For the child who is recently diagnosed on the autism spectrum and their family, the costs associated with evaluations, doctor appointments, therapists, developmental pediatricians, diagnosticians, and counselors can be astronomical. When your child is diagnosed on the spectrum, the reality sets in that every dollar that comes in can be used for some type of intervention or therapy that could make a significant difference in their life. The value of the dollar takes on an entirely new meaning. The question becomes....What's in your wallet?

I typically drive Sam to school in the mornings. This is one of the benefits of not traveling as much as I used to. On our drive, Sam and I usually talk about the plans for the day, the after school agenda, and what time I will be home. The next phase of our routine kicks in and it is always a request for a song by the David Crowder Band. Every time I look in the rear view mirror and see his sweet smile and hear his gentle voice, I flash back to the years when Sam had very little language.

Angie likes to scrapbook so she just went away on a three day Scrapping Weekend. I love the scrapbooks but I don't scrapbook. When Sam was young, I attempted to create a scrapbook of 'Sam & Daddy' memories. The book is pretty cool but all the little pieces of paper, multiple choices on types of paper, backing, scissors...it was a little much for me. Digital media is more of my thing.
5 Essential Requirements: A Successful Boys Weekend
1) THE List
a) 911 (it's good to be reminded that 911 stands for 911 and that = emergency)

We kicked off a new Dads Coffee this weekend. This new group came to us via the
Dallas Morning News Article that ran a few weeks back.
The funny part of the article is:
1) only one Dad in our initial gaggle is from Frisco (4 Allen, 1 Frisco, 1 Dallas)
2) we have never met in a Frisco, TX Starbucks. (It is typically Allen, TX)
3) we don't sit in booths...not enough room for guys our size

Father's Day is not a time that we typically plan big events. We learned early on that large family or group events often meant more stress and fatigue on Sam and on us. He had difficulty with noise (i.e. the diagnosis at age two of Sensory Integration Dysfunction) and when lots of people were around it created a significant level of stress for him. When your child is stressed and hurting, you too hurt. It was hard on the extended family at first to understand that no matter how "accepting" they were of his needs, it made no difference to him.

Life feels like it is moving so fast...then you have children. Suddenly, you realize you didn't know what fast paced was. Before we were blessed with Sam, we were your typical, active, young married couple living in North Dallas. Work, church, gym, friends, family, vacations, shopping, eating out, movies, museums, concerts, golf, weekend trips to visit family in other cities all were important activities that filled our calendars. We often found ourselves talking about whether it was even possible for a child to fit into these hectic schedules of ours.

Dads Coffee has been a great addition to my life. Let me tell you why.

This video covers the early days just after the diagnosis.

I compiled this video footage for use on the TODAY Show piece they are doing on our family. These are some highlights and glimpses into our life the moment Sam was born until shortly after he was 3 yrs old. This vid is under 8 minutes long.

This video covers what it was like for me and Nancy in the beginning. From diagnosis to today, Autism has been a journey that has changed our life.