We also had another incredible event!  This was the first year that Gavin has expressed a real interest in Christmas.  He is really starting to put things together and comprehend what they mean.  He was super excited about the tree, and asked us where the presents were.  On Christmas Eve, he even sat at the fireplace and said "I want santa claus please!"

On Christmas Day, we opened presents, and Gavin was very excited and interested in everything that santa brought him.  He loves his gifts!  This is a huge change from last year, where he was very anxious about the wrapping paper being torn and had no real interest in any of the gifts after they had been opened.

We seem to be making progress, and I can't wait to find out what else he will surprise us with in the new year!

Hello all!  We just wanted to post a little something about the difficulties of finding after school care for an autistic child. I am taking special care not to use the names of any of the facilities in question, however, this is more of a choice for legality.  I’d really love to smear the names of these child care facilities all over the internet, but I won’t.

This has been my experience:  I disclose ALL of Gavin’s issues, his social inconsistencies, the fact that he is NOT completely potty trained, his ways of escaping or getting attention, his stims…everything.  The director of the facility then indicates that they are sure they can handle that, no problems, just a few adjustments and a careful eye…now give me my registration fee (which is usually non-refundable).  After a few weeks I am told that I have X amount of time to "fix" my child or they can no longer keep him there.  Oddly enough, I am usually not given any reports of misbehavior at all, nor have any of the adjustments they promised have been made.  So what happens….we pull him out and go to another facility, where the same thing happens.

Here are the facts:  the rate of children born in the autism spectrum is RISING not decreasing.  However, child care facilities are simply not preparing themselves to handle those numbers.  I also am finding that while the facilities CLAIM they are not discriminating against my child…I highly doubt that normal children are asked to leave after a first offense or report of misbehavior.  Of course, without taking on an expensive lawyer, there’s no way to prove that, and that is just not within my budget.  So, like many families of autistic children everywhere, we are just left to take it in the rear.

I say let’s rally.  I’m no longer satisfied to sit in on parent meetings about where we can find good therapies for our children.  Autism is a beast raging against us, holding us captive, making us prisoners of case workers and paperwork.  It should not be this difficult.  There needs to be a change.  Parents, we need to cry out, not cry ourselves to sleep, wondering if the next call from our daycares will be the call that causes us to quit our jobs and home school our kids. 

Our children can’t speak for themselves, we need to speak for them, we need to encourage state agencies, child care facilities and whoever else will listen to make changes.  Isn’t your child worth at least that?

Today we all walked for Gavin!  We were hoping for clear skies, but instead….it rained!  It was still a great turn out and we all had a great time!  Uncle Russell made it out this year too!  Thanks to everyone at CourseTrends for donating to this great cause!  We will continue to take donations online until the end of the year.  We’d love to surpass our goal, so any and all donations are appreciated!

Be sure to check out more photos in the Photo Gallery!

We are so proud of Gavin!  He Graduated from Preschool on June 4 of this year.  He absolutely loved his class, and has begun interacting with children his own age now!  We still have a few hurdles (still working on the potty training, as well as a few language issues), but his teachers and speech therapists at school think the outlook is good.

Next year, Gavin will start kindergarten at a new school.  We visisted his class and met with his new teachers also.  I think next year will be great for him!

This summer we will be working on a number of things…including potty training.  Everyone send good vibes this way as we try some different approaches to this issue!

Don’t forget to check out Gavin’s Photo Gallery for more photos!

We got some great news!  Gavin’s full progress report came in, and with the exception of potty training, he is making incredible progress in all areas.  He is doing extremely well in speech therapy, and has begun using proper phrases at appropriate times now!  We are still working on matching items (he still needs adult prompting) and a few others but I am amazed at the progress they are making with him.

Last night he was thirsty, but instead of crying and throwing a tantrum he came up to me with his cup and asked "Can I have some red juice please mommy?"  This is incredible progress because when he started school he simply could not do that!

Dave and I are both very excited about the changes he has been making with his communication, and while it’s not perfect quite yet, he is on track and keeps making progress.

The progress report we got from school today was, for the most part, pretty good.

This morning he went into the classroom and put up his backpack with no adult prompting.

He attended well at independent time, working with the kitchen center and puzzles

He also attended well in small group where they worked on shapes, numbers and counting.

He worked with Letters, Books, Numbers, Art and Music today during class time.

He chose a hot dog for lunch with no adult prompting, and at all his food.

During recess he played nicely with friends on the playground.

He had Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy today.

It was a typical Monday for him, and he needed a lot of help following directions from his teachers.

Overall, he was happy and a little fussy and grumpy.

We are working on getting him to follow direction better, but the fact that he chose lunch, put up his backpack and did well in small group today is a big improvment!  This is the start of a good week for him!

• Monday- Winter, please wear a scarf or mittens!
• Tuesday- Fall, please wear a hat that can "blow away in the wind"
• Wednesday- Summer, please wear sunglasses to keep our eyes from the bright summer sun
• Thursday- Spring, wear rain boots or a rain coat if you have one
• Friday- Different types of weather (rain, sun, partly cloudy, windy, storms) wear your favorite season’s clothes!

Click Here to view Gavin’s Class Objectives for this week!

Hi Parents,

I hope you are all staying warm! We are in our last week of Holiday Celebrations and this week we are learning all about shapes as we make a Santa, learning about different cultures as we discuss Hanukkah and make a menorah, and Kwanzaa as we make a traditional beaded necklace.

Our Holiday Party is on Friday from 11:00-11:30. We hope you can join us!

