2/21/2010
To all of my friends,
colleagues and family,
I want you to know that I appreciate all that you have done for me over the past year. Dealing
with this illness is very difficult for me, but it is even more difficult for my family especially my children.
Your love and support over this past year has been overwhelming. I am not going down without a fight
and so far, despite some of the set backs I am winning. How I know is that I am still here.
I want you all to know how much I miss working with you and your children. Working within the Autism
community has been the most rewarding work and I wouldn’t trade a day of it. It is difficult for me to talk to all of
you because I have a hard time putting my thoughts together and coming up with things to talk about, but I remember all of
you. Thank you for welcoming me into your homes and becoming part of your family. I
am honored and humbled by it. My thoughts are with all of you always. Thank you again
for your love and support, I don’t know what I would do without it.
Love,
Eric
The Starfish Story
adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley
1907 - 1977
Once upon
a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before
he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human
figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, so he walked faster
to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what
he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects and throwing them
into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out, "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you
are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat
startled wise man.
To this the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't
throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But,
young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't
possibly make a difference!"
As if he hadn't heard, the young man bent
down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he turned, smiled and said, "I
made a difference to that one!"
THANK YOU, ERIC, FOR DEDICATING YOUR LIFE TO MAKING
A DIFFERENCE TO SO MANY CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND THEIR FAMILIES. THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO CHANGE THE TEACHING TOOLS
OF TEACHERS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND FOR ADDING IMAGINATION AND GOOFINESS AS ESSENTIAL TO HELPING CHILDREN TO LEARN!!!
