Mother hopes necklace sales will help find piece to puzzle of autism

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Winter

President-Mom

The Puzzling Piece

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Mother hopes necklace sales will help find piece to puzzle of autism

· Topics

· Lantana

· Autism

· Boynton Beach

JASON PARSLEY Forum Publishing Group

September 16, 2009

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Winter, of Wellington, used to gaze into the nighttime sky and ask that one day her son, Max, would be able to talk. That sky and those stars gave her comfort as she struggled and dealt with her son's autism. Today, Max talks. And Winter feels particularly indebted to the Palm Beach School for Autism in Lantana, where Max has gone to school since May 2008. She recently started a project called The Puzzling Piece to raise awareness of autism and money for Max's school and other autism-related organizations. Since her son's diagnosis, she has become a strong advocate for autism education and awareness. "My son is a new kid since he joined the school," she said. "He hasn't just improved a little bit. He's improved an amazing, tremendous amount. He went in to school with three-word sentences wearing diapers and now he speaks in full sentences and he's potty trained. He's come a really long way."Winter designed a hand-blown glass necklace in the shape of a puzzle piece that is blue with silver specks. The puzzle piece is a national symbol for autism that represents the many pieces of the puzzle of autism. The colors of the necklace represent the nighttime sky that once gave her so much comfort and hope."My passion comes from the fact that there is hope. You can't give up," she said. "If you keep going to therapy, and stay on your kid, good things are going to happen."Her necklaces can be found on her website, www.thepuzzlingpiece.com, and at various retail shops around the area. When the Palm Beach School for Autism announced that it would be eventually moving to the future Slomin Family Center for Autism and Related Disabilities in Boynton Beach, Winter wanted to help raise funds to speed up the building and construction. The future Slomin Center will be a community within a community where children with autism can attend school, get a haircut and even go to the dentist."It will have every therapy under the sun. I want it to happen sooner," she said. "I'm doing this because of what the school has done for me and my son. I'm trying to do everything I can to give back."So far she has been able to sell about 500 necklaces. Her goal, though, is to raise $250,000. "My goal is to have the name of the gym named after Max," she said. Another group that will receive some of the proceeds of the Puzzling Piece will be Autism Speaks, a national organization that raises funds for research, raises public awareness and helps those dealing with the hardships that go along with autism. Visit www.pbsfa.org for information about the Palm Beach School for Autism.

Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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Winter

President-Mom

The Puzzling Piece