Do you know someone who has been inspired or motivated by the autism in their life to start a business or invent a product that addresses a need in the autism community? Here is your chance to spotlight someone you admire--or perhaps to toot your own horn.....Share your story today. Shannon Johnson Editor in Chief

Picture This by Shannon Johnson August 26, 2007 I haven’t pointed a camera at my son in over a year. In his current state of anxiety-induced hospitalization, he gets veto power over such decisions. And he has said, "No more pictures, Mom. Use the ones you already have." He also gets to wear his pants on backwards and his hair over his ears and flipping up in the back, thanks to the 5 month sabbatical from grooming. Such decisions are his, since they don’t appear to belong in Basket A (ever read The Explosive Child by Ross Greene?), and are not a priority when one steps back to view life’s “Big Picture”. So, I satisfy myself with ancient photos of a laughing boy in a baby pool and his teasing eyes looking up from a puppy hug. Yet I still crave the chance to document on film or digital-whatever-ness this boy who is not so much a boy as a year ago. Who is taller and thinner-in-the-face. Whose eyes have seen more of life and appear to look longer and deeper in a glance. I don’t want to ever forget this year, for what a year it has been. Out of sheer respect, however, my camera stays behind the cabinet door. It’s mere presence is a threat, for some reason. So it gets dusty in my quest to represent a safe haven for my son once again. Yesterday, he came home from the hospital for a visit. We were all nervous and excited to be together as a family. After chasing the “bad guys” through the yard and looking for squirrels in the woods, he came inside to find his sister. “What’s this?”, he asked, as he displayed a large cut of fake leopard-skin fur. “This is my new leopard costume.” He grinned as he wrapped the fabric around his shoulders and hunched low in a prowl. “Hey, where are my crocs?” he asked as he searched for his Fantastic Four monster shoes that were an abandoned Christmas present from several years back. I cracked up that he called them “crocs”--the popular plastic slip-on shoe that has become the uniform of many of the staff on his hospital unit. The orange, over-sized monster shoes were certainly more unsightly than the real crocs, but the resemblance was there, and the comparison was pure Wynn. We velcroed them over his feet and he pursed his lips in satisfaction. As he stood there, all fake-fur and giant-footedness, the framer and scrapbooker in me longed to make this a kodak moment. To click it, print it, crop it, and frame it . The moment was rich--full of all the good things that are my son. Instead, I stared harder and breathed deeper as I witnessed this moment and willed it to last just a little bit longer. I noted with clarity each detail, tucking it deep within the recesses of my mind, recognizing that the image belonged to me and me alone. “What are you looking at?” asked my son as his furry spots turned in a sweep and stomped out of sight.

Meeting the Challenge ASAP The Autism Spectrum Alternative Program provides equine facilitated therapy in Cave Creek, Arizona, to over 40 families with therapists and volunteers for weekly riding sessions and evaluations to further the physical, mental and emotional development of individuals with autism through our program, Meeting the Challenge ASAP. Our community has a responsibility to acknowledge the drastically increasing number of individuals on the autism spectrum and support this population as they mature and become a viable part of society. Our established, non profit equine facilitated therapy program includes the whole family, emphasizing the emotional, behavioral and intuitive aspects of the individual as well as cognitive skills. Meeting the Challenge ASAP is our proposed awareness and fund raising project for the 2007 – 2008 season. The Autism Spectrum Alternative Program intends to achieve the following specific outcomes through Meeting the Challenge ASAP a. to raise awareness of the autistic population in our community b. to demonstrate the effectiveness of equine facilitated therapy c. to raise financial support to assist the families with tuition d. to offer tools to develop family relationships e. to encourage a connection between the community and our families that supports real interactions, mutual understanding and support. The major steps ASAP will take to make these changes are: a. communicate with media to raise awareness b. provide a fall, winter and spring riding program for families, Meeting the Challenge ASAP c. promote fundraisers online ie: eBay, iGive.com, grants and sponsorships d. provide written material, Meeting the Challenge ASAP, to support our family coaching program e. public events on & off the ranch, volunteer programs, liaisons with clubs and service organizations ASAP needs all the resources of the community, especially volunteers, supplies, and monetary donations. Our volunteer/rider/horse ratio is 3:1:1 making this a labor of love. Training our volunteer staff for human relations, equine care, office work and public relations is critical. Our trained personnel, horse and humans resources require supplies. Maintenance of the tack and ranch is mandatory and a full time job. All of these items are in consideration of our projected budget for 2007 – 2008 and can directly benefit from a dependable sponsorship and volunteer program supported by the community. I am asking for your help to continue our community service. In order to reopen September 1, we need to raise $10,000 +, asap. This will allow ASAP to open its “corrals” to families who would otherwise not be able to afford our program or any other program for their children. This is the beginning of our sixth season and your support is critical. With our new facility, many more families and volunteers and equine care on the rise, it is a constant struggle to make ends meet. Please understand that the hard work, determination, long hours and much computer work organizing, fundraising and marketing the program has paid off! We are starting our 6th year! However, funds are desperately needed in order to open in just two weeks. Thank you! PLEASE HELP ASAP, ASAP ! Donations can be sent to ASAP, PO Box 4804, Cave Creek, Az 85327 All donations are tax exempt, EIN#320032308