The only Tate with a tiny head.

Some days when it seems like things can’t get any better, they do. Several years ago Hannah started to exhibit some really strange symptoms. I’m not going to lie to you, sometimes they were pretty funny. We would be lying in bed together in the evening and she would tell me, “My head feels teeny tiny and my hands feel huge!” She’d reach her hand over in front of my face for me to observe.

“Nope, they look like the some old normal man-hands you’ve always had.”

“Is my head tiny?” She’d ask.

“I’m not really sure how to answer that question.”

“I feel like I’m floating.”

How Thomas the Tank Engine and chicken nuggets ruined my life.

I am thoroughly convinced that autism spectrum disorder is the result of a worldwide conspiracy among the executives and major stockholders in the companies that manage Tyson chicken and Thomas the Tank Engine. Not really, but I do find it odd that nearly every autistic child I’ve ever been around has an obsession with Thomas and only eats chicken nuggets. I’m not really sure what it is about these things that make them a common thread among families with autism, but it obviously exists.

Best of the best of the best sir... with honors.

Tomorrow we have a parent teacher conference scheduled at the boys’ school. I’m not entirely sure what to expect. There are a few things that have come to light recently that are cause for concern for Hannah and I. This isn’t at all the first time we’ve had to stop and reevaluate what we’re doing with and for the boys in order to ensure that we’re providing the best environment for them.

Caleb the hurdling cowboy.

I’ll be honest here. I have been avoiding writing anything about Caleb because I really cannot fathom that there are words to sum up such an incredible little man. The guy is just amazing and I feel so lucky to be his dad.

Thrown to the wolves.

After over a year’s worth of battles and struggles, on October 16^th, 2006 Andrew and Joel were diagnosed with moderate to severe autism. Hannah and I were so grateful to finally have a face for our nemesis. After swinging blindly at an unknown enemy we finally had some answers and the relief was overwhelming, but not as overwhelming as all the new questions that we faced. The doctor who performed the diagnosis visited with us for a few moments after he had seen both boys and handed us a nifty little copied article from TIME magazine about autism and little else. He offered no information on treatments or even what our next steps should be. I don’t blame the doctor for the lack of available information at the time. This was before news of the autism epidemic had reached the media so naturally the coverage and information was sparse. The magazine article covered the difference between the two primary methods of autism therapy which were ‘floor time’ and A.B.A (Applied Behavioral Analysis). In short, floor time is engaging in whatever activities the patient will allow in hopes to draw them out from within themselves and A.B.A. is interrupting the behaviors associated with autistic spectrum disorder and replacing them with typical social and emotional responses.

Concerning vaccinations...

I've had several people mention recently the news that the 1998 study that linked autism to the MMR vaccine has been discredited as fraudulent. I believe them. I absolutely believe that there are medical studies that are performed that are doctored (pun intended… pun definitely intended) in order to produce the results the researchers set out to ‘discover’. I have no idea whether or not the study performed by Dr. Wakefield was one of those.