Life on Mars

This morning, getting ready for SCHOOL!

I've been running silent for a while.  After two years in a school just for kids with autism, Ben started in
a classroom alongside typical kids about 3 weeks ago.  I wasn't sure how it was going to go, so I didn't want to talk about it.

When we started planning this transition back in December of 2012, it seemed simple:  "Oh sure - we'll build a rocket and fly it to another planet  - easy-peasy."

We calmly let the application deadline to re-up at our special school go by - "No problem, Earth is the perfect place for humans, but we should really check out the other planets.  If we want to plan ahead as a species, we need to get out there."

We searched for the right school to attend and experienced some dismay as the options dropped away - "Mars it is!"

We found a company to do ABA therapy in preparation and throughout the school year.  It's expensive and not covered by insurance, but we applied for the Medicaid waiver in hopes of help with the costs.  We had heard it was underutilized, but apparently that's not the case any more.  We were "not selected."  No problem - "Ok, we hired SpaceX.  Between deficit spending and pulling some money out of the Social Security fund (thanks Ma and Pa), we can cover this."

Things went surprisingly well.  Ben's teachers are all we could hope for, and the school has been very welcoming to our therapy team.  Drop-off feels like we have to pull off a Mars landing every day, but other than that, reports are good.

Yesterday morning, at drop-off, we went into the "large motor room" to get some ya-yas out before the day started.  A girl from Ben's class came over to us, and silently handed him a train car that I recognized from home, and then walked away.  Ben held it up to me and said, "She gave me my train.  Oh, that's so nice of her!"  I said, "Who was that?" and he said, "That was Becka." (incorrect, but close)

It's hard to get across how much that interaction meant.  I'll just say, I'm glad we're doing what we're doing.

Jungle Gold: Family Emergency

Not a light topic today...sorry.

One of our friends just posted this to Facebook.  It's an episode of a reality show about two men, George and Scott, who are prospecting for gold in Ghana.  When Scott's 2 YO is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, he flies home to be with his family.

Around 24 minutes into the episode, the wife explains to him that there is therapy that can help their son, but that it's very expensive, and not covered by their insurance because they live in Utah.  Yup...they're from Utah.

If they lived in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin, they would have a still have a scary diagnosis to deal with, but at least they'd be able to access medical help without going bankrupt.

I don't watch TV much, and reality shows less, but this scene really impressed me.  They managed to sum up in a couple of minutes the emotional rollercoaster that so many Utah families have experienced:  getting a diagnosis, then learning that there's therapy that works for most kids, but it costs more than an Ivy League education and is not covered by most insurance in our state.

Thanks Scott and Andrea for sharing that moment for us.

And welcome to the autism community...we're on a road less traveled and it can be hard, but there's a lot of joy and good friends to be found and occasionally gold.

I hope y'all find some gold.

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!