And just like that, life is one notch better. One doughnut left for later. Pow.

How come the black high school kids in my town (Euclid, Ohio outside of Cleveland) always look good and the white kids look like sloppy messes? I drive by the high school every day, and most of the black boys out walking around are all athletic and dressed like they care what they wear. Most of the black girls are in good shape and made up all hot-like (I'm just looking- geez get off my case). But pretty much all the white kids are dumpy disappointments to their families. This carries over into the older population too, although not to the same extent. Everybody in Euclid lets themselves go after the age of 35, it is the law.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are a whole lot of awful looking white people out there and I wish I had gone to school with more (re: any) black girls.

Oh, and speaking of Euclid Schools, part 1: We took the kids to their first toddler swimming lessons at Euclid H.S. last night (Casey loved it, Tyler hated it- typical), and as we were leaving we walked through a narrow hallway by the gym where a lot of REALLY tall and muscley dudes were lined up, I think for basketball tryouts. Whenever you see a big group of kids like that you don't expect much in the way of courtesy or civility, because kids are mean; but these guys were super friendly and gave Ty high fives all down the line, to his delight and amazement. "Wassup, little man? High Five!" they said. That was really nice. Thanks, big kids!

Speaking of Euclid Schools, part 2: BANG-POW! BIG BREAKING NEWS- after almost a month and the buildup for what we though was going to be a BIG FIGHT involving lawyers, guns and money; Euclid has released Casey to the Achievement Center! Holy Crap! What a load off my poor head. Our lawyer that we retained because we didn't think we were getting a fair shake just told us the news; I guess all it took was one phone call from her. I'm guessing they were leaning that way anyway after having him at school there for a month, but whatever- HELLZ YEAH BOOOY! THAT'S PARTY TIME! To celebrate, I might just eat this last doughnut! AND/OR take a shower this week!

That's asking a whole lot though.

Oh, and dammit- in the last post I mentioned The Name, but forgot to include a hot photo. I got in so much trouble! Here, I'll make it up to you right now:

KRISTEN BELL SAID EVERYTHING WOULD BE OKAY

Tags: doughnuts Lunch Kristen Bell Autism Well-meaning racism Kids

It should be noted that I started this more than a week ago, and here we are, gettin' it done.

1. Great day in Autism! We've been having some minor breakthroughs in communication with Casey-Bean over the past few weeks. Nothing huge or particularly noteworthy to anyone but us and his therapists, but good nonetheless. Until today that is! While Bean was playing blocks with Ty-Ty, Becky and the in-home therapy person, he started counting them with actual numbers! You had to kind of know what you were listening for, it wasn't a clear "Six-Seven-Eight..." thing, more like "Isss-Ewehh-Eeehh..."; but from what I am told he started at six and went all the way to fifteen. Becky was super happy the therapist was there to hear it too, because sometimes it is easy to hear him utter some random noise and assign some meaning to it, even though it was really nothing. Like yesterday when he was throwing a balloon around yelling "BA-BA-BA", Becky insisted he was saying "ball", but he says BA-BA-BA a lot with no balls around to speak of, so I don't think so. Or that time I swear he said, "If the cast of MTV's The Real World truly exhibits the moral and social depths of character typical of young America today, we have nothing to worry about. Our future: COMPLETELY SECURE. What a remarkable set of go-getters they've assembled once more." I immediately shouted into the kitchen, "Honey- Casey's making sarcastic remarks to the TV again!" She said he was just blabbing nonsense, but I heard what I heard.

Anyway, he also may have correctly defined a block as "yellow", and also identified another as "circle". It is a cylinder of course, but people yell at me when I correct autistic children. Fine. Close enough.

I swear- it is our "close enough" attitude that gets us into trouble. "How closely linked is Iraq to terrorists?" "Close enough!"

2. Tyler news to not leave him out! He is now saying "please" (the magic word) occasionally without being prompted. This is huge, it has been like extracting teeth from an angry badger.

