17 years.

Seventeen years ago today, my husband asked permission to kiss me...I sure am glad I said "Uh Huh" Cuz here we are, still going strong. Yay!

Today

Today started out as many of them do, awake too early, with too much to do. However, before too long, it was time to get Haydn into the car and to the Early Start offices for an evaluation. When we arrived he became interested in the toys in the waiting area. When we were taken to the room where his evaluation was to take place, he very quickly made the acquaintance of the Infant Development Specialist. She had a wonderful bag of goodies and kept introducing the contents to him. He LOVED this. He shyly greeted the other women in the room. He was playing the part of Bashful, and he was playing it well. One of the first things we realized is that his language had exploded onto the scene. He was linking multiple words into sentences. Up to this point it was a very occasional experience, and they were wordswhich were blended into one, such as "thereitis", and "lookatthat". He was using verbs, which we had never noticed before. I was so surprised by his actions, as he had never willingly played with strangers before, but he was playing ball with our service coordinator and was not afraid to initiate interactions with the Infant Development Specialist. He was trying to impress everyone. I must say that I was impressed. My relief was palpable, as you can imagine, because Haydn was not exhibiting many (if any)signs of Autism. He still does stim, and still hums vivaldi and the superman theme alot, but socially he has come out of his shell! I am soooo glad that I read all of the books I've read, and so glad I didn't lose hope. Who knows if Haydn would ever have been diagnosed on the spectrum, or will ever be, but with the therapies we've been doing at home it increases his odds of having a more typical life. YAY!

Among the things I love so much,
My childs smile at my touch.

Many parents of children with Autism have not experienced this small miracle. Many parents of typical children take things like grins and giggles for granted. Here is a grin for all of those very deserving, very loving parents.

Little Einsteins

I cannot wait for the day Little Einsteins no longer rule my life.

I LOVE THE KID, BUT SERIOUSLY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Holland

I had read this article years ago, and recently stumbled upon it again. I love this. It sums up my feelings exactly. I also think that subconsciously Tulips have been my favorite flower because of this story!

©1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved. Article printed with permission of the author.
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.It’s just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Thanks Arnold!!!

SOME EFFORTS IN CALIFORNIA* LEGISLATIVE BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION ON AUTISM - In California, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (Democrat - Oakland) authored SCR 51, which passed in 2005, that created a Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism to study issues including the early identification and intervention of Autism Spectrum Disorders and to also identify gaps in programs, services and funding related to the early identification, education and treatment and provide recommendations to close the identified gaps. The commission is required under SCR 51 to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and to the Legislature no later than September 30, 2007. SCR 51 passed both houses of the Legislature overwhelmingly. In the State Senate it passed 39-0 with one senator absent or abstaining. In the Assembly it passed 75-1, with only Republican Assemblymember (now retired) Ray Haynes voting no. AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS INITIATIVE - was expanded significantly as part of the 2006-2007 Budget by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger providing funding for training to clinicians and other professionals on already published best practices guidelines, developing and publishing "ASD Guidelines for Effective Interventions", establishing state and regional ASD Resource Centers, adding one ASD Clinical Specialist and one ASD Program Coordinator at each of the 21 regional centers and adding one clinical position at the Department of Developmental Services headquarters office to coordinate and facilitate the expansion of the Initiative. OTHER EFFORTS: * Various advocacy groups focusing on autism have been long active in promoting changes in interventions, supports and services, including Autism Education Network, Autism Society of California (and America), Families for Early Autism Treatment and many other groups (including family resource centers, empowerment centers, etc.. CDCAN will post website links to all these groups in the next few days. * Legislation by former Sen. Wes Chesbro (SB 1270) is seeking to find new ways for providing certain types of non-residential supports and services for people with developmental disabilities, with a report due to the Legislature and Governor by May this year. The work is being coordinated by the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities, with a meeting scheduled on February 22. Go their website for more information at http://www.scdd.ca.gov/SB1270.htm* The Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA) recently held a conference in San Diego called a "New Day" looking at different ideas for programs and support services. * Other groups and organizations have come together to propose different or new ideas. * CDCAN (California Disability Community Action Network) has organized in the past and future series of townhall telemeetings focusing on accountability of the rights of people with disabilities covering a range of services and supports.

My Children Are NOT Autistic!

I am extremely disheartened when I read all of the blogs describing "Autistic Children". Today, it would never cross our minds to say "black person", or "you know, that mexican girl". It is not only politically incorrect, but it is very demeaning to address a person as though their skin color is the most accurate descriptor available. A persons skin color DOES NOT define who they are! Neither does a persons diagnoses. I do not have Autistic children. My children have Autism, and they have Autism on the run! Saying "Autistic Children" is so crass and unenlightened. I can't even begin to put into words how absolutely insulting that phrase is to many families who have children whose diagnoses are on the Autism Spectrum.