Don't forget the Eastern Bank Flutie 5K Road Race on September 14th! Hope to see you there!
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Laurie Flutie
Monday, August 11, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
NEWS FROM THE FOUNDATION
We are sad to announce that Melisa MacDonald (formerly Joyal) will be leaving us in early August after close to 5 years of employment here at the Foundation. Melisa has been a tremendous asset to the Foundation and very committed to her work. All of us here will truly miss her, however, we want to wish her the best of luck in her new career as a guidance counselor at Kennedy Middle School in Natick.
On another note, most of you have heard by now about Michael Savage’s absurd remarks on his nationally syndicated talk show claiming autism is a “fraud” and that in “99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out”. Many people in the autism community have responded to his comments by writing very thoughtful and well written letters.
The Flutie Foundation also responded to Mr. Savage’s comments with the following statement:
"Mr. Savage’s remarks are inappropriate and show no respect for all families affected by autism. He obviously lacks the necessary education to understand the disorder and likely has not spent quality time around children and families struggling to cope with autism.
Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but Mr. Savage should have done a better job of educating himself before expressing his views on the radio.
The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism remains committed to providing support for financially disadvantaged families who need assistance in caring for their children with autism through educational services and equipment."
The Boston Herald printed this Statement on Saturday, July 26th. Here is the link to the article.
Thank you to everyone who has been a loyal supporter of the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism over the past ten years. We are here to help families get the services, education and resources they need and are grateful to those who have contributed their time, money and encouragement to our organization.
Sincerely,
Lisa Borges
Executive Director
On another note, most of you have heard by now about Michael Savage’s absurd remarks on his nationally syndicated talk show claiming autism is a “fraud” and that in “99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out”. Many people in the autism community have responded to his comments by writing very thoughtful and well written letters.
The Flutie Foundation also responded to Mr. Savage’s comments with the following statement:
"Mr. Savage’s remarks are inappropriate and show no respect for all families affected by autism. He obviously lacks the necessary education to understand the disorder and likely has not spent quality time around children and families struggling to cope with autism.
Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but Mr. Savage should have done a better job of educating himself before expressing his views on the radio.
The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism remains committed to providing support for financially disadvantaged families who need assistance in caring for their children with autism through educational services and equipment."
The Boston Herald printed this Statement on Saturday, July 26th. Here is the link to the article.
Thank you to everyone who has been a loyal supporter of the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism over the past ten years. We are here to help families get the services, education and resources they need and are grateful to those who have contributed their time, money and encouragement to our organization.
Sincerely,
Lisa Borges
Executive Director
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