Saturday, April 7, 2012

Sensory Buffet for Spring Break

While other families head for sunny, thrilling advetures on spring break, we found our little corner of paradise 2 hours from home.  Extenuating circumstances threatened to extinguish our hopeful retreat, but we finally made it.  We enjoyed our goofy private time in an impressive sleek new hotel, free courtesy of hotel points from business trips.  Will update with photos, details and review when I get a chance.

Simon Sez: I love my 1 in 54!

http://www.cafepress.com/+i_am_more_than_autism_womens_dark_tshirt,521158944
For those of you in a non-autism world: this has been a landmark couple of weeks for Autism.  Stunning new study results, new medical coverage voting hot button - all surrounding the convenient World Autism Awareness Day April 2nd.  April itself it Autism Awareness month.  The CDC reported new findings on the prevalence of autism:
1 in 88 
1 in 54 boys

I was thrilled to get the chance to pass through the tail end of  Catherine Lord's extraordinary works at University of Michigan's Autism Center.  I hope that our strange/sci-fi exams and technology they indulged us in and day long adventure helps to shed some light on a trend or rule something out.  It's all about the #'s of course.  http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/3085


http://www.feat.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=gGkYqwPI6Io%3D&tabid=78&mid=587


http://www.cafepress.com/+autism_tree_womens_dark_tshirt,521386340We took part in the Simons Simplex study, with samples taken at a few prominent universities studying our favorite subject, our "A" word.  Near and dear to someone reading this, likely.  Autism genetic+ study, behavioral, all-possible records they can get, psyche/IQ fresh assessments /reports, parental forms in the dozens of pages for each booklet (about 10-15 on average).  Added to it were impressive 3D facial mapping for Scooter, measured our feet via gazillion different angles, etc.  We ate gigantic breakfast lunches at Angelo's across from UM hospital, home of the famed cinnamon french toast.  Got it, of course!  Nickerdoodle was in heaven.  They really put us through the workout at the last part: we traversed the entire hospital (it seemed) partly outside on a pouring gloom-rainy day to give numerous vials of blood each. We passed physiology labs and smelled formaldehyde and all. Passed bright creative young minds with their futures full on forward. College town home town energy.  What's not to love?  

I'm so thrilled to try anything to advance this soaring epidemic.  It gives me a shiver, terrifies me to think of our children being affected by something under our eyes.  We can't give into this madness!  I implore all to forge ahead to learn as much as we can.  Spread the word and share the awareness signs.  1 in 54 boys is just not a good direction to take this in.  1 in 88 population.  Available on every news source last week, when my magnificent Michigan got Autism Medical Coverage bills passed. Woot!  If this works well is yet to be seen.  Immediate to be felt as all touched as a boon, a tiny feather in our colorful morphing spectral cap.  Forward, just keep swimming as Dory says.  Superb, sublimely simple quote I love to use often.

Balance the bad news with the good news.  I'm really hoping that less families must question and seek help for ASD Autism Spectrum family support.  To often, families like mine and so many others are shoved aside; not claimed or paid by any means.  Left to stumble through the confusion, shame; stress on marriage, finance, health.  Without a doubt a mammoth strain on family infrastructure.  
is a complex 
(ie: nervous system)
disorder!  
This is not psychology, 
but mind/body processing 
and re-routing synapses.  
We can help our kiddos to function. 

Early Intervention is 
BEST!
Don't wait.  


Frankly, I'm fascinated, 
saddened, angered 
at Autism's upward 
rocketing..



Danger Will Robinson!  
(Spoken in my mind in G's adorable 
speech impediment.)


I'd like to think someday soon we'll look back on this scare with the sense of "chagrin" that we could have been entirely ignorant of some seemingly innocuous additive or gene play that was causing our colossal calamity.

IAN Community has become a processing referral center for autism research.  I participated in he wandering/elopement study because I was surprised to find it a common issue.  I'd never heard about wandering and bolting into traffic like Scooter did.  I was relieved that it wasn't intellectual, but sensory-induced.  Terrifying stats on their results: half of autism spectrum children wander in public spaces.  


Best of luck and prayers to the global geniuses/researchers.
Parents and caregivers. 
Power to you, to us all.

Send any interesting studies my way.  I'm in, we're in.

Always seeking.
Autism pique-ing.