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.

It’s official…the Brewers have signed free agent outfielder Mike Cameron to shore up their outfield. In signing Cameron, it’s assumed current center fielder Bill Hall will be moved back to third base, a position he played earlier in his career, with incumbent third baseman Ryan Braun being moved to left field. Over on the Brewers Blog at JSOnline, Brewers fans are already going crazy in voicing their disapproval of the signing, but I actually like this, and I’ll tell you why.

First of all, while the exact salary figures haven’t been released yet, the deal is a one year deal with a team option for a second year, which means the Brewers aren’t locked in to Cameron for the long term. Besides the financial implications of the deal, I also like it because it significantly improves the team’s defense, which was a definite weakness last season. Cameron is a very above-average center fielder, and in moving Bill Hall back to third, the Brewers will be able to fill what was essentially a defensive black hole last season. Cameron may not bring much to the table offensively next season - and there’s still that 25 game suspension he’ll have to serve to start the season - but I think his defensive value alone makes this a good deal for the Brew Crew.

I know a lot of Brewers fans were hoping the team would make a blockbuster move this offseason, but to be honest I like what General Manager Doug Melvin has done this offseason. He’s taken a long hard look at what the holes were on his team, and he did his best to fill those holes while still maintaining some semblance of fiscal responsibility. When all is said and done, I think the Brewers are much improved over last season, and I think this is a team that can give the Cubbies a run for their money in the NL Central.

I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year. As I reflect back on 2007, I know I have a lot to be thankful for. I’m thankful Nick has started getting the therapy he needs, because it’s made a world of difference in just a few short months.

I’m thankful that my wife has finished another two semesters of school, leaving her only two semesters away from graduating - and accomplishing something she’s always wanted to do.

I’m thankful to have been given an opportunity to take on new responsibilities at work through a new assignment, because I’m as happy as I’ve been in my job in a long time.

I’m thankful that my family - primarily my mother - have finally gotten their collective acts together and are stable and happy for the first time in a long time.

And I’m thankful that I don’t have a lot to be stressed out or concerned about.

As I look ahead to 2008, I see all the makings of a great year, and I’m excited to see what the year has in store for me and my family.

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…

I sure hope the Pack don’t let this game slip away, because that Favre interception (and the subsequent Bears touchdown) could come back to haunt this team. I’d also like to note the playcalling for the Packers in the second half has been absolutely atrocious; it’s almost as if the Packers are playing not to lose, as opposed to playing to win.

As I type this, the Packers have picked up yet another stupid penalty. You aren’t going to win many ballgames with 12 penalties for over 100 yards.

Oh, and have I mentioned I’m pretty sick of John Madden comparing Brett Favre to Tony Romo? After all, unless I’m mistaken, Favre’s been doing the whole quarterback thing since Romo was in middle school, so if anything Madden should be comparing Romo to Favre.

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.

“It’s like a whole buncha stuff in my mouth!”

So said my stepdaughter as she bit into her All-American Thanksgiving Burger, a burger she helped create. Last week my wife took Alexis to Red Robin to eat after school shopping, and while they were at the restaurant, they picked up an application for Red Robin’s Burger Contest for kids. After they got home, we all started brainstorming on unique and interesting burger ideas to come up with something that’d knock the socks off the judges. As we were mulling over different ideas, we came up with the idea for the Thanksgiving turkey burger.

Now I can’t reveal all the ingredients here, as I don’t want to give away any secrets, but I will say the burger combines all the best parts of Thanksgiving into a burger. We made the burgers tonight, and they were a resounding success, hence Alexis’ quote, and now that we know the burgers are delicious, we’re going to help Alexis submit the recipe for judging.