This picture is of Bonnie on her high school graduation, and I and Ramona are on either side of her.My dear brother in law, Dave, was very smart and got me a present from here:
http://www.charitygiftcertificates.org
and I donated his money here:
http://www.autismspeaks.org
which has paired up with NAAR, and they both raise money and awareness for autism research so that someday, we might find out what happened to all these people. It's quite a mystery, and there are lots and lots of opinions, but not much science. Treatment for autism that really works (ABA Applied Behavior Analysis) with a private person costs around $20,000 according to what I read this week in the Seattle Times. The only insurance I know of that covers it is the policy that covers folks who work at Microsoft. So if you're a really lucky autistic kid, your parents work at Microsoft. ARGH.
Why do I care? Because my sister is autistic. No, Ramona, I'm not going to embarrass you right here on my blog with all the things you did when you were little. It sure is tempting, but I'll keep that knowledge more or less to myself. Boy, was it interesting to live at our house, though.
I'm so proud of Ramona, though. She lives on her own, she can cook and clean and work, and while she still struggles with things like making friends, she is doing ten times better than I or our parents had hoped.
Go, Ramona, Go. I'll always be proud of you!
There are some other charities on the website, but not all ones I would contribute to. Enjoy!
I had an autistic sibling too :-) I didn't know him very well, sadly - he passed away last year. It's neat that you and your sister are so close.
ReplyDeleteMy good friend Maribel owns and runs a school for autistic children in Florida. http://www.aktivlearning.com/
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