3. Amazing New Feature! Up there at the top you'll note there is a new thing on which to click, it is a new grand experiment! "Right Here, Right Now" is a photo gallery that will be updated often. I will be utilizing new technologies to do this, namely the internet and a camera. If you've not heard of these things yet- don't worry, you will. Gonna be big. I also predicted Star Wars would be a major hit when I was five years old, so my track record here is quite good.

Gadget side note- the reason I'm psyched about this new feature is because the iPhone can update this gallery on the go; just take the photo, add a caption & send it on its way from anywhere. I can post from the phone, but not unpost from the phone (currently). This will lead to many embarrassing photos posted whilst drinking, so I'd check back often, or at least before I get around to editing the gallery from a computer later. Fun! Right now there's several day's worth of crap there I've posted while testing things out. Here's an RSS feed too, but you don't get the pretty transition or download options that way.

4. Project update! Got the theatre brochure job back from the printer, came out great! There's usually a bit of a let down when I see a print version of projects because the print versions rarely have the vibrancy of the images on screen. Not this time though- thing POPS! That's nice. Here's the cover:

Want to see the whole thing? PDF version here. It's all flattened out, so you have to imagine it folded up.

5. It's only 2-1/2 weeks until OBX vacation! Little later than usual this year, hopefully we won't get chased by a goddamn hurricane. But because we're rolling the dice & going to the Outer Banks in the heart of hurricane season (and after the start of school), the rentals are dirt cheap. We always stay in a fairly nice place there, but this year it's like a fucking beach palace. HUGE. Completely ridiculous, especially since it will just be we four and my parents. But if I'm going to ride out a hurricane, I want to do it in style while watching a flat panel TV in each room. I'm going to sleep in a new bedroom every night. There'll probably be pictures.

6. Speaking of travel- this weekend we are ditching the kids and heading to New Jersey for a wedding- one of my old high school chums is gettin' hitched. We're gonna stay an extra couple days and hit the Big Apple- Becky's never been, and I've been there once like fifteen years ago. I hope to catch a glimpse of He-Man doing something heroic. If that happens, there'll be pictures. Hey Amy- is Mendham close to you?

7. Important TV News! I found Heroes just entertaining enough to overcome its more annoying qualities (which are numerous). Every time I thought I'd give up on it they introduced some plot twist that kept me coming back. Won't be so tough to keep my interest next season though- Kristen Bell has signed on for at least half the new episodes. And LOOK! Since I typed The Name, I get to post a hot picture. That's the rule, I didn't make it up. ALL THE PLAYAS IN THE HOUSE SAY YEAH!

YEAH!

Tags: Pictures Gadgets Autism Kids I Am Professional Travel Kristen Bell TV

In the interest of Gettin' Stuff Done, I haven't posted here in a month or so. We got so much done, didn't we? Oh, my- yes! Our accomplishments... staggering.

You all finished that book that nobody will shut up about, and that's neat. I got a lot of work done and played with my phone that nobody will shut up about, including me. This thing has been reviewed all over the place by too many people, and I don't have much to add to that except to say I can't live without it, and if anything ever happened to my iPhone, I'd actually drop dead like a coal miner's canary. It isn't because I even use the phone much. I get 450 minutes of daytime minutes to use a month, and over the first month I used just over 60 of them, which was tremendously shocking that I even talked on it that much. They roll over to the next month- by the end of the year I will have approximately 58,000 minutes to burn. And it isn't because of some cell-phone culture coolness factor- I'm actually very self-conscious about pulling it out in public, and as you know, I normally have no problems pulling most anything out in public. People are really curious about it though, that's for sure. But no- for me, the big deal about the iPhone is that I've got it rigged to give me step by step directions to get through my day. I have little messages and helpful warnings pop up all the time with pleasant beeps and buzzes. "Don't forget your ad deadline!" "Remember to take the double stroller to Na-Na's!" "Don't leave the house without pants!" And, amazingly, I have not been outside without pants since I got this thing. The neighbors are very impressed, they think Becky has finally "trained me" somehow. WHATEVER. You can't train ME. No WAY. I am the Alpha Male. I do what I want! But you can tell me what to do and I'll totally do that without question or hesitation.

