”She should label that kid" and Tanya said, ”Yes like the book the Scarlet Letter or mark you with a capital I for idiot!”

Seriously, what are we getting for 60 million dollars? Does anyone know?

Because I am always being told that Autism Speaks at the very least (and I use that term loosely while my faces contorts into some gawd awful look) promotes Autism Awareness.

If we are getting Autism Awareness after all those walks and all that cash, I want to know why I’m up at 3:29 am pissed off that I again have to educate some ignorant Disneyland employee about Autism. $60 million is a lot of money, and we should have a whole hell of a lot of Awareness going on. No wonder most of us have to call it Autism Action Month, come on Autism Speaks send some money to California to educate Disneyland employees to not yell at children with Autism who are walking independently and staying with their big person, even though it was through the stroller exit and wasn't through your stupid turnstiles, the ignorant British woman who told me not to yell at the staff and “idiot” guy who wanted to put a label on my child. The worst part is I swear at least once a year I have to march into City Hall and give this lecture. When is Disney going to educate the entire staff, because I am tired of doing it myself? (OH and the quiet room will not being making me quiet, nope not this time, not ever when it comes to Autism Awareness and Action!!!)

Seriously the numbers are 1 in 91 we can’t be the first person with Autism that these 3 ignorant people have met, can we? OK maybe we can, but I am sure we will be the most memorable. Especially after I told the British lady that in this country children like mine had rights and laws to protect them while her husband sized up my husband and wondered if he could take us if he needed to. Sorry lady, I don’t care if you were a foot taller then me, my scrappy little American arse could have taken you and your husband out, and you do not mess with a mommy on mission to protect her child from ignorance!!!

Ok so here is the challenge of the day, if Autism Speaks, who doesn’t speak for the Primers and can’t make people “aware”, I guess it is up to all of us in Autism Action month to do it. So PITA Up and make the world a better place by taking some Action on Awareness today!!! (OH and Disneyland you can thank me later for not publishing your phone number at the end of this and asking my 521 Facebook friends to call you and complain too!!!)

iPod Touch one of the best inventions EVER!!!

Wants the world to know how great the iPod touch is! Honestly it may be the best invention ever, at least for my household and a few of my friends’ households. It has even passed up the baby wipe and the Ziploc bag in my top two inventions ever, and you all know how much I love my iPhone, computer and internet. Funny thing is I should be blogging about http://proloquo2go.com/ which is awesome, and my friend Malinda would tell you it changed her life.

Malinda Cook says, “The proloquo2go program on the iTouch has changed my life as well as my non-verbal daughter! Since we started using the program in October 2009, she has been able to communicate her wants and needs much better. She uses the program at home as well as at school. I was able to customize it to her needs – proloque2go is so easy to use and program! I recommend it to anyone who needs a communication device for their child. There are 1000’s of icons that are not only up to date but familiar to children – no more stick figures. You can also download you own pictures easily. I highly recommend proloquo2go.”

We just got our proloquo2go.com in December and we are seeing nice progress in communication and we happen to think it’s great also. We especially love it since after 5 devices in 5 years we have one we can program our self and are not dependant on a speech teacher to do it. LOVE THAT!!!!

The part I never expected was games, or apps that can be downloaded on to an iTouch. As a wife of a video game addict and mother of 3 other children who also love to play video games, I love that Austin at 8.5 is now playing video games, even if they are just the toddler ones! I was often jealous of my fellow PITA’s who had kids that played video games and often wondered how much easier my life would be if my kid was a video game addict (how lazy does that sound? lol).

Well Thursday night I got that pleasure. We sat at quietly at That Pizza Place in Carlsbad, enjoyed adult conversation with out of town guests and Austin did not object. Ok he got up and tried to run a way a few times, but he sat and played for a long time. After 8.5 years of having Austin this was huge for us. Even my sister could not believe how well he did. If you haven’t thought about buying your kid an iTouch, I am highly recommending it and give it 2 thumbs way up!!!

Ok while thanking things that have us gotten here, I should include, we could not have done it with it out TACAnow.org, GFCFSFEFAF (ok it feels like a million things free), Houston Enzymes, Dana’s View, and all the wonderful PITA’s who showed me the way.

