The Autism Thread

[bfj]

Bottom right if you can’t guess.

[duff]

That is so awesome! What an experience for Will and everyone else there.

[HaulCitgo]

Thrills all around

[Giff]

That’s really great!

[govmentchedda]

I cannot love this any more. He's got a voice for calling the game. He'd be great for play by play.

[EdRomero]

That made my day. I'm so happy for you.

[sancarlos]

Good stuff, bfj!

[rass]

That’s great man. Though I was hoping for something better from the ALT text description of your photo.

[mister d]

“BFJ shows a baseball player how the spell out the gang name BLOOD(s) with his hands.”

[bfj]

Thanks gents. Got a chance to meet Jim Palmer and got a ball signed by him also. Told him that he was my father’s favorite pitcher and by default mine. He was very nice to the younger kids who had come out with our group.

Had a moment or two to chat w trouble maker, Kevin Brown and thanked him for doing such a great job.

[Jerloma]

That's really cool, bfj!

Hey, what's your position on "the spectrum" and people sort of self-diagnosing themself as being on the spectrum, either tongue-in-cheekly or perhaps not? It just seems like a trend right now. Like is that a thing that's problematic with the autism support community?

[bfj]

That's really cool, bfj!

Hey, what's your position on "the spectrum" and people sort of self-diagnosing themself as being on the spectrum, either tongue-in-cheekly or perhaps not? It just seems like a trend right now. Like is that a thing that's problematic with the autism support community?

Maybe it was Carwash who talked about people saying they are OCD as a punchline when people don’t know what real OCD looks like and how and difficult it can be.

I do get annoyed when I hear “everybody is a little autistic”. Ignorance makes people say stupid shit. Especially when they don’t consider who/what they are saying minimizes the real struggles people go through. No Linda, just because you like things organized, it doesn’t make you autistic. If you go into full on meltdowns because your salt shaker is moved, come talk to me.

I’m no arbiter for the community though. I’m not even a part of the community since I’m not autistic. The autistic community is very divided on lots of things. Calling it a community is a real stretch.

[Steve of phpBB]

Thanks gents. Got a chance to meet Jim Palmer and got a ball signed by him also. Told him that he was my father’s favorite pitcher and by default mine. He was very nice to the younger kids who had come out with our group.

Had a moment or two to chat w trouble maker, Kevin Brown and thanked him for doing such a great job.

Wow. This is so great to read. Thanks for sharing this.

[sancarlos]

That was interesting and helpful commentary, in that last post, bfj. Thanks.

[The Sybian]

Thanks for sharing BFJ. Loved seeing Will pump up the crowd.

[bfj]

Thanks for sharing BFJ. Loved seeing Will pump up the crowd.

When he takes his hat off. Love that kid.

[DaveInSeattle]

So the "sensory friendly" performance of Aladdin that we took Kelsey to on Saturday afternoon was great. Lots of people and families with developmentally disabled kids and adults. They kept the lights up partially (except the magic carpet ride/"whole new world" song), and gave away "fidget toys" to anyone who wanted them.

Before the show started the actor who played Jafar came out, in costume, and explained that they were all just actors, telling a story, so kids wouldn't be scared of him.

The show was pretty good...the guy who played the Genie was great (stepping into a role created by Robin Williams is a big lift).

Kelsey had a BLAST. Big day out for her...taking the light rail downtown, walking to the theater, going to the show (she even saw some people she knew from various classes and schools), and then going to Red Robin for dinner afterwards.

[bfj]

So the "sensory friendly" performance of Aladdin that we took Kelsey to on Saturday afternoon was great. Lots of people and families with developmentally disabled kids and adults. They kept the lights up partially (except the magic carpet ride/"whole new world" song), and gave away "fidget toys" to anyone who wanted them.

Before the show started the actor who played Jafar came out, in costume, and explained that they were all just actors, telling a story, so kids wouldn't be scared of him.

The show was pretty good...the guy who played the Genie was great (stepping into a role created by Robin Williams is a big lift).

Kelsey had a BLAST. Big day out for her...taking the light rail downtown, walking to the theater, going to the show (she even saw some people she knew from various classes and schools), and then going to Red Robin for dinner afterwards.

Wins all around. I’m sure you all breathed a big sigh of relief at the end.

[sancarlos]

That’s great, Dave. Glad it was a fun day!

[DaveInSeattle]

So the "sensory friendly" performance of Aladdin that we took Kelsey to on Saturday afternoon was great. Lots of people and families with developmentally disabled kids and adults. They kept the lights up partially (except the magic carpet ride/"whole new world" song), and gave away "fidget toys" to anyone who wanted them.

Before the show started the actor who played Jafar came out, in costume, and explained that they were all just actors, telling a story, so kids wouldn't be scared of him.

The show was pretty good...the guy who played the Genie was great (stepping into a role created by Robin Williams is a big lift).

Kelsey had a BLAST. Big day out for her...taking the light rail downtown, walking to the theater, going to the show (she even saw some people she knew from various classes and schools), and then going to Red Robin for dinner afterwards.

Wins all around. I’m sure you all breathed a big sigh of relief at the end.

Yeah, we did. We asked Kelsey at intermission if she wanted to leave, and she made the "more" sign...meaning she wanted more Aladdin.

[Giff]

She looked excited in the pic you posted! So happy it was a great experience!

[DaveInSeattle]

She looked excited in the pic you posted! So happy it was a great experience!

We just need them to have Disney musicals in town more often...pretty sure they don't have sensory friendly showings of shows like Les Miz or Phantom Of The Opera.

[Jerloma]

That's really cool, bfj!

Hey, what's your position on "the spectrum" and people sort of self-diagnosing themself as being on the spectrum, either tongue-in-cheekly or perhaps not? It just seems like a trend right now. Like is that a thing that's problematic with the autism support community?

Maybe it was Carwash who talked about people saying they are OCD as a punchline when people don’t know what real OCD looks like and how and difficult it can be.

I do get annoyed when I hear “everybody is a little autistic”. Ignorance makes people say stupid shit. Especially when they don’t consider who/what they are saying minimizes the real struggles people go through. No Linda, just because you like things organized, it doesn’t make you autistic. If you go into full on meltdowns because your salt shaker is moved, come talk to me.

I’m no arbiter for the community though. I’m not even a part of the community since I’m not autistic. The autistic community is very divided on lots of things. Calling it a community is a real stretch.

Ahhh...thanks. I actually said "autism support community" which may or not be a thing either but if it is, you're definitely a big, fat, jewish part of it!

[bfj]

That's really cool, bfj!

Hey, what's your position on "the spectrum" and people sort of self-diagnosing themself as being on the spectrum, either tongue-in-cheekly or perhaps not? It just seems like a trend right now. Like is that a thing that's problematic with the autism support community?

Maybe it was Carwash who talked about people saying they are OCD as a punchline when people don’t know what real OCD looks like and how and difficult it can be.

I do get annoyed when I hear “everybody is a little autistic”. Ignorance makes people say stupid shit. Especially when they don’t consider who/what they are saying minimizes the real struggles people go through. No Linda, just because you like things organized, it doesn’t make you autistic. If you go into full on meltdowns because your salt shaker is moved, come talk to me.

I’m no arbiter for the community though. I’m not even a part of the community since I’m not autistic. The autistic community is very divided on lots of things. Calling it a community is a real stretch.

Ahhh...thanks. I actually said "autism support community" which may or not be a thing either but if it is, you're definitely a big, fat, jewish part of it!

Oh, I don't read well. I am a part of that community and for the most part the parents/caregivers I know don't want the diagnosis to be trivialized by the people who use it as a punchline or an excuse. If you are autistic and need supports, I'm (the community) here to get you the resources you need and I think most of the community wants that support system. The divide comes from the "actual autistics" vs the support systems.

[DaveInSeattle]

Has anyone had any experience with the WeBuilt organization? (https://webuilt.info/)?

Caity, and her ex Roland, have been really starting to explore a "long-term" solution to meet Kelsey's needs. They are both really sensitive to wanted to have her set up in a good environment as we all start to get older and move towards retirement (Roland is retiring at the end of this school year), and also not to have their other daughter Robin be on the hook for everything.

They've talked to a similar organization down in the Napa area, but the buy in was WAY out of their price range...and the logistics of moving Kelsey would be daunting (she would lose all her state provided support services until she could establish citizenship in a new state).

So they are starting to explore starting this kind of setup somewhere here in Washington...but to me it seems like taking on a HUGE burden to get something like this started.

[bfj]

Has anyone had any experience with the WeBuilt organization? (https://webuilt.info/)?

Caity, and her ex Roland, have been really starting to explore a "long-term" solution to meet Kelsey's needs. They are both really sensitive to wanted to have her set up in a good environment as we all start to get older and move towards retirement (Roland is retiring at the end of this school year), and also not to have their other daughter Robin be on the hook for everything.

They've talked to a similar organization down in the Napa area, but the buy in was WAY out of their price range...and the logistics of moving Kelsey would be daunting (she would lose all her state provided support services until she could establish citizenship in a new state).

So they are starting to explore starting this kind of setup somewhere here in Washington...but to me it seems like taking on a HUGE burden to get something like this started.

It's all about Person-Centered Planning these days. No more group homes. Sent you a PM.