Andie profile picture

Andie

FlorentinaSong - Autism Advocacy

About Me

The basics - born and raised in Virginia Beach, Va. Total Tom Boy...
Middle of the 6th grade my mom moved us to National City, CA. - Yep, Culture shock is an understatement. From stale upper class segregated white man America to being smack in the middle of gang riots and a minority in school....with a southern accent to boot! Did you get a visual??? Pretty damn funny.
Lived in a number of places in the States. The best was NYC....the vibe of the city is un-explainable...the open acceptance. I hope to move back one day.
What else....vegetarian, no eating of barn yard animals for me. On the very rare occassion I eat fish I feel like they are swimming inside my body for days and it freaks me out. Eggs make me yack. Total Coke fan - NO Pepsi - gross.
Writing and Music Obsessions abound. Tibetan Heart Yoga, Buddhist in training. Free Gypsy Spirit.
Passionate Autism Advocate - please read my blogs old and new.
Love animals with all my heart. 3 of my 5 were rescues. I am forbidden to bring home any more. :(
Playing outdoors in the woods or the waves, although prefer the beach and warmer weather.
For me, success in life is so NOT about how much money one makes..it is too easy for money to become just camoflauge to what is real and matters most.
Hippy spirit...barefeet, torn wornout Levi's and tank tops, no make-up and messy hair. :)I run by the seat of my pants most days; with "some" cursing, a smile and alot of laughter.
Struggle each minute of every day to be more compassionate and understanding.
A little trivia to leave you with: Direct descendent of American Revolutionary War soldiers. My great, great, great grandfather founded the first presbytarian church in Cranston Rhode Island. French, Native American and Scottish, but, learning to speak Italian.
Anyways....

My Interests

Outside of work and all things music, my dedication is researching additional support and treatments to cure my daughter (Autism).

Another goal is to bring together musicians for a compilation CD. The proceeds would benefits families of autistic children to offset medical and other treatment expenses that are rarely covered by insurance.

In my "spare time" - writing. The ultimate goal would be to shut down my business and just write...write until my fingers bleed.

The fighter in me will finish the story of Florentina's road to recovery, let's just say it hasn't been pretty, but she is winning the battle.

.....all things to the extreme to in between - whatever spurs the moment and pours out of me.

Music is a huge influence on what I write. There is a song by Poetsandpornstars that , well, gets me lost in lust and fantasy...there is another that brings a wave of dispair, anger and sadness. What happens then, only my pen and paper knows.

I'd like to meet:

Myself......when I was 8 years old.

Music:

Anything music where I can jump up and thrash around!

Punk(more old school) and Rock. Grew up with Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and Led Zepplin. Totally into System of a Down, Love RAGE, Greenday, Good Charlotte and a long long time Offspring fan....what can I say?!? Remember The Alarm?...saw them with The Pretenders and Stevie Ray Vaughn YEARS ago - still smiling.

Seattle Grunge - yes, just get over it. The music rips through my soul and I fucking love it!

Anything Indie - Again thrashing - think snowboarding, skateboarding videos and there is me dancing around....a happy oblivious fool.

I love SALSA...yep!!!! Someone dance with me???

Jazz - my son Clifton has been my inspiration here and has turned me on to the greats as well as not so known artists. Clifton is a my own famous Jazz Trombone player.

Latest listening include My Chemical Romance, JEM, Shakira, Three Days Grace, The Killers, All American Rejects, Offspring and I forget the rest. :)

Television:

Okay Okay - big TV junkie.

You know when your mind is racing and you are having a brain melt? TV is my solution to "erase the slate".

Nick At Nite - yep, the PERFECT I can't sleep remedy.

Law & Order CI - the girls, (and some guys) understand this one. Anything funny....King of Queens, Two and a Half Men kinda thing.

Food Network - yes LOVE the cooking shows. Waiting for the moment to run away to Tuscany to cook and drink wine in a secluded little countryside bungalow. (Italian Language lessons will come in nice!)

