1 in 68.

Wow

I expected the frequency to increase but still, seeing it in print takes my breath away.  And the numbers are old!  What is the prevalence with children who are 4 last year?  How many have been diagnosed this year alone?

Does it matter? We know too many people are living with autism spectrum disorders.  It is not the autism that is the problem.  The problem is our world.  A world that is still too inflexible, too segregated,  too un-accepting, too uneducated, and too un-accommodating.

We need to change, just like the CDC's numbers changed today. We need to embrace our children and adults with autism and change the world so they can access it. We need to educate our neighbors and our communities about people with autism and learn how to educate our people with autism.

Our people with autism, the very young and the old, can thrive in our communities if we let them. They can and will live meaningful, happy, and beautiful lives with our help.

So lets change. Lets change the world - for our children, young and old, with autism. They deserve it. They need it. And together we can do it.

Morning...yawn

Why of why does son have so much energy and noise first thing in the morning?  I should add that its only the on weekends and breaks.  On school days, he grunts, moans and will lie down on any flat surface because he's "soooooooo tired".  He talked non-stop this am (and I paid how much for private speech therapy for this verbal ability?) and wouldn't sit still while I desperately tried to chug my coffee and clear my head.  At least he slept until 7 again.  Many weekends, he will be up at 6am and full of energy despite me having to literally drag him out of bed on weekdays at 6:30. 
He's finally settling down now to his computer and "Free Realms" until its time to read.  We haven't planned anything today although we tossed around the idea of a movie - which means trying to get son and his sister to compromise on which movie to see, lucky me.  I'm going to try to get the daughter to pick 2 acceptable choices and then have son choose between the 2 so this way, she gets to see something she wants and he feels like he had control and chose.

Big Brother

Too often, my daughter gets the short end of the stick, especially when choosing something to do.  Activities are too often planned around my son's sensory and other needs to avoid meltdowns which makes for miserable times for all. He's more flexible then some on the spectrum but put him in a situation or place he doesn't want to be and its torture for all of us.
Daughter, who is 2 years younger, is very understanding and and we do try to schedule  time without her brother so she can do her thing but breaks and vacations always make that challenging.  Today, she wanted to go skating with a friend and son did not want to skate. Well, he was a wonderful big brother and sat quietly for almost 2 hours so his sister and her friend could have a great time.  Little successes like this make me jump with joy because it means a better time for the whole family.  Hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) it lasts and all the positive feedback and praise we heaped on him sticks in his mind.