As the parent of a beautiful and brilliant autistic child, I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve often been a fierce advocate on behalf of my son and all those other individuals and families who’ve been affected by autism, and so I’d like to encourage all three or four of you who happen to read this blog on a regular basis to take a virtual test drive of an all-new Chevy Malibu in the month of April.

Chevrolet Will Donate up to $1 million to Autism Speaks when Consumers Take Virtual Test Drives of the All-New Chevy Malibu during Autism Awareness Month. If you go to “Help Chevy Help Autism” during April - which is Autism Awareness Month - and take a free virtual test drive of the 2008 all-new Chevy Malibu, you will directly help Chevrolet reach its goal of donating up to $1 million to Autism Speaks and its mission of support for individuals and families affected by autism, increasing awareness of autism, and raising money to fund autism research.

Chevrolet has committed to a minimum contribution of $500,000, but every virtual test drive taken gets Chevrolet closer to its ultimate goal of $1 million.

Click here to take your virtual test drive today.

So as I was taking a look at the Google Analytics stats for my other blog, I came across a listing of the search terms used by folks who found my blog. Ordinarily that’s nothing interesting, but included in today’s list was the following search term:

autistic kids naked

All I can say is there’s some sick people in this world.

According to a cost estimate by the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Division of Executive Budget and Finance, the cost of health insurance coverage for autistic children whose parents already have insurance is about 10 million dollars.

That’s right, 10 million dollars is all it will take to make sure the therapy for each and every autistic child is ensured of being covered under their parents’ health insurance coverage. Now sure, 10 million dollars is a heck of a lot of money, especially considering our state’s current fiscal situation, but let’s put that 10 million dollars into perspective.

• Seven million dollars could get paper mill reopened in Park Falls, the largest community in the district of Republican Representative Mary Williams of Medford.
• Four million dollars could buy one - just one, no more than that - brand new soybean crusher for the district of Republican Representative Brett Davis of Oregon.

So sure, 10 million dollars is a lot of money, but so is the 11 million dollars in “persuasion” that some Assembly Republicans got in the last state budget. I know I’m biased, but if I had to choose between spending 10 million dollars on providing health insurance coverage to autistic children for the therapy they need or spending 11 million dollars on pet projects to get Republicans to vote for the state budget, I choose health insurance coverage for autistic children.

As I was surfing across the interwebs, I came across the story of the Kirton family - John and Robin and their six autistic children. As the parent of one autistic child, I know how difficult and challenging everyday life can be, and so I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it must be to raise six autistic children. I’ve read through the Kirton family’s blog, and I’m amazed at how well mom and dad Kirton have handled their unique situation. After all, one autistic kid can be like a tornado of activity and energy - six must be like a constant hurricane.

Patti and I are blessed that Nick’s high-functioning, and though some might think having a child with autism is less of a blessing and more of a burden, not a day goes by that I don’t thank God for giving us Nick. He’s an amazing little boy, and each day he makes me smile.

Here’s a link to an article I found a few months ago but never got around to posting. Collin Brusnahan is a sophomore cross country runner at Shorewood High School, which isn’t remarkable on its own, but what is remarkable is the fact that Collin is autistic.

Brusnahan had a doctor’s appointment and could not make practice. On the way home, he and his mother were passing by the course the team was running. Brusnahan saw them and spoke.

“Collin is a man of little words,” his mother said. “But he told me, ‘Pull over, mom,’ and he started getting out of the car to catch up with the team. He was in his street clothes.

“I sat there and was just astonished.”

It was shocking because Brusnahan and many autistic people rarely show affection for something in that way.

After reading the article, I did a little research on google, and I came up with the story of Anthony Crudale, another young man with autism who runs marathons. What struck me about the article was the single-minded devotion Crudale shows towards his running.

“I’m glad he’s good at it; it’s gives him confidence,” says his mother, who attends his marathons. “But I don’t like the ritual of it. It’s like when he used to spin things for hours. It bogs down his life.”

As someone who used to run cross-country in my younger days, it’s great to see how running can be used to give autistic individuals a chance to find their niche when it comes to athletics.

Nick got his cast off on the 15th, and the doctor said his arm looks “beautiful.” Despite how beautiful Nick’s arm might look, I get nervous any time I hear Nick running down the hallway towards his room, because I can’t get the image of his broken arm out of my head. I’m sure my apprehension will pass, but for now I’m nervous.

