and do a presentation called, Autism...a Family Affair. They are available for speaking engagements and have great comedic timing.

[Guest guest]

Dear Listmates,

Though most of you know about , many don't know that , my daughter,

works with children with Autism and was recently accepted into a BCBA

master's program at California State University, Los Angeles. Recently

and were paid to do a presentation for a special graduate student

group called COAST, Collaboration on Autism Specialist Training. Their

presentation was called: " Autism...a Family Affair. " Their talk was well

received and they already have a return engagement scheduled.

Parents and educators need to learn what is possible for our children and

how they can grow up to lead happy and productive lives. So I wanted to let

you all know they are available for speaking engagements on the subject for

a nominal fee. If any of you need them for your parent or professional

groups, here is 's contact information:

Hinds

megan.hinds@...

In addition, I wanted to share a few things for those of you still in the

trenches. This is your pep talk. Hang in there and keep going. I always

found this time of the school year very challenging. After the newness of

the school year had worn off; we would enter what I referred to as the

Halloween slump. For some reason usually regressed around this time,

although I'm not sure why.

My son (who according to the " experts " was supposed to end up in a group

home or institution) just graduated summa cum laude in June with a degree in

mechanical engineering. This is the same kid who was third percentile for

speech and seriously weird when he started Kindergarten. Back then, all he

wanted to do was plug in a portable radio in every outlet in our house.

When I was in the thick of it I never truly believed he would be okay, but I

kept working at it so there would be no guilt if I ever had to place him

somewhere.

completed a paid internship with NASA this summer where he was invited

to Washington DC to do a presentation. NASA chose his presentation to be

put on their website. Here is a link:

Today does all the things the professionals said could never happen.

Currently NASA is paying for his master's in Engineering Management.

However, what is much more important than his academic success, is 's

social success. He is your typical college student who drinks an occasional

beer, goes on dates, stays out too late with friends and then sleeps through

eight o'clock classes. I couldn't be more proud.

FYI I am hoping to finish the book about soon. It has been a long

process, but I have a fabulous editor who I know will make me sound like I

knew what I was doing when in reality I was just trying to survive each day.

Please keep sending your " Stories From the Ledge " and " Stories of Hope. "

They are very inspiring and will be included.

Best,

Marcia Hinds