So as usual PITAup, and don’t be like my friend Nicole and think anything bad about up after the A. ;-)

Think of it like Cowboy up, lol. Change the world, be a PITA, and PITAUP!!!

Is there a difference between a Soccer Mom and a Football Mom?

Is there a difference between a Soccer Mom and a Football Mom?

According to my husband, the high school teacher and football coach, there must be. Since I lost 40 pounds and stopped wearing dumpy clothes, he keeps teasingly asking when I am heading to the soccer field or PTA meetings. Should I be offended? Luckily for him I am not. It feels good to have lost 40 pounds and to get to enjoy new clothes and have a new self confidence at almost 39 years old.

By now you are probably wondering what this has to do with Autism. Really it has nothing to do with it, but in reality it has everything to do with Autism. On June 15, 2004 my life changed when my youngest child was diagnosed with Autism. For the next 4 months, I read 40 hours a week on Autism, I was a one track mind “mom on a mission” (thanks Lin Wessell), and until November 8, 2008 I continued on the path to help my child and any other child I met on my way. On November 8, my world once again changed. My husband was admitted to the hospital and a few days later we were told he had a heart attack at 39.

Again you are probably wondering what this has to do with Autism. It has everything to do with Autism. We as parents, and especially us mom’s when we get the diagnoses we drop our lives and we do anything and everything Autism. One of the huge things we neglect is our health. November 8, 2008, I realized how short life is and how important health is. I made a point from that day forward to work on my health, partly for my health, but mostly for my 4 kids. I saw our family life pass before my eyes and realized that they needed one parent to live.

Luckily I have the best set of friend’s, my local mom’s night out group the PITA’s who were there to help me along the way. Victoria who recommended the bodybugg.com system, Amy who walked on what Ed refers to as our “death marches” with me everyday, and to all the others who cheered us on.

Now back to Autism, some of you may still be wondering what this has to do with Autism; it has everything to do with Autism. During Autism Action Month I want all the Autism Mom’s I know, all the PITA’s I know, to PITA up and start doing something for their own health. Stop thinking 30 minutes of exercise is selfish and start thinking it is “selfless”.

PITA up!!!

Why is Temple Grandin different then the rest of the crowd?

Why is Temple Grandin different then the rest of the crowd?

Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is different from the rest of the crowd because she the most well-known and probably the most vocal adult with autism in the world. Like most parents with children with Autism her parents were told she should be institutionalized. Thankfully her parents like many parents I know did not listen to that and she is now a renowned author and works as a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Templin also is a well known speaker on both autism and cattle handling.

From Emergence: Labeled Autistic, Temple has said, "I have read enough to know that there are still many parents, and yes, professionals too, who believe that 'once autistic, always autistic.' This dictum has meant sad and sorry lives for many children diagnosed, as I was in early life, as autistic. To these people, it is incomprehensible that the characteristics of autism can be modified and controlled. However, I feel strongly that I am living proof that they can".

Despite the above quote the Autism News still titles their Feb. 2, 2010 article “Temple Grandin warns against ‘curing’ autism”. I personally do not read this quote as saying that, “I believe there’s a point where mild autistic traits are just normal human variation. Mild autism can give you a genius like Einstein. If you have severe autism, you could remain nonverbal. You don’t want people to be on the severe end of the spectrum. But if you got rid of all the autism genetics, you wouldn’t have science or art. All you would have is a bunch of social ‘yak yaks.’” (http://www.theautismnews.com/2010/02/02/temple-grandin-warns-against-curing-autism/

While a lot of high functioning people with Autism and Aspergers do object to “recovery” or “curing” a child with Autism, I believe Temple has PITA’ed up and said while she would not change herself she is not opposed to helping our kids who are not HFA“. For a parent of child who most consider low functioning, I think this is wonderful that she can see the difference. I wish others could too. I would never ever take away my child’s “normal human variation”, but I also do not want to leave him in the autism alone. Before diet and enzymes he colored and spinned 22 hours a day and thought of me as nothing more then the furniture. 6 years later he has a smile that lights up a room, and when he looks at you and smiles because he knows you it could melt even Frosty the snowman.