On the autistic kid front: Still extremely autistic! Now with random, uncontrollable rage filled shrieking! Yikes. I said before that Casey was all calm and easy to take care of. Not so much anymore. He's upset a lot, like very. He's also started slamming his head into things when he really gets going. All this PLUS he's extremely difficult to settle down! We think it is because he's being faced with all these new challenges with his various therapies that he gets frustrated quickly and doesn't handle it well. It's been disheartening and sometimes soul-crushing. [BIG SIGH GOES HERE]

But, on the positive side, they've set up a spot for him at this great special needs preschool that deals specifically with autistic kids. He'll start in November, won't even have to get on a waiting list or anything. Getting him in isn't the only good news, however- the actual good news is that our city will be paying for it. This is what happens when the child in question has issues that the public school system is unequipped to deal with. Since it's the law that every kid is entitled to an "appropriate education", they refer these kids out to special schools. And pay for it! Which is about the greatest news ever as The Achievement Center costs FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR. That was in all caps because it pretty much has to be, doesn't it? So, in many ways, Casey is lucky to be as majorly impaired as he is, since if he were one of those poor suckers who is only somewhat autistic, he'd have to stick it out in public school with all the grinks and groinks.

MY COMPUTER HAS A CAMERA

That's about enough of that. On to our recurring feature, God Plates. I have one to show and one to tell, and you will not believe me when I tell it.

First, the show:

I think it was P@ that mentioned he thought it was weird that I'd find all these God Plates on cars without God Stickers. Well, I give you Stickers. You're welcome.

Now, the tell. Becky called me at work (on my iPhone [/jerk]) and told me she was driving behind perhaps the greatest God Plate of all, but she didn't have a means by which to photograph it, something we all regret instantly. I have to take her word of course, and though I have no reason to think she would make something like this up, we all need to take it as rumor at this point. However, this plate is my White Whale- I'll die trying to find it. But find it I will, for this Holiest of License Plates reads- and I'm giggling as I type- "HOT 4 GOD". Really. Really. Hot 4 God. I think if I can shoot that one I can quit.

And now what the hell- some cute children who happen to be mine. And yes, they need haircuts. No, I won't have anything to do with haircuts. I've learned my lesson well. The kids- they don't like having their hair cut. At all. So screw 'em. Shaggy a-holes.

MY PHONE HAS A CAMERA


MY PHONE HAS A CAMERA


MY PHONE HAS A CAMERA

I had some other stuff to yak about, but maybe I should save it and then there will be something else to post later. Pacing, it's all about pacing. And dick jokes.

P.S.- what's with all the huge boobs in anime these days? Man, in my day we were hard pressed to find so much as a B cup in Star Blazers or Robotech. And dude- we pressed. We pressed hard.

Tags: Gadgets Autism License Plates Pictures Kids Geekery

Today I dropped off the kids with Becky's folks like I do every Monday & Wednesday. Ty took off like he does and then I handed Casey off with Becky's dad. I waved and said bye-bye as I walked back to the car like usual, not expecting any response, because, y'know, autism!

I was halfway around the Element when I heard a little voice say, "Bye!" I paused for a second, trying to figure out if I heard what I thought it was, and then I ran back around to see Casey and Grandpa still at the doorway. I go, "Casey? Did you just say 'bye' to me?"

He said "Bye! Bye!" and waved!

Made my day.

Tags: Kids Autism Good Times

We're checking out special needs preschools for Casey. A couple days ago we got to tour one of the cheap ones. It was really nice and I think would be great for Casey, but I think I want to see one of the expensive ones first. I want to see what a $70,000 a year preschool has that a $50,000 a year preschool doesn't. I bet the expensive one has better snacks or something.