Have a wonderful Holiday season!
Katie

Here is a .PDF of what they are learning this week.

Visit www.change.gov to submit your ideas

It is time for aggressive action from the grassroots level. President-Elect Obama and the Transition team need to hear from ASA and our community in a VERY BIG way!

Please visit the Health Care page of http://www.change.gov/ and and advance the agenda to support individuals with autism and their families. The more people write in to tell the new administration their autism concerns, the bigger chance we have of improving the lives of all affected by autism.

Not sure what to write? Here’s a few things you could bring up:

Start off with a brief explanation why you are concerned and want things to change. 

I am the parent of a child with autism and I want my child to have happy and productive life just as any parent would want for their child.

Provide some facts such as:

Prevalence

• 1 in 150 U.S. children is diagnosed with autism. Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism.
• 1.5 million Americans have an autism spectrum disorder

Diagnosis

• Less than a decade ago, the disease was diagnosed at age 3 or 4. Now it is routinely diagnosed at 2.
• Symptoms range from mild to severe. Many people with autism display rigid routines and repetitive behaviors.

Cost

• Lifetime cost of caring for a child with autism: $3.5 million to $5 million
• Annual U.S. cost: $90 billion

The explosion of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and related disorders in the United States constitutes the largest health care crisis in our nation’s history.  It has been estimated that 1 in 150 children will be diagnosed with ASD, with recent data suggesting that as many as 1 in 67 boys are now affected.

Autism is the fastest growing disability in the country, now affecting an estimated 1.5 million individuals – more prevalent among our children than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. There are approximately 24,000 new cases of autism diagnosed each year.  Every 20 minutes another child is diagnosed with autism in the United States.

The alarming increase in autism spectrum disorders must be considered a national health emergency that requires the allocation of significant resources, aggressive research toward effective treatments for those affected, and rigorous investigation into causation for the protection of future generations. Equally important is to ensure that individuals affected by autism receive help TODAY.

Offer solutions, such as:

Legislative Agenda

Please support Expanding the Promise to Individuals with Autism Act.  This bill would provide adults the services they need to lead a productive and meaningful life. The Autism Society of America works to ensure that adults living with autism have access to appropriate employment, housing, and services. ASA chapters have been instrumental in developing job training programs and creating independent living or residential services opportunities for adults with autism.  This act will allow these programs to grow and serve more adults nationwide. 

Please support Full Funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Federal funding is $10.5 billion short of full funding this year leaving thousands of children without services. 

Pass this information on to family, friends, neighbors and anyone else you know who has an interest in improving the lives of all affected by autism.  Then, ask them to go to the site and do the same.  Together, we can create positive change!

The ground was too warm for the snow to stick, so in the morning, the remnants could really only be found on rooftops and car windshields. I think I saw some on the edges at the top of the back fence too.

During the brief snowstorm, however, we played outside and enjoyed what may be the only snow we see for another year or two.  Gavin was stoked!

The funniest thing is that it snowed on the same day that we set a new record high for the day of the year.

That is Austin, Texas weather for you.  Merry Christmas Ya’ll!

We have $55 left in the bank and almost no food in the house and we don’t get paid again until December 31st.  I bought Gavin a few $3 Pixar Cars Die Cast cars at the beginning of the month, which will be his only Christmas presents that aren’t clothing (he could care less but we’re grateful).  The great thing is; he’s a 4 year old Autistic boy is that he will think opening those few little presents is just totally awesome and its the best Christmas morning ever.  Kids this age are great.  Gavin has no clue what a Nintendo Wii does and how awesome and fun it is.  

Merry Christmas! – We’re adding some family pictures to the Photo Gallery too. 

  I managed to scrape up a barely few dollars and lease (not buy, please I’m not rich) a TV.  We havent’ had a real TV in our house for almost 2 years.  Gavin was so excited he was rolling around on the floor in circles going crazy.  It was really funny.  HDTV is crazy to say the least.  I’m glad that was a free upgrade, because I certainly couldn’t afford it.

Gavin is super excited to be back in school!  He was really getting bored on his holiday break.  I can’t imagine how its going to be over the summer break.  We also got him a few new Pixar Die-Cast cars that he loves.  He’s not getting them until Christmas.  Santa is going to bring them for him.  We put up the Christmas Tree.  He’s very excited about the lights on the tree as well.

I can hardly believe is almost Christmas again already.

We’re still battling with the toilet training.  He is in underwear and typically holds it all day until nap time when he gets a diaper or bedtime when he gets a diaper, or he pees his underwear/pants without going to the potty.  Its definitely a challenge as a father of an autistic boy to not discipline him when he’s peed ALL over the carpet in the living room.

If you’re interested in seeing what we’re trying – CHECK IT OUT!

-Autism Daddy Dave

ARTICLE SOURCE

CNN – Saturday November 22nd 2008 – 9PM PST – 6PM EST

I haven’t read her latest book yet, but I plan to soon.

I have however read her other book Louder Than Words – It was an enjoyable and informative story.  I would recommend it to anyone, especially someone who loves someone with Autism.

Stay tuned – I’ll be embedding clips from the show into this post as soon as they are available.

Click here to read more about Jenny McCarthy and the Autism controversy she’s been stirring up.

What do you think of her?  Is she crazy?  Do you think her belief is the Thiomersal theory has stands to reason or is total b.s.  Comments are encouraged. 

They’re still taking donations until December 31st, 2008, so if you feel so inclined visit:

http://www.walknowforautism.org/austin/personal/debus