April is Autism Awareness Month and Simply Traditional is teaming up with Woods Walker Traditional Archery for this special offer. Royal Blue 100% Wool Bowstring Silencers, blue is the official color for Autism Awareness. We are donating 100% of the purchase price of these Silencers to “Blooming with Autism“, a great charity based out of Florida. They award grants to families of children with Autism, to help cover the costs of therapy. That means that your money will be going directly to a child in need! These silencers sell for $4.50 each and Simply Traditional will pick up the postage to anywhere in the United States. You can still combine with other items on the site, but you won’t pay any additional shipping for the Autism Awareness Silencers.

A little history about Woods Walker Traditional Archery

Woods Walker Traditional Archery came about almost as an accident.  In 2012, without intending on forming a permanent business, Casey and Jennifer Cochran began making and selling wool bowstring silencers as a way to raise money to purchase an ipad for their 3-year old son.

Ronin (pronounced ROH-nin), was diagnosed with Autism at 2½  years old.  His pediatric neurologist prescribed a minimum of 20 hours of therapy weekly, as the key to helping Ronin learn to cope with, and overcome many of the challenges of Autism.  But the couple’s insurance only offered 52 hours of therapy  yearly, a far cry from the prescribed number of hours.   As a way to bridge the gap, Ronin’s Occupational Therapist recommended an ipad loaded with therapy apps, so that Casey and Jenn could assist in Ronin’s therapy without  the presence of a speech or occupational therapist.

The couple brainstormed about ways to raise the extra money for the ipad.  Finally, they decided on selling their bowstring silencers, which up until that time, the couple had been making only for personal use.   The wool silencer were sold on eBay, and they slowly began to gain popularity.   Several times, the silencers generated enough sales to have nearly all the money needed for the ipad.  Yet each time the accumulated funds nearly reached their goal, the family suffered a significant financial set back, and it became necessary to use the saved funds to cover the emergency situation.  That was when the local traditional archery community stepped up to help raise the money needed  for Ronin’s ipad.  Two short months later, after a raffle hosted by the family’s local archery club, containing donated items from archers across the southeast, Ronin had his ipad, and enough money left over to fill it with therapy apps for years to come.

While the need to continue selling their handmade bowstring silencers had passed, the demand was still strong and steadily growing.   The couple realized that while they could opt to end their listings on eBay, it would disappoint their many repeat customers.  They also realized that the silencers had turned into a bigger business opportunity than they had ever expected, and their success encouraged them to start a small business offering not only their handmade bowstring silencers, but also a wider range of  traditional archery supplies.  In January of 2013, after test marketing their signature silencers for a full year, Woods Walker Traditional Archery, become a fully licensed, LLC., offering an increasingly comprehensive inventory of products for the traditional archer.

Since receiving his ipad, Ronin has met many milestones with which he had previously been struggling.   His vocabulary has increased from just 20-25 words at nearly 3 years old, to now, a year later, more words than Casey and Jenn can count.  He is even speaking in many full sentences.   He has learned all of his colors, shapes, numbers, and letters.  He has even learned the basic phonics of the alphabet, how to write some letters and numbers, and how to read and spell some words.  His social skills have benefited as well, such as, taking turns, saying please and thank you, and the proper way to set the table.    There is still much for him to learn, but he is progressing beyond what the doctors had initially expected, and it seems that he will be more likely to live an independent life as an adult than what was first believed.  Casey and Jenn are in awe of how far Ronin has come, and thank God everyday for the blessings He has given them in all of their children.  It is their hope that one day, Ronin, their inspiration for Woods Walker Traditional Archery, along with their other children, will join them in their business.