Carson's big day....

What a fun weekend, only wish it could’ve lasted longer! On Saturday my nephew Carson got baptized, so I flew out to Folsom for the baptism and to be with my fam. It was such a great baptism! All of the kids: McCall, Parker, Gracie and Bayden prayed, sang and gave talks, and it was so sweet how excited they all were for him. Seeing how excited Carson was about it was a good reminder to me of how fortunate we are to be able to be baptized and to know why we’re here. Seriously, because I think I take it for granted sometimes. Mark and Beck had a little dinner at their house after which was so fun to just be together and get all caught up. We had such a great time playing games, talking, eating, laughing, jumping on the tramp, etc… , etc…

On a side note, I know I always share my work stories here, but sometimes they're just too funny to not keep track and this way I'll remember them. So, today I was working with this really cute little boy who's 9. He has Asperger's and would seriously talk your ear off if he could and all about the most random topics. Anyway, I had pulled out this puzzle game to work with him and this is the conversation that followed:

Kim: "sorry, looks like I'm missing a piece of this puzzle. bummer, don't know where it could've gone"

Tommy (fictional name): "do you have any brothers?"

Kim: "yes"

Tommy: "do you have any little brothers?"

Kim: "yes I do"

Tommy: "Well, maybe he was playing with it and lost it"

Moral of the story: Guess I better call my "little" 30 year old brother and ask if he's been playing with my toys

Pretty cool...

A couple of nights ago some friends and I had the chance to go and hear Temple Grandin speak at UCLA. For those who don't know, she is an animal science expert who has worked to promote more humane treatment of animals within the slaughterhouses, etc... (kind of a contradiction I know) and she happens to have high functioning Autism. Since a lot of the kids I work with have Autism, I always think it's interesting to hear what's happening in the Autism world, especially first hand. There was recently a movie made about her starring Claire Danes and let me just say the portrayal was spot on....cowboy shirt, belt buckle and all. She is quirky as she readily admits and funny without even trying to be, but I just loved what she had to say. When she was younger, they didn't have a lot of the therapies and treatment readily available as they do today. She talked about how important the influence of her Mom and other teachers in her life were to her and being exposed to many different things so that she could develop these talents into a career. Pretty impressive considering the doctors told her mother to put her into an institution, that she would most likely be non verbal and dependent on others. She definitely proved them wrong!

At one point she was talking about how she wishes that Autism wasn't the first thing people thought about a person when they met them, but instead focused on their interests and what makes each individual special. At one point she said "The world needs all different kinds of minds to work together to achieve great things". It's funny, I don't think I ever set out to work with kids with disabilities, but felt like I just kind of arrived at it, but as I have worked with them, they have taught me more about breaking through stereotypes: each one is so different-some are affectionate, feisty, playful, literal, stubborn, happy, full of random facts, etc..., but more than anything I've seen that they are just kids. Every Friday when I get to work, there is one kiddo who I just adore who is 5 and constantly has a smile on his face, no matter what happens. He always comes up and gives me the biggest hug ever, pressing his cheek to mine. Those are the times when I think, I'm pretty lucky to do what I do.