Watch it, Watch it! April 2022

THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER FOR AUTISTIC INTERPRETATIONS®

Welcome! I am Val, founder of Autistic Interpretations®, a social media community that spans a blog, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. In our daily posts we share and celebrate a joyful life of the everyday experiences with my autistic blind adult daughter and the strong loving village that surrounds us.

Can you believe we are one quarter of the way through 2022? In this newsletter, look back on March with us and get to know #BadDaddy as he shares “22 in ’22”. Before finding out if BadDaddy has any hidden talents or other nicknames, let’s review March.

March Report

If I had to name a star for March, it would surely be Mama Jo! Mama Jo is Marlow’s grandmother and when Jess, Marlow, and Mama Jo get together you can bet there will be giggles involved. If you missed them, check out this one in which Jess and Mama Jo discuss flying cars, or check out this instant classic in which someone calls Mama Jo a bad one! And in this YouTube bideo Jess comes up with a new word: ‘inbove pools’.

Of course we also had our fair share of food content in March. In the March edition of What’s the Deal we checked out Big River Grille. Jess helped make a chocolate pie and we were so proud of her for cracking the eggs. We also made some delicious blueberry muffin Mickey Waffles. And speaking of waffles, we experimented, thanks to a good one suggestion, with cinnamon rolls in the waffle iron. If you have any kitchen experiments for us let me know in the comments!

Outside the kitchen I stirred up some controversy with my comments about patience in our March Caregiver Discussion. I understand and appreciate that most comments about patience are meant in love, and I hope that my follow-up ‘About Patience‘ provided food for thought. I also made a Q&A type bideo about when did Jess start talking.

I had an opportunity to talk about continual growth as a parent in a recent Hope Motivates Action podcast with Lindsay Recknell, expert in hope. And, I’m looking forward to talking with Kate Swenson, of Finding Cooper’s Voice, about her book, Forever Boy. April will bring another chance to share our story.

Hannah and I were honored to be invited as co-authors in a soon-to-be published book, “For The Love of Autism” by Tamika Lecheé Morales. In this first-of-its-kind compilation, autistics, influencers, parents, and siblings unite and amplify their voices as one community. Each author contributes an honest, raw account of a life changed by autism. Please plan to join us April 26 at 8pm ET for a virtual book launch celebration. More details on that coming soon.

Thank you to our #goodonesfamily for your support. It’s hard to believe that in March 2019 we celebrated 5,000 Instagram followers and this past month we passed 60,000 on Instagram and 130,000 on FaceBook. As you can see in this April 2, 2018 Instagram post, it is a dream come true for Jessica to help people feel better.

22 in ’22

In this monthly feature, we invite you to get to know the special #goodones in our strong loving village. For April, it’s BadDaddy’s turn. For those who are new, BadDaddy is my ex-husband and the father of our children, Jessica, Madison, and Hannah. He is not a ‘bad daddy’, but he didn’t like ‘baby daddy’ and I didn’t want to constantly refer to him as ‘my ex’, so #BadDaddy it is!

1. Fave movie – Lord of the Rings movies
2. Fave thing about J – She is so inquisitive and so interested in people.
3. Fave quote or saying – “Self-discipline is what allows a man to the the master of, rather than a slave to, his thoughts and emotions.”
4. One thing you’ve learned about autism – I think I’ve learned a lot, but the main thing is that autism is unique to the person who is autistic.
5. Best advice – Help others when you can. You never know what a difference it can make in their lives.
6. Fave season – Spring
7. Best vacation – That’s easy. Disney! 🙂
8. Fave animal – That’s also easy. Standard poodles. 🙂
9. Gadget you can’t live without – I guess it is a smart phone
10. Dream job – Since I was a kid I have always wanted to be an Astronaut. 🙂
11. Water or unfiltered apple juice? – Apple juice
12. Fave game – Catan is my favorite board game. Dominoes would be second.
13. Go to emoji – either the check mark or a thumbs up.
14. Any hidden talent? – I’m a decent juggler
15. Fave breakfast food – As a kid and even into early adulthood it was chocolate pop-tarts
16. