11/25/09

Attached is a link to audio/article about autism in Michigan. It talks about how michigan is one of the worst states for insurance coverage for services, how annual treatments can be upwards of $50,000 a year, etc. but it also mentiosn the Autism Collaborative Center, Tyler's school, and Dr. Catherine Lord who oversees the the University of Michigan Autism and Communication Center which is the source for both of the studies Tyler participated in.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1580195/news/Autism's.Growing.Reach.

On a family front, we all have been going back and forth with colds, coughs, runny noses, etc. since Tyler's second day of school. Even so, we had a monumental moment in our house the other night. All of us had the same dinner. Crazy to most of you, I'm sure, to think that this could be monumental, however, we usually cook 3 separate meals. Tyler is rescricted since he can't have gluten, casein or egg, and Ben is picky and then there is Steve and I. We realize that we have definetly done wrong by Ben and his eating habits but accept that it was out of necessity. It was not until recently that Tyler actually started touching his own food or even being intersted in feeding himself. As some of you may remember, we used to have a hell of a time getting that kid to eat anything so all of our efforts have been focused on just getting Tyler to eat so Ben would pretty much get whatever we knew he'd eat on his plate...therefore his willingness to try new foods was significantly squashed... sorry little buddy. However, the other night...we all ate steak, veggies (ok we did have different veggies) and potatoes. I knew Ty would eat the steak if I could just get it in his mouth without him seeing it since it was something new but Ben is not a big meat eater, he's a carb junkie so getting meat into him is tough. But he ate all of his steak and so did Ty. steve adn I just kept looking at eachother like is this really happening? are we really having a normal family meal. Ty is feeding himself, ben is eating meat and Steve and I are able to carry on a conversation. It's been 3.5 years in the making! We are super super thankful for that!

So it seems we have lots to be thankful for this year.... eating the same meals, going out in public with just one parent, going out to eat with just one parent, the boys starting to play together, being able to get together with family more often. Things are definetly easier and for that I'm very very thankful!

So on that note I want to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving. Thanks for being a part of our lives. Thanks for supporting our journey and most of all thanks for understanding our crazy lives and still standing by our sides.