Autism

Last week I blogged about Walk Now for Autism. But with all the excitement of the elections, I am afraid that the important of the walk on Sunday was buried on my blog. I am walking on Sunday and it is for a very special reason.

When I was in college, I worked as a therapist for children with autism. I had the pleasure to work with several different children who were all special and wonderful in their own way. I enjoyed my work and any little progress that they made was an enormous success. I was the primary therapist for one special boy in particular, Paul Adam. It has been over 10 years since I have seen Paul Adam but my experiences with Paul Adam will always be a part of who I am.

Paul Adam and I made a lot of progress in the year that we worked together. My primary role as his behavioral therapist was to assist him in gaining appropriate social skills. He had the most amazing smile and was a very sweet boy. He was smart and made a lot of successes in our time together. I had to leave him when I moved from the area to go to graduate school. I will always remember Paul Adam and the successes he made through our work together. I think of him every now and then. He must be 16 or 17 by now and the last I had heard from the family, he had mainstreamed into a 1st grade class (that was 10 years ago or so). I hope that he was successful in that and that he has continued to make many more success over the years.

Though I no longer work as a behavioral therapist, as a psychologist I realize the crucial importance of research. Research to understand therapeutic techniques that are most effective to help children and adults with autism. It is because of this that I will walk on Sunday (if you have been following my blog, I would run if it was a run). I walk for Paul Adam and the other kids that I worked with in college, I walk for my friend's son who has autism, I walk for my friend's adult brother with autism, and I walk because I believe everyone with autism needs my support.

Please join me in my fight for a cure for autism. A small amount of even $5 or $10 makes a huge difference in the lives of the more than 1 million Americans living with autism today. I hope you consider supporting this important cause.