No- not joking- the cheap one is 50K a year. Looks like we'll be putting some tax payer money to work for us for a change. The mind boggles.

Anyway, I have license plates to share! You know I usually just stick to God themed ones, but the first one I wasn't sure if it was or wasn't, so I took the picture anyway. The second, definitely all about God. The third one I just liked. Enjoy!

Cleveland is waaaaayy in the background!

Tags: License Plates Autism Kids Pictures

This has been cross-posted to the WD.

There may be a few of you left who recall that the wife and I had some kids a couple years back. This was no small feat; it required cutting edge science (including LASERS!), huge scary needles and private time behind locked doors with wrinkly copies of XXX pornographic magazines; all under the wacky supervision of our capable and ethnic doctor Balki Bartakamus. It really was a sexy superscientific time, to be sure. And- for the record: had I known that insurance would not cover the cost of them, I would not have taken all those magazines home under my coat. I assumed they were for practice.

There may also be some of you who have no idea who I am, or maybe you are just interested in the romantic aspects of the story. Well, perhaps you should start with the original ten part saga, which I have conveniently linked to here. That's a lot of reading, so if you don't mind, we aren't gonna wait for you. Catch up on your own time, okay?

Alright then, moving on. You'd figure (or at least I would figure) that all the hard work is done, right? All the the humiliating probing and painful surgical procedures (for her) and all the jakkin' it (for me) had totally paid off- BABIES! Two of 'em! Whew! It's Miller Time! A job well done, congratulations all! Well played sir! Off you go then! Back to your life of ease and privilege! Golf clap!

Oh no- I WAS MISINFORMED. As it turns out, all the science and children being born stuff was just the beginning. Sweet sweaty jesus- it's like it never ends. These kids- they need stuff, like, goods and services. All the time! And one or more of us has to be around to provide these goods and services. With absolutely no compensation in return! Unless of course you live in a region where poopy diapers are considered currency, in which case I am the wealthiest person you know. The boys are more than generous in that regard. I'll be sure to thank them someday when we get to retire to our exclusive private island paradise. Or, in real world terms, "retire" means "sleep under" and "exclusive private island paradise" means "mile high mound of mouldering shitty diapers". I guess that's sort of an island. We'll be warm either way, right?

Oh wait- is it to late to preface this? Dammit- it probably is. Okay, now we have to start over. I wanted a preface.

[PREFACE:] Do not, under any circumstances, make this post out to be a "poor me" thing. I am absolutely in no way looking for frowny face sympathy. If that's what you want to react with, that's fine; but I'm here to tell you everything is gonna be okay. I got enough sympathy a few months ago from the people who followed me to Cranky Matty at a time when I wanted it, so I'm all good now. [/PREFACE]

Tyler is volatile. He turns from silly chirping gigglepie to raging shithead demon in a heartbeat for no good reason. BOOM goes the dynamite! It is hard to take him places because the possible public meltdowns are loud, violent and embarrassing (which, as you know, is really saying something as I lost my shame in 'Nam to a sniper's bullet). You should see the dirty looks I get from people when they see me carrying his kicking, shrieking ass out of wherever we may be. I have to either sling him over my shoulder or wedge him under my arm like a football, and I'm sure people think I'm abusing him or something. Hell no- I'm just trying to not get kicked in my privates (he has unnaturally good aim) or bitten on my face. Or gouged with fingernails. Or punched! Thus far he has not tried to use weapons on me, but we're not letting him have his first set of nunchucks until he turns at least four. No edged weapons until seven, unless he asks nicely. I should say here that it's not as bad as all that all the time; Tyler is often the cutest, most courteous kid in the world. But those tantrums, wooooo boy.

Tyler, Jeckyll/Hyde split personality and all, is a completely normal two and a half year old boy. Yikes! It is a tribute to parents everywhere that they haven't thrown all two year old toddlers off a mountainside or into a volcano. We're heroes, saving humanity every day.

