One of my dear friends lost her mother to a long, painful battle with cancer this week. My friend has a nephew with Autism. When I asked if there was anything I could do to help the family, my friend asked for assistance helping to find someone to keep an eye on her nephew during the service. He and his family will be traveling from out of town. My sweet and thoughtful friend wants her brother and sister-in-law to be able to focus on the service even if their son feels the need to get up and explore, pace or simply move around.

Its only 5 pm, and already the food has been eaten, the company has left, and most of my family is napping with full bellies.
I have so much to be thankful for in my life. Health, home, employment, a partner who loves and respects me, children that I laugh with daily, and God who gives me all of this.
I am particularly thankful tonight for an encouraging, understanding support system. The teachers, caregivers, family, friends and even strangers who help me keep my chin up when the going gets tough.

I just read the article "Medicare Would Rather Buy $8000 Computer than $150 iPhone App" found over at GIZMODO.com and just about tossed my lunch across the room. The thoughts that are running through my mind are moving to fast to type. This type of archaic thinking, behavior, decision making, and communication is absurd.

Another Father’s Day has come and gone but the significance and impact of a fathers love and support can be far reaching in a child’s life for many years to come. As I made my calls and dropped off cards this Father’s Day to my father, stepfather, grandfather and great uncle I reflected on the impact that these men have made and continue to make on my life.

I am excited to open my vacation experiences. I look forward to maintaining a blog to share remarkable stories of success and insight as families participate in 3-4 night vacations that will focus on building relationships between parents and siblings.

On Saturday morning I had the opportunity to attend another dads’ coffee group meeting, aside from my regular one, for a new group of guys that has started here in my city. Over the past couple of months since our Dallas Morning News story appeared, we have had a lot of interest from dads in the area looking to network and get together in a low key setting. Soon we’ll be spreading out to other cities to get other new groups started.

It's not classical or hip-hop. It's not Wayne Newton or Lil' Wayne. It's not the Super Bowl or Wimbledon. It's the millions of children, tweeners, pre-teens, teens, adults, and seniors around the world who have Autism that we should be celebrating. Beyond the medical journals, beyond the statistics, beyond the vials of blood that sit in labs to be tested ......we have wonderful friends who are making history every day. Through hard work, dedication and love there are teams celebrating everyday successes that will never be splashed across the headlines. Want to know what team is?