update

[Guest guest]

Hi Helen....

Thank you. It's interesting you would bring up personal responsibility. I was

giving back to back presentations at an autism symposium this morning. Towards

the end of the second presentation, I became rather animated. I told the

audience that people who have autism or anything else can make one of two

choices. The first is to play the " woe is me " game, but that I have no plans to

join anyone's pity party. The second is to take take ownership of your life,

and to see that each one of us can make a difference in the lives of others. It

got so good, Helen, that one person told me afterwards that she can't wait until

my memoir gets published so she can buy a copy of it.

Heard comments that many people felt inspired from having listened to my

presentation afterwards. Only thing I didn't like was that my second

presentation wasn't recorded.

> >

> > Hi all....

> >

> > I have been extremely busy (as usual). Have about hopped through all the

hoops to get ready for the fall semester at school (minus paying the tuition and

book bills). VR (Voc Rehab) will help me out, but they are going through a

change in their system that might not get the funds to me in time. Thus, I

signed a master promissory note as my plan B for the upcoming semester. So, VR

said to me that it is switching from paying the school to paying the client to

pay the school. I don't understand why state governments do what they do

sometimes but that is beyond me.

> >

> > Anyway, I have written about 10 pages or so in the book. But that was

before I went to the printer and picked up over 500 pages in posts from this

group and a few others I have been on from 2007-present to gather a lot of

sources for the book. I've had over 20 individuals (closer to 25 people) from

the various online groups I have visited who have given their permission for me

to use their first names or a pseudonym or other name to be used in the book.

> >

> > One of my references wants me to go by her radio name when she worked in the

radio business for a very long period of time. I am thankful and grateful to

each of these individuals. This group holds a special place in my life. As

such, I can't wait to see what I write about you guys in the thank

you/acknowlegement section. I have some other ideas, but will reserve for later

when I cross that bridge.

> >

> > I have been coding all these pages and will be done coding in about another

two weeks or so. Just hard for me to believe I could have that many pages in

posts and in my own handwriting to look from to write a book. I have over 100

pages in handwritten materials, so that is over 600 pages total. Things are

easier to write when I have the material in front of me.

> >

> > I am giving a co-presentation at a local university on " Navigating the

Employment Minefield " in a week. , I listed your book, " Asperger Syndrome

Employment Workbook, " as a source of information that these folks can go to get

more information on a few of the PowerPoint slides. I figure a little extra

free publicity could benefit you.

> >

> > I will talk with my co-presenter, Sue, to see if she will allow me to post

the presentation on aspires under Files when we're done doing so. I don't think

she'll have a problem with it.

> >

> > Autism advocacy being what it is, I am wonderfully excited about what is

going on with my local autism center. We passed the upcoming fiscal year budget

last night, and signed the lease for our new location this morning. Just

waiting to hear from the landlords to see if they approve the clauses we

inserted into the contract. The realtor said that they are wonderful people who

like to treat their tenants like kings and queens.

> >

> > Rarely, do they lose tenants and tend to keep them for a very long period of

time. Besides, we got an excellent price on the lease, after the landlords

became excited about what we wanted to do and lowered their monthly price on the

lease by a few hundred dollars.

> >

> > Earlier this week, we received word that an anonymous donor from a community

foundation in the southern Georgia chose to make an anonymous gift of $5,000.00

to us. This took place after a bunch of nonprofits met at a " meet and greet "

with local foundations in the area. Apparently, someone was up here from the

southern Georgia area at the time and heard the wonderful things we're doing

with opening up the clinical services part that closed down last year.

> >

> > After hearing our acting director mention how the local autism center will

only mushroom due to the immense demand for clinical services, this has me

excited. I have decided to step down from the board after the 2012-2013 fiscal

year, and take on solely a bookkeeping role. I talked with the director about

what I am wanting to do, and he has agreed that I should step down from the

board.

> >

> > I am entering my second year as treasurer on the autism center's board.

However, I have been the volunteer bookkeeper from the very start of the CAC

back in October 2011. While I do not have the cart before the horse regarding

employment as the center's future accountant, I can only imagine that my

experience both on the center's board as well as its volunteer bookkeeper

(probably until I graduate from the local university in May 2014) will put me in

great shape either at the autism center or another place.

> >

> > I could not have been any better in the right time and at the right place,

when the autism center came calling for me to be its bookkeeper and treasurer

last year. This may be totally volunteer work, but the experience of all this

could be a factor that lands my foot inside the door at a company or

organization as I look for accounting jobs as I am closer to graduation in 2014.

> >

> > Relationship with April goes well, although we are both busy and have

limited time to see each other for now.

> >

> > Other things coming up this summer:

> > Next week: " Navigating the Employment Minefield " presentation

> > Next week/week after: Interview #2 for chapter on book that someone is

writing on Tennesseeans with epilepsy. I have had grand mal/tonic clonic

epilepsy since the age of nine. Just another opportunity to get the word out

about me. Although I do talk about epilepsy, I also have made references to

autism, Greater Chattanooga Aspies, and the connection between epilepsy and

autism.

> > August: My friend, who was in the radio business a long time, and her

documentary friend are coming to my area. I will be filmed and taped as part of

a documentary on autism. I won't be done writing the book by then, but I will

be much further along than I am now. This is another opportunity to talk about

my upcoming book and this group. People need to know about my story, and how

aspires became part of that story in 2007 (when I was going through the " dark

time " in my life). People need to know who aspires is and what makes aspires

the special group it is.

> >

> > Stopping for now,

> >

> >

>