Category: Autism Awareness

Posted on

If you didn’t make it to our FriendsGiving Able Buddies NC Family and Friends Night, here is what you missed!

What a great night we had!

As usual, our decorating committee brought the event to life!

We were honored to have the Pender County 4-H Teen Council join us as servers again this year. They helped the night to feel festive and inclusive! And they all took our Friends of Randy coloring sheets, and sent us photos with Randy at their meeting last week!

Mike Owens from Compass Care Connections was able to join us and share information with our parents and family members.

Our announcements included winners of the fall Special Olympics games that were held last month in Charlotte. And the announcement that one of our very own, will be moving on to the state games!

We also had Able Buddies NC family member Michelle Pratt, share with us that she is the current queen for Paws for a Cause!

We had a few new faces this month, which it’s always wonderful to see. And we all enjoyed chicken and waffles for dinner and wonderful hot cocoa from our sponsor Zarcone Cocoa!

Next month will be our favorite of all year, as we celebrate Christmas with a few special guests that will be taking time out of their busiest season, to join us for the evening.  We hope that you can join us too!

If you would like more information about next month’s Family and Friends Night you can follow us on our Facebook page Able Buddies NC Family and Friends Night, or email Aileen@AbleBuddiesNC.org.

We hope to celebrate the season with you next month!

Posted on

Able Buddies NC Family & Friends Night – October Recap!

 If you missed our Able Buddies NC Family and Friends Night on October 17th, here’s what you missed — it was a spook-tacular evening!

Our theme this month was Halloween, and our amazing decorating committee truly outdid themselves once again. The room was filled with festive touches, from pumpkins to cobwebs, setting the perfect scene for a night of fun and friendship.

We had so many wonderful guests come dressed in costume — everything from Pikachu and ballerinas to Thing 1 and Thing 2, Elphaba, and even a cowboy made an appearance!

One of the highlights of the evening was a special storytime with author Emily Jean Sanders, who read her delightful book “Bubbs in Space.” Everyone loved hearing the story straight from the author herself — thank you, Emily, for sharing your talent and time with us!

Our kitchen crew warmed everyone’s hearts (and bellies!) with delicious, hearty soups and tasty desserts.

A very special thank you goes out to Heather Loughery and Family for sponsoring this month’s event — for the second time this year! Heather has been part of Able Buddies NC since our very first dance, and she continues to bring joy and kindness to every event. We are so grateful for her ongoing support and friendship.

Next month’s theme is FRIENDSGIVING, and we can’t wait to celebrate together again!

If you’d like more information about our Family and Friends Nights, or if you’re interested in sponsoring an event in 2026, please reach out to Aileen at Aileen@AbleBuddiesNC.org.

Posted on

The Special End of the Spectrum… and What the World Doesn’t Believe! By Aiden Zarcone

What is the special end of the spectrum? Why doesn’t the world see anything good about special needs people? There are a lot of questions to challenge the world around us once our eyes are opened to a different perspective. Special needs people are amazingly gifted and talented people that the world just doesn’t value enough because of so many stigmas going around. The truth is, some of the most famous and wealthiest people we don’t realize have Autism and there’s lots of people with Down Syndrome that live very inspirational lives. Therefore, we should not be quick to judge.

 

The Stigma

Our world has accepted today that people with special needs like Autism, Down Syndrome and etc. don’t fit into society and are incapable of things like socialization, decision making, and independence. While life can be challenging for special needs people, this stigma is invalid and they are capable of these goals, normally, with a little assistance. People who make up these stigmas are usually very closed minded. People may have accepted those stigmas in recent years and even today, but they don’t see how people with special needs benefit our world.

 

Examples of How Autism and Others Changed The World

With Autism as one of the biggest voices in learning differences, there are lots of examples of how people with Autism and other differences changed the world. Multi-billionaire founder of SpaceX and big investor in Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, has stated in some interviews that he is on the spectrum. Also, co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, is now a famous business magnate and philanthropist who some people have stated that he quite possibly possesses a lot of autistic traits.

There are plenty of examples of people with Down Syndrome who were famous, but remember, you don’t have to be rich or famous to live an inspiring life in general. Just work hard and be content with what you have.

Lastly, there’s one last person to mention who is on the special end of the spectrum. Can you guess? It’s Aiden Zarcone! He’s started a cocoa company and plans on starting a mobile ice cream shop and using his business as a ministry to serve God and share the Gospel.

 

Conclusion

The special end of the spectrum is the side that the world should value. Instead of stigmatizing people with learning differences, we should celebrate them. Plenty of people with Autism, Down Syndrome, etc. live inspirational lives. Even Aiden plans to start his own business and ministry. If you had a super-ability like Autism, how would you use it? Would you use it to change the world?