Wormy The Pet Worm

This post is being brought to you by The Little Person's new pet, Wormy. If you hadn't guessed, Wormy is a worm. I have a lot to share, but feel a little overwhelmed by all that is going on.

Autism Symposium

M and I attended an Autism Symposium on Thursday and Friday of last week. Since we were both going, it took some arranging, but thanks to Gram, Lovely Neighbor, and Babysitter Extraordinaire (BE), we pulled it off. BE actually attended the Symposium with us, which was fantastic. It was so good to have her there, and she saved us seats, which was important, since there were 450 people attending the first day. The keynote that morning was Temple Grandin and she was amazing, inspiring and super funny. She had her trademark cowboy shirt on with her pins, and Claire Danes did an incredible job portraying here because they sounded exactly alike. I even asked a question, whether she still had the Squeeze Machine and whether she could comment on her relationship with her typical sibling/sister.

They had a great "bookstore" with tons of resources in the back, and I bought as many as I could that I thought would be useful for working with Sam. The second speaker of the day was Elaine Hall, from Autism: The Musical (great if you can rent it). I have heard her speak before and seen her story about The Miracle Project, where she brought together a bunch of differently functioning kids with autism and their families to create a musical. I think, as BE commented, that she would be better for people new to the autism community, either parents or practitioners. She was good at energizing folks, but I felt like she didn't share as much of her story as she has in the past, and that affects her authenticity with this group.

The next day we heard from Pat Mirenda, who is the guru on all things AAC (Assisted Augmented Communication), SGD's (Speech Generating Devices), assistive technology, and social interaction for kids on the spectrum. I loved Temple, but this was the presentation I got the most out of, because this is exactly where we are at with Sam. I enjoyed it thoroughly, took copious notes and didn't want to miss a minute. I was fully engaged the entire time, which was most of the day. I again purchased resources, but we also got lots of ideas for things we can and want to do with Sam. It felt great (and overwhelming) to think about all of the things he can do with a little help. I will keep you updated as we implement some of the new things we learned about.

The other thing is that Sam has a new SGD (speech generating device) called, ironically, Say It Sam, and apparently he has really connected with using it, according to his teacher. He comments on the weather, and tells his teacher when he has something to say. We are looking forward to seeing him and the device in action. Hopefully, the prior authorization from our insurance will be worked out for his speech therapy appointment on Thursday. He has been doing great work for me at home, and with L, who does respite on Sundays. Aside from the ongoing early waking, I am feeling really good about things with Sam. Though there is always nagging feeling that you can always be doing more for or with your autistic child, or that you should have done more earlier. Found a good book by a local (Brookline, MA) woman called The Autism Mom's Survival Guide, which I identify with a lot more than I would have thought.

OK, need a break. Part II regarding swimming and anything else will be tomorrow (hopefully).