In related news, Nick’s in-home therapy is going amazingly well. Now I know it’s been just over two months since he started, but the changes we’ve all seen in Nick are amazing. Besides the increased amounts of eye contact and affection, he’s learned to love to play games with others, and he’s also using his words a lot more. His verbal communication - or lack thereof - had always been the biggest source of concern for me, because I know a lot of the problems we’ve had with Nick had to do with him not being able to tell us what he wanted, or when he was hurting, etc. Everyone who sees Nick now and remembers him from before the therapy started has noticed drastic changes in him, and while I know the therapy’s not always going to be this great, these two months have given me hope that Nick’s going to be alright when everything’s all said and done.

Shame on him for caving in and allowing mandatory health insurance coverage for autism treatment to be cut from the budget “compromise” reached late yesterday. It’s really a sad day when politicians are so readily willing to make treatment for autistic kids a political issue, and it’s a sad day when Democrats are so quick to give up on the issue just so they can say they got a budget deal done.

In a multi-billion dollar state budget, mandating insurance companies provide coverage for autism treatment would have cost 1.3 million dollars, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s money that couldn’t have been cut from somewhere else.

I’m actually disappointed I had faith in Governor Doyle and all his talk about helping autistic kids.

…unless you’re a Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. According to those “compassionate conservatives” in Madison. Assembly Republicans have released a list of things that the Republican leadership sent out that they find objectionable in the Governor’s new budget, and included among the many objectionable items is this:

• Autism Insurance Mandate with $1.3 million in new spending to cover the cost of the new mandate in state health insurance program.

So in our state’s multi-billion dollar budget, Assembly Republicans find it objectionable to spend 1.3 million dollars to make sure the autistic children of folks who have state health insurance are provided with coverage - coverage that they don’t have right now. Now maybe it’s because I’m biased, given that I’m the parent of an autistic child, but I simply cannot comprehend how anyone with children would vote against providing health insurance coverage to children who didn’t choose to be born with a life-altering disorder like autism. As Michael Mathias over at Pundit Nation has pointed out, “now that Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, are vowing to block an expansion of the SCHIP program, it seems inescapable that poor, very sick children are simply fair game for the more extremist elements of the GOP.” What kind of world is it we live in when folks are willing to use children as pawns in a partisan game of chicken?

I’m absolutely disgusted at the lengths some lawmakers are willing to go to in order to score cheap political points in an attempt to pander to their base, and I refuse to stand idly by while Republicans attempt to punish autistic children and their families simply to save a few dollars. Perhaps those lawmakers who want to cut the autism mandate from the state budget should put a face to all those autistic children who’d suffer, but if they can’t, I’ll do it for them. This is my autistic son Nicholas…

Nick broke both the bones in his left forearm this morning, producing much angst and stress on the part of everyone here, but especially me. Dealing with your own catastrophic (or at least really gross) injuries is one thing, but seeing them on your child is another matter entirely. What’s most disconcerting to me about Nick’s situation is the fact that when the ER doctor came in with Nick’s x-rays, he asked if Nick had a previous fracture or break in the arm, and when we answered, “not that we know of,” the doctor showed us x-rays that very clearly showed a previous break in Nick’s arm.

Just take a moment to imagine how that felt to find out our son had broken his arm but couldn’t tell us…I can tell you how it felt to me…it felt remarkably similar to a punch in the gut. It’s a scary thing to realize your child can’t tell you when they’ve hurt themselves or are sick, and I can only hope we’ll reach a point where Nick will be able to tell us when he’s having a problem.

For now Nick’s got a temporary splint and a sling, and hopefully we’ll have him in to see a Pediatric Orthopedist on Tuesday or Wednesday so his arm can be fully set and cast.

That’s the day Nick’s new therapist will come to visit him here at home for the first time. We met with the folks from the Autism Behavioral Network this week, and I have to admit I was tremendously impressed with their approach to therapy. Nick’s a lucky little guy, and I’m glad he’s about to start getting the help we’ve always wanted for him. There’s no doubt things will be difficult as Nick adjusts to his new routine, but I know the tough times will all be for the best in the end.