Tag, you're it!

Whoosh!  The month of August is flying by.  It's been a busy one, including my birthday and our wedding anniversary (16 years!).

Last week was chock-full of happenings in the Utah autism community:

• FAAST hosted a seminar for law enforcement personnel at Westminster.  I stopped by to see and was really impressed.  There was lots of good information and the officers were very engaged.
• Temple Grandin was in town, attending the USAAA conference and promoting her new book.
• The Sahara Cares Carnival was Saturday.  It's a very fun event with bounce houses, a DJ, games, etc.  UAC had a booth and we signed up a bunch of new members.

On top of that, Ben has been getting about 25 hours per week of in-home behavioral therapy.  We're hoping this will help with the transition to a classroom with typical kids.  It's been a lot of work for him, but we've seen some positive changes.  Most notably, he's become a lot more conversational.

Ben:  I'm hungry!
Me:  Well, what do you want?
Ben:  I want a popsicle.
Me:  Ok...I'll get you a popsicle.
Ben (looking surprised):  Really?
Me (looking more surprised):  Yes, really!  I'll be right back.
Ben:  Oh, that's so nice of you!

It may seem like little thing, but he's never said "really" before to me.  It's like he's not been engaged enough in a conversation to express surprise or to question a statement.  That's changing.

Last week on a trip to the park with his therapist, Ben saw a bunch of kids playing tag.  He ran up and touched one, saying "tag you're it" and joined in the fun.  That's huge!

Things that make you go, "hmmm"

sometimes, curvy is calming

Last Monday, I got a chance to speak with Utah Representative Mike Noel about HB69, which would make it so that insurance companies would be required to cover people with autism.  He was nice, listened to our concerns and said thoughtful, intelligent things.

At one point in the conversation, Lauren (UAC intern) mentioned Temple Grandin.  Representative Noel didn't bat an eye...he started talking about curved cattle moving equipment  Representative Noel is a cattle rancher, and to him, Temple Grandin designs innovative cattle stuff.

Lauren said, "You know... Temple Grandin has autism."  Representative Noel and his intern expressed surprise.  I felt a little tingly thing in my brain that might have been a stroke, but I can still move my fingers and toes as well as I could before, so probably not.

A little part of me thinks Representative Noel was just pulling my leg (he seems a clever fellow).  The romantic part of me thinks about how cool it would be if my own autistic kid would someday be noteworthy for being the best at something.