Say Hello Threads

by Sweet Darren's July 5, 2022

Imagine being able to start a meaningful conversation, build community relationships, and inspire advocacy all through a t-shirt! Say Hello Threads did just that. As many of you know I had the honor and privilege of leaving the hospital nursing world and becoming a Special Needs School Nurse. Being a Special Needs parent myself, my heart was fully invested in this journey. Everyday my little guy Max arrives to school with an unbelievable amount of medical equipment. Everyday each parent in the drop off line watches his family members and myself unload all of his equipment to a WonderFold Wagon. Max and his story is beyond incredible. Max was born at just 28 weeks at home on the bathroom floor. Max spent the first 10 months of his life in the NICU. His NICU nurse was the most incredible woman. Little did Max know that nurse would end up having the honor of becoming his mom! After 972 days in foster care Max was adopted into the most beautiful family. It takes a village to raise a child with Special Needs and this family has the best village.

Now this is where the T-shirt connection starts. Ashley (Max's mom) came to school one day to drop him off and Say Hello Threads t-shirts did exactly what it was supposed to do, it started a conversation, strengthened our relationship, and encouraged each of us to tell the world more about our journeys. Ashley's t-shirt said "Instead of don't stare, lets start teaching say hello." That shirt hit me hard. Everyone is always curious when they see Special Needs individuals, they are just not sure how they should behave or interact. Most people want to ask questions, some people want to stop and talk, and some people just aren't sure how to begin that conversation. This shirt was literally the ice breaker. I immediately of course asked where she got that t-shirt. SAY HELLO THREADS!! She proceeded to tell me about her favorite shirt ever from their website. That shirt touched my heart. The saying stated "My child is non-verbal, but his mama ain't." I wished I had that shirt while my son Darren was growing up. Darren was non-verbal for a number of years, and while some of the world understood our life, most of the world did not.

Once I got home from work that day I had to get on their website and learn who these people were. Immediately an order was placed to get some t-shirts. Through that order I placed, Say Hello Threads got introduced to Sweet Darren's. Justin and I had the honor of connecting with Alana and Lindsay the owners of Say Hello Threads! Sweet Darren's would love to share Say Hello Threads Story! There are so many businesses just like ours all over the world and networking with so many of them has been an incredible experience. If you are not following Say Hello Threads you should be!! These two ladies are absolutely incredible. Now here is their story!

Hello!

We are Alana and Lindsay, the owners of Say Hello Threads! We wanted to introduce ourselves to our followers, both old and new. Alana is currently a Family Resource Specialist for a therapeutic foster care agency. Lindsay is a Middle School Counselor. We are avid travelers, coffee drinkers and sunny day lovers.

Say Hello Threads was inspired by our son, Brayden. Our name comes from the quote "Instead of 'Don't Stare' let's start teaching 'Say Hello.'" Some of you know that Brayden was born premature and stayed in the NICU for 2 weeks. About a year into his life, it became clear that he had some major delays as he was not meeting most of his milestones. He was diagnosed around 2 years old with Apraxia of Speech and Dyspraxia and we began to notice that he would gain words and then lose them. I remember wanting so badly for him to talk. Brayden was just shy of 3 years old and non-verbal. He fell constantly and was always moving; he truly could not sit still. Brayden was diagnosed next with Sensory Processing Disorder. It was around 4 years old when he picked up the diagnoses of Intellectual Disabilities and Global Developmental Delays.

Brayden is now 11 years old. He is still non-verbal and severely intellectually disabled. Brayden is an incredibly fun and loving kid! He truly can light up any room and demands that EVERYONE be included. His interests include playing basketball, soccer, football and really, any sport! If he's not playing a sport, he's watching a sport. He also loves music! If we had to guess, his favorite season is summer since the pool is open and the ocean water is warm. Brayden is also passionate about Schitt's Creek - don't judge. Brayden has an older brother named John (15), his dad, Brian, and his favorite puppy, Aspen Mae. They are huge parts of his life and are sure to make appearances on our page.

The Say Hello Threads mission is to start meaningful conversations, build community and inspire advocacy. We remember the shock and the not knowing where to turn or who to talk to that might understand the diagnoses we were handed. Now we share openly our celebrations and our struggles and hope to create a strong network and community so that no one is ever alone in their journey!

If you would like to be featured on our blog, please send us an email, we would love to chat! sayhellothreads@gmail.com.