Please NO REALITY TV - although I did cave for Rock Star INXS recently. You go JD!

Books:

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Harvest for Hope - A Guide to Mindful Eating by Jane Goodall

If the Buddha got stuck - A handbook for Change on a Spiritual Path - by Charlotte Kasl, PHD

The Tibetan Book of Yoga - by Geshe Michael Roach (Tibetan Heart Yoga)

Children with Starving Brains - A Medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorder - by Jaquelyn McCandless, MD

GOLDIE - A Lotus Grows in the Mud - by Goldie Hawn

Heroes:

My daughter Florentina, she is full of life and laughter. 5 minutes with her and you forget about all the trivial things that don't really matter much.

Florentina is 8 years old, autistic with developmental delays.

She is the greatest gift - every day she teaches simple lessons - patience with the world, unconditional love, unwavering compassion and understanding.

Florentina reminds us to laugh at the things that would drive most nuts and not take "the ride" all that serious.

My Blog

Florentina's Song - Autism Advocacy

FlorentinaSong, Inc. - Autism Advocacy Non-Profit Organization (status pending...
Posted by Andie on Tue, 07 Feb 2006 11:00:00 PST

Autism, Mercury and Politics

Autism, mercury, and politics By Robert Kennedy Jr.  |  July 1, 2005 MOUNTING EVIDENCE suggests that Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in children's vaccines, may be responsible ...
Posted by Andie on Tue, 07 Feb 2006 09:35:00 PST

Documents Show Agency Discovered Elevated Autism Risks and Withheld From Public/Congress

Documents Show Agency Discovered Elevated Autism Risks and Withheld From Public/Congress WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- SafeMinds -- America's leading scientific organization investigating the ...
Posted by Andie on Tue, 07 Feb 2006 09:14:00 PST

Autism Treatment Plan - Where to begin

For a list of DAN! Doctors, please click here for domestic doctors and here for international doctors 1. Make an appointment with a DAN! Doctor. DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) is an organization founde...
Posted by Andie on Tue, 07 Feb 2006 07:00:00 PST

Government cover-up of a mercury/autism scandal

May 2005 - Rolling Stone Deadly Immunity Robert F. Kennedy Jr. investigates the government cover-up of a mercury/autism scandal In June 2000, a group of top government scientists and health of...
Posted by Andie on Sat, 04 Feb 2006 06:04:00 PST

Toxic World = Toxic Children

Toxic World = Toxic Children Currently 1 in 166 children are diagnosed as autistic; 1 in 6 has a diagnosed learning disability. 1 in 68 families in the United States have a child in the Autism...
Posted by Andie on Wed, 01 Feb 2006 01:55:00 PST

Questionnaire for Children with Autism for your Child's Doctor

Questionnaire for Children with Autism and Related Developmental and/or Attention Problems You are free to print to provide to your child's doctor. They are also free to reproduce for other patients....
Posted by Andie on Mon, 09 Jan 2006 10:36:00 PST

Still doubt Autism is Treatable - Watch the videos -

Recovered Autistic Children and their parents - interviews taped at the DAN! Conference in Long Beach, California October 2005.If you watch these videos and still do not believe children can be treate...
Posted by Andie on Sat, 07 Jan 2006 08:56:00 PST

Treatment Options for Mercury/Metal Toxicity in Autism and Related Developmental Disabilities:

Treatment Options for Mercury/Metal Toxicity in Autism Follow the above LINK for the Full Report! February 8, 2005 INTRODUCTION TO THE 2005 UPDATE OF THE MERCURY DETOXIFICATION CONSENSUS REP...
Posted by Andie on Sat, 07 Jan 2006 04:47:00 PST

Secretin - by Dr. John A. Green III, M.D.

Secretin is a neurotransmitter (a chemical messenger) in the neuropeptide group. It is one of the hormones that controls digestion (gastrin and cholecystokinin [CCK] are the others). It is a polypepti...
Posted by Andie on Thu, 05 Jan 2006 01:45:00 PST