Casey is the sweet one. He plays happily most all the time and loves to cuddle. When he gets upset there's usually a darn fine reason why, like maybe it's nap time or his juice cup is empty or you forgot to change his diaper for eight hours or something. You can take him anywhere, he doesn't mind. Everyone wants to babysit Casey, he's so happy and agreeable to anything. He likes to stand on your feet and hug your legs, which is just adorable except for the fact that you can't move until he's done because you'll knock him on his little butt. He sings along with songs he hears on TV- not well, but c'mon- He's two. What's this? American Idol?

A few months ago, Casey was diagnosed with autism.

Wow- that sure sucks the air right out of the room, doesn't it? Sorry for that- I spent two days trying to think of a funnier way to say it, but I've got nothing. But look, like I said in the super important preface, everything's gonna be okay. Eventually. Like, after many, many events, which is what "eventually" means. In case you don't know what autism is, and you aren't alone because it turns out nobody knows exactly what it is, here's the entry provided by our friends (we really have at least one friend there! Hi Bethy!) at Wikipedia. If you don't want to read that whole thing, and I can't blame you because YAWN, here's the gist: autism is a developmental disorder based in the central nervous system that covers a tremendous range of mysterious learning and social disabilities that restrict communication, social interaction, imaginative thinking, activity, and interest level. Basically, it messes up everything you do or think about. A bit of a hurdle, to say the least.

We had suspected for the last year or so that something may not be right with the little guy. While Tyler was getting into dinosaurs and trains and balls and other crazy boy stuff, Casey preferred carrying a plastic spoon around and staring at it for hours. Ty can count higher than I can and speaks almost as well, probably with more clarity. Casey doesn't speak. He makes noises (sooo cute) and sings, but not with words, just sounds that are almost like the words. He jumps everywhere- it is his preferred mode of transportation. HOP HOP HOP! Here comes Casey! When they are around other kids, Tyler mixes it up with the roughest ones twice his size and holds his own because he's like a cannon ball. Casey stands apart from the crowd in his own little world, completely detached from whatever anyone else is doing.

For a long time neither Becky or I wanted to admit that there may be a problem. It was obvious since birth that Ty & Casey were almost exactly opposite personalities, so we figured that Casey was just going to develop at a much different pace than his feisty twin. We would just give it some time & everything would be fine.

For me, it was this past Christmas that was the first big red flag. Becky, in an amazing effort to provide the Greatest Christmas EVER, went absolutely insane and bought the entire toddler section at Toys 'R' Us for the kids. She was so excited and had the best intentions, but even I was completely overwhelmed by the vast array of presents that awaited these two year old boys, and I have seen some crazy shit in my day. It took her a solid week of late-nighters to wrap all this stuff. It was amazing and frightening at the same time, sort of like Victoria Beckham, and featured obscene piles of plastic parts, also like Victoria Beckham. You'd think that with this department store's worth of goodies the kids would be just rabid to start ripping into it. Well, as it happened, not really.

Tyler was game enough, but by the seventh or eighth awesome gift he was really overloaded and wasn't much for opening more. Casey sat with his first present, an abacus, which we had to open for him because he just wasn't getting the concept. For the rest of Christmas morning he sat in the midst of his massive piles of unopened gifts, turning his abacus from one side to the other, staring at the beads as they slid back and forth.

I knew then that this was not normal behavior. Where's the unmitigated greed? Where's the crazy animal lust that only rending wrapping paper from cardboard and plastic can satiate? We were practically handing him the keys to the toy store, and Casey just wanted to flip some beads around, and then go back and stare at his plastic spoon. It wasn't right, but it also wasn't a surprise. In the back of my mind I had expected it, and thinking back on it all, I'm pretty sure that was why I was such a grumpy shit before the holidays. I gave Becky a hard time about buying all those toys because secretly I just knew that Casey would not have a normal little boy reaction to the tremendous Santa bounty. I was right, and it was heartbreaking.

