And now, a word from our sponsors...: A Morning Well Spent

Yesterday morning was the Walk Now for Autism event. The Walking for William team had a great time!!! Our tiny team raised $815!!!! There was so much to do there...bouncy houses, games, face painting, characters to meet. So fun!! And it was at the very place that the Buckeyes play football, so Evie was in hog-heaven. Walking into the stadium, she started sing-chanting "I'm walking on the Buckeyes field. I'm walking on the Buckeyes field." William was excited to high-five a bounty hunter from Star Wars. When we asked if he wanted his picture taken with the bounty hunters, he said, "no, I just wanted to say Hi." Toooooo cute!

During the opening ceremonies, there was a lot of talk from several of the speakers about curing Autism. This is one area where Autism Speaks and I have differing opinions. And yesterday I had to explain that to my child. Here is the conversation:

William: "Mom, I need to be cured from Autism."

Mom: "NO, you don't William, you are perfect."

William: "Even with Autism?"

Mom: "Yep, even with Autism, you are perfect.

William: "Then why did they say we have to cure Autism?"

Mom: A long explanation about how some kids with Autism cannon speak, go to a regular school, make friends, etc. so they want to try to make those kids better. "But you don't need to be made better."

William: "Because I'm smart? And perfect with Autism?"

Mom: "Exactly."

I don't want a cure for my child. I understand, to some extent, that some people do, but not me. What I *DO* want is access to insurance coverage for therapies deemed most effective in giving him a little exra assistance where he needs it. There should not be clinics and hospitals out there that can refuse to treat these children, but there are. There should not be 2 years worth of red tape to start treatment, but there can be. What I *DO* want is more research on a wider spectrum to determine what those most effective therapies are for the wide variety of children on the Autism Spectrum. What I *DO* want is more education on Autism for teachers and pediatricians, and those other professionals who come in contact with my child who's brain works just a little differently than theirs...not worse, just different. The money raised by Autism Speaks goes to fund research and training and campaining for all of these areas.

Ok, sorry, back to the fun stuff. My wonderful sister Christy actually remembered her camera yesterday, unlike the rest of us!!! So here are just a few pictures from the day. You can see more about the Brutus Buckeye statues they are posing with by clicking here.

William and Evie both LOVED meeting the characters from Star Wars, and William is going to think this is the coolest picture! He will love that the Storm Trooper behind him has the gun raised over his head. But take a look at my favorite part of this picture...see how Evie is holding onto William's hand? Precious!!