I hope someday he can be as accomplished as Temple, and tell his thoughts and opinions on the subject of Autism. Not only do I think Temple is pretty special so does TIME magazine, you can now vote in “The 2010 TIME 100 Poll for the leaders, artists, innovators and icons who you think merit spots on this year's list of the 100 most influential people in the world”

http://tiny.cc/fo4em

I hope everyone who thinks like me takes the time to vote, let’s show the world that some one with Autism can be the most influential person of the world.

As always PITAup and vote for Temple!!!

If you like my blogs please become a follower and leave a comment.

The “Good Wife”

The “Good Wife”

So I am really loving the new show “The Good Wife”, funny as that sounds this leads me to think what is “The Good Wife”

Before kids or Autism it’s the wife that has no issue with her husband hanging with the guys for poker, football, baseball, soccer, etc. After Autism it’s the wife who no matter what still gives the husband some physical attention, even if it just a quickie. Fortunately for me, I was married almost 12 years before Autism, so I actually get this.

Trust me in marriage there are days and times you do not want to be intimate. And it is probably most days. Fortunately with marriage you also learn compromise; you learn that some days you have to give it up to make sure you have a happy household.

Ok sorry if this shocks you but it is true, it’s also even more true when you have a kid with Autism. Trust me by the time you are done with Autism on any given day you are ready for a nervous break down. You are sick of not understanding what your child needs, you are sick of diaherra or constipation, you are sick of tantrumming you are sick of not having a child like your friends, you are sick of being different and most important you are sick of having to explain it to your family, friends and possibly your husband.

This being said, I have a feminist PITA/friend who does not like a certain autism organization who says the same thing I do, but in my humble opinion you sometimes have to take one for the team, and for this conversation the team is the “family”. But bottom line a happy TEAM is a family that has a chance of staying together and if the stats of more then 75 % of families get divorces I am willing to piss off the feminists!!!

Even with that I am willing to state on the web, that a couple who does the deed is a family that stays together.

That being said, I remember being a mom, “in the weeds” of Autism. And by “in the weeds” I mean, so overwhelmed in the first 3 years of diagnoses. I remember reading 40 hours a week and when my husband came home overwhelming him with information he did not want. I remember also finding ourselves clinging to each other. Of course we had 12 years of marriage and 15 years of being together to cling onto. Most parents do not have that luxury. Which is why I highly encourage you new mom’s to go out there and “cling” to your husband even when you don’t feel like it. I promise you, if you are not in an abusive relationship and you have a relationship with your husband you will end up stronger and better off because of it.

As always just my opinion and as usual PITA up!!!

What is a PITA?

What is a PITA?

For most conversations as it relates to FB, a PITA is a member of our Mom’s Night Out Group for parents of children with Autism in San Diego County. We have now expanded out to Orange County and are looking for further expansions.

A PITA by definition is a Pain In The Ass parent.

Where does the term PITA come from?
I once heard a teacher refer to parents like me as a PITA and I thought to myself, why yes I am.

Generally this answer satisfies most, but for those who push further and want to know more, here is a more broad answer…

A PITA is a parent who pushes for her child and your child no matter what she is facing, we are not a biomedical group nor are we anti-biomedical. We take all parents, we take all care givers, and we take all that fight for our children with Autism to have better lives. We are change makers. We are what the school districts, government or pharmaceutical companies try to hide from other parents. We are parents who will not be coerced into taking less for our children. We are parents who want to help other parents learn the skills we have and to give back what has been given to us. We will not take the knowledge we know and walk quietly away once we have solved our children’s problems. We will take on the world for every child we know and love and find a solution for all our children.

I am sure I missed something, but pretty much if you fall under these guidelines, you are a PITA and welcome to start a PITA group near you!!! All we ask is that you stay within the above guidelines and that you take all parents of children with Autism and make the world a better place, and when asked where you got your name, you give credit back to the OP’s the Original PITA’s of San Diego!