A month or so later my brother & I were at work listening to a story about this famous autistic savant on National Public Radio, who besides being this impossible math genius is also a great advocate for the victims of autism. On a whim I decided to do a quick Google search. Near the top of the results list was this article, "Five Early Signs of Autism". Casey was five for five. Five for five is a great day in baseball, but kind of a shitty day in autism. I read the list, got up from my computer and walked into the never used darkroom in the back so my brother wouldn't see me cry.

HA-HA! Kidding! I wasn't crying back there! I was... uhh... okay... I was crying. You know, quietly, like a man. Macho, macho sobbing. Even cowboys cry sometimes- I saw that in a movie. You know, the one with the gay cowboys.

I e-mailed Becky the link to that article. She wasn't sold right away, it took her a day or two to come to grips with Casey's five for five performance. Lots of denial at first, "No- only one or two of these I agree with." Eventually, she saw it too. Once that settled in and we got through the requisite distress, Becky took action.

My wife is amazing. This is a dumb sounding thing to say, but having an autistic kid could not happen to a better parent. She's been a dynamo. She sets up all the appointments & screenings. She calls all the organizations that need to be called. She organizes the landslide of paperwork that keeps getting shoved at us. There is a progress and sleep journal for the neurologist that Becky updates daily. She attends the speech and occupational therapy sessions and educates the rest of the family about what the various therapists want us to do with Casey when he's not in therapy. Becky arranges our schedules to accommodate drop offs and pick ups. This is, of course, all on top of her full time Very Important Job (that includes the Very Important Health Insurance) and all the normal headaches that come with taking care of twin toddlers. Let's also take this moment to acknowledge the fact that she's super hot and smells great.

At this point you are thinking, "Um- Matt, what the hell are you good for?" Not a whole lot. Moral support, I guess. Back rubs. Geez- I'm a load. Clearly I married up in a big way. Yay me!

Well, this is where we are now. We've just started various therapies and are investigating special preschools. This stuff is ludicrously expensive, and we are very fortunate that B works for a huge company that has nice health insurance. Honestly, I don't know how people who don't have that going for them can do this. There's also a little bad news/good news involved with this. The bad news is that Casey is considered quite impaired; but the good news is because of this he qualifies for a whole heap of free stuff from the state, county and city. This includes all sorts of special programs and classes, including swimming lessons and horseback riding! I think tiny Casey on a giant horse will be hilarious. I will have pictures- you better believe that. All the doctors and therapists have been very positive about Casey's chances at overcoming his autism, the hope being that he'll be caught up enough that he'll be able to go to the same schools as his brother before too long. We have been very encouraged by his early progress.

Almost every day we'll be hanging in the living room, and Tyler will be in the midst of an epic meltdown with all the shrieking and throwing and everything else. In stark contrast, Casey will be sitting on the couch or standing at the window, singing, maybe he's hopping around because he's excited about something. He looks so happy. The question is always the same, "Hey- if he's broken, do we really need to fix him?" We laugh because we know the answer.

Of course we do. And we will.

Tags: Kids Autism The WD Infertility The Home Front

B took the kids out today to the Natural History Museum with the cousins and Aunt Rachel and Na-Na while I stayed home and got very little done. That was all good, tots got to run around and Ty got to see the dinosaurs (Cleveland has a fairly nice collection of dino stuff, actually), which was a big hit because they are way more impressive at full size instead of puzzle-piece size like he always sees 'em. Casey kept to himself on Planet Casey as he does in public. He doesn't get upset or anything, he's just, not there, I guess.

But anyway, the museum was fine and then everyone went to McDonald's, one of the near-downtown ones with a playland. As you'd expect on a Saturday evening in an urban McDonald's with a playland, it was crowded and crazy with lots of little kids swarming around. This is Tyler's element, he's a fricking cannonball, he can knock around with much bigger kids no problem.

