Julia Boyd is from Mattoon, Illinois. Her son Jacob has autism. She is the Director of the DRAGONFLIES special needs program at the Dance Life Center. Julia Boyd draws upon her Christian faith in her writings, prayers, and encouragement to the autism community, which includes a Christian Anthem called I Am the Child You Love. Julia Boyd is an Autism Light because of her passion and expertise to bring music and movement to the autism community.
I Am the Child You Love: In 2003 Julia Boyd wrote an autism awareness song called I Am the Child You Love. An original story on the song's release is at this link. Julia wrote it following her son Jacob's diagnosis with autism. Though Jacob is 11 years old and still largely nonverbal today, Julia believes the lyrics are Jacob's message to the world. In this song she reflects on how Jesus Christ, whose birth is celebrated by Christians around the world this weekend, is important in the life of her son Jacob. The presentation has some personal photos of Julia and her family, some autism statistics, a few of her favorite passages from the Bible, and a Parent's Prayer.
You can read more about the story behind the song at the CD Baby page for I Am the Child You Love. Julia Boyd shared these thoughts with Autism Light about this song that has become a Christian Anthem:
The song gave me hope and still does to this day. Jesus' birth changed everything. Jacob's birth changed me. Being his parent has given me new light and perspective that is beyond precious. I thank God every day that He loved me enough to give his son Jesus to me and that he would choose me as Jacob's mother (Julia Boyd).Children of Destiny: Children of Destiny is a Christian support network for autism that has been especially helpful to the Boyd family in their journey with autism. As an appreciation Julia Boyd has donated some proceeds from her song in the past to Children of Destiny. Children of Destiny can be found at www.childrenofdestiny.org. One of the services of Children of Destiny includes an email list people can subscribe to in which they will receive daily prayers of interest to Christian families experiencing autism.
DRAGONFLIES: Julia Boyd is the Director of Dragonflies. Dragonflies uses the techniques of Autism Movement Therapy that were founded by Joanne Lara. They are located in the Dance Life Center. Julia Boyd explains her work like this: "In our DRAGONFLIES Autism Music Therapy classes we wake up the brain by using music and movement exercises with counts and patterns."Dragonflies is presently seeking to earn funds for a dance and drama program for autism and special needs children through a Pepsi Refresh Project. You can vote for the project at www.refresheverything.com/dragonflies. Below is a brief video of Julia using ABC movement therapy with her son Jacob.
Social Media: You can interact with Julia Boyd and her music and movement work at the following social media areas.
Special thanks to Julia Boyd for being an Autism Light by sharing her music and movement talents with those impacted by autism. She is a role model to mothers who are relying on their faith to carry on in the challenging moments of autism.
Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.
Photo: The photos in this post were used with permission of Julia Boyd.
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