I don’t want to get all maudlin, but I remember being told when Raymond was diagnosed that he would never be able to express his emotions, or say I love you, or do any of the normal emotional feedback things that kids normally do for their parents. I thought “wow, that’s going to be hard.” I wondered how that would affect my resolve parenting him, and if it would ruin our relationship.
Art, autism and vision: Raymond’s artwork Friday, Jul 13 2012
Autism art, asd, Autism, beetle, brain, corpus callosum, cow, creative, ducks, elephant, fredericksburg, house with cars, koi, left, lighthouse, living room, right, side, spiderman 2:18 pm
I know I posted a while back about our search for an art teacher. Well, we found one and she rocks! We go to The Creative Side in downtown Fredericksburg and work with Miss Kathleen. Raymond really enjoys it, and he seems to have a real talent for it. I’ve posted some of his art below.
Happy birthday to me! Reflections on the last year. Monday, Jul 2 2012
Musings and Philosophy asd, Autism, bike, birthday, exercise, fredericksburg, happy, health, healthy-living, jogging, kefir, nelson, ray, reinforcer, riding, runkeeper, slimkicker, weight loss journey 2:14 pm
I know most folks reflect on the past year in January, but I always get wistful and maudlin around my birthday. I tend to take stock and make changes this time of year because its easier for me. Let’s see how we were doing last year at this time.
First off, I was in Disney World last year at this time, so I can’t say this birthday is better per se. However, I don’t miss the blistering heat or the insane amount of walking we did, so I’m going to say this birthday is just as good only different.
April 2012: Autism Acceptance Month Friday, Apr 20 2012
Autism acceptance, asd, ASNV, Autism, autism acceptance, fredericksburg, month, northern, not, school, society, thanks, therapy, Virginia, walk 5:00 pm
I normally write these posts on World Autism Awareness Day, but this year I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to write until now. Also, I have a lot to say and wanted to let my thoughts coalesce into a more solid form prior to posting my annual self assessment. I like to take stock of where my family has been and where we are now, and I finally feel ready to do that.
Election Day 2011 Tuesday, Nov 8 2011
Advocacy asd, Autism, Bobby, Bobby Orrock, chancellor, delegate, Edd, Edd Houck, fredericksburg, Houck, Orrock, senator, spotsylvania, vote 2:09 pm
This is my annual exhortation to my readers to vote. I would say that our contentious times require our vote, but we have a responsibility to vote whether or not there are difficult decisions to be made. I don’t align myself with any party, but instead try to vote for the person I feel will do the best job representing my interests, my family’s interests, my client’s interests and the community’s interests. If you want things to change, especially on the local level, you need to vote. My recommendations for the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania races I’m voting in are below.
Autism Book Review: Born on a Blue Day Thursday, Sep 1 2011
Book Reviews asd, Autism, book, born on a blue day, daniel, fredericksburg, review, savant, syndrome, tammet 10:43 am
The autobiography of Daniel Tammet’s full title is “Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant.” Its a fascinating look into the way at least one autistic mind works. Tammet is twice exceptional, as he not only has autism but also has savant syndrome. Savant syndrome is a condition characterized by a special skill, ability or gift in a given area. Most people will think immediately of Rain Man and the toothpick counting scene, but it can be much more than that. From what I’ve read savant syndrome only affects 10% of the autism population.
Autism Awareness Month 2011 Wednesday, Apr 6 2011
Advocacy ASNV, Autism, autism action group, autism society, awareness, FRAAG, fredericksburg, northern virginia, project, raynelsonrealtor, VAP, Virginia 2:02 pm
This is my third year blogging and I really want to dig into what Autism Awareness means to me. I know this month is important to many people for many reasons, but I think “awareness” is a trite term. I think of Autism Awareness more as Autism Education.
Raymond’s dog 2: Why an autism service dog? Friday, Mar 4 2011
Raymond's dog Autism, dogs, fredericksburg, north star, patty gross, ray nelson, Raymond, service dogs, thank you 3:14 pm
We decided late 2010 to seek a service dog to help Raymond cope with autism. Many people asked “Why a service dog for autism? Doesn’t that have to do with learning? How can a dog help that?” Hopefully, this will answer some questions about both the reason and the process of acquiring an autism service dog.
A little note for Raymond Friday, Feb 25 2011
Autism asd, Autism, fredericksburg, ray nelson, Raymond, raynelsonrealtor 7:59 pm
I spend a lot of time blogging about autism but I think some of my readers don’t know why. I do it all for my son, Raymond. He is a junior, and I am proud that he shares my name. For that reason I’m putting up some pictures of my boy. I’m super proud of him and he makes my heart sing. I hope you like them.
Dyspraxia versus roller skating Tuesday, Feb 15 2011
Autism asd, Autism, dyspraxia, fredericksburg, golden skateworld, ray nelson, Raymond, roller skating 1:56 pm
Just a quick video of my dyspraxic son roller skating. He hasn’t mastered it yet, I think he’s doing pretty good all things considered. Its notable, to me, because we were told that he would never be able to ride a tricycle, so roller skating was definitely out the window. It just goes to show you that our kids can always surprise us with their determination and abilities.