Casey was doing his thing, wandering aimlessly, focused on the drinking straw clutched in his fist. We've learned that autistic kids will often carry simple objects around and give them their full attention, oblivious to whatever else is going on; Planet Casey. He wasn't bothering anyone, but evidently he wandered toward another table where some woman, a young mother of some kid (or kids) in the playland, was sitting. According to Becky, This Person said, "Get That Away From Me."

Na-Na (Becky's mom Kathy) swooped in and redirected Casey and told This Person, "Oh, it's okay, the straw is clean," thinking that This Person was afraid Casey's straw was sticky or something.

This Person said, "No, not the straw- that kid. He's weird."

Becky took Casey's hand and looked at This Person. "No he's not."

She then loudly said to Kathy so This Person would hear, "Let's go now. We're bothering this fat, mean lady." That was met with the expected "OH NO YOU DIDN'T" and "UH-UH YOU COME BACK HERE BITCH" and silly angry stereotypical hand motions, as if This Person has no idea that she is both fat and mean. Whatever- like she was going to jump up from her Big Mac combo with the large Diet Coke to do anything violent. Becky packed up the kids and they took off without further incident.

I've got a lot to say about This Person, and it was probably good I wasn't there because it all would have gotten said and there would have been some big problems. Becky handled it very well. As it is now I'll not write anything more about This Person here, because there really isn't any point.

But, this is the first time this has happened, and it is clear to me now this won't be the last. This is going to be really hard, isn't it? I don't know what I'll do when some kid calls Casey "retard". I just don't know.

Autism in many cases, and I think probably with Casey, takes away the ability to understand the emotions and motivations of others. This is a small blessing in a way, because it may shield Casey from a lot of awful, thoughtless things that will be said by awful, thoughtless people during his life.

His parents are not so blessed, however.

Tags: Kids Autism McDonald's Awful People Pictures

Feeling a little better a few days later after some talks to our pediatrician and some more research on the subject of autism. Things could be much worse. But- there has been a development! Nay- a revelation!

We have determined that my 28 year old brother is also autistic! For real! In doing our research and the affects of autism on adults, it dawned on my mother that the person this is describing is Zach! Obviously, he is what they call "high-functioning", but it explains every one of his nutty anti-social and obsessive problems from childhood through today. Looking back it makes so much sense and my mom feels terrible for not recognizing it when he was a kid, but c'mon- nobody knew anything about autism back then. Zach is still getting his head wrapped around this discovery, but he says he feels very liberated in this knowledge, because now his problems don't seem like some unexplained vagueness that has always haunted him- it has a name! Strangely, we're all very excited by this.

And to add to the weeks' oddness, my friend John (who I mentioned I was looking for in this post & haven't heard from in six years) e-mailed me out of the blue. That's good stuff, but weird! He's fine, in case you were wondering. And still single, so ladies, if you're in Rhode Island for any reason, pick up a twelve pack of cheap beer and you just may win his heart.

Next up for Casey, we've made an appointment to see a pediatric neurologist, but there's a bit of a wait and we can't get him in for another month or so. I'm looking forward to this appointment just so we can get a better idea of what to expect. Thanks for all the concern and well-wishings, and thanks also to those of you who would have commented but didn't know what to say (I do that all the time). I know the last post was a curve ball, usually you come here to read something I think is funny, or see some stupid thing I drew, or whatever and then you get POW! AUTISM!!! That's whack, jack.

Tags: Kids Autism Pals The Home Front

I don't know why exactly I waited so long to admit this out loud, because deep down I've been sure about it for months. I guess by not saying it, it wasn't real, and that was easier. Today it's real.

Casey is autistic.

The top of my google search for "early signs of autism" was this article. Casey is five for five. We're going to start calling doctors tomorrow.

It's not the end of the world, but I'm a little hollow inside right now.

Tags: Autism Kids The Home Front