Last night was tiring. I was talking with people all over the country for many hours, after having a long day of doing just that. Emilia and I are preparing to present at the Autism Society of America's national conference. For those of you who are not aware, here is the profile from the ASA web site:
Two Autistic couples, Jerry and Mary Newport and Jody and Emilia Ramey, present their responses to three questions: What prep work did you do before marriage that in hindsight you were very glad to have done; What is one creative solution that you had to a specific marital issue that was successful; and what did you wish you would have known before getting married that you found out later? Q & A follows.
The Autism society of America does not provide any assistance to its speakers, and says it serves people accoss the spectrum. (Only those physicians and parents with money can present) People who are Autistic tend to not be represented, due to the fact that disabled people tend to fall on the lower end of the economic spectrum. So, I was wanting to change this and go, to increase that Autistic voice at an Autism conference. Jerry and Mary Newport are driving in from the other side of AZ. I had been running into brick walls with fundraising, but people I know at the end decided they wanted to make this happen, giving plane tickets, hotel... so it looks like it will work out.
It seems our Maker really wants this to happen. Emilia will stay in Portland and present from Portland State University, room 114 in Smith Memorial Student Union, 12:30-1:45 14 July 2007, and the rest of us will be in AZ. We will be connected via the magic of internet videoconferencing. This lowered the cost significantly, much as when we went to Australia, I stayed home and it was cheeper for Emilia to go and me to present from Portland. We apreciate all who contributed to this effort. There are so many people saying that sexuality, and positive relationships can't happen for Autistics, and we know this is false. Also, this is a great chance for me to network with disability providers from all over the country...I am taking 30 resumes and seeing what work can come from this. I am also looking forward to the witnessing opportunities. There is always opprtunity to let someone know that their loved one was given a gift from his maker, and that no one is born a mistake. That is the medical model that says people are flawed. So much is hapaning, and so fast. All you on the Judeo-Christian spectrum, please keep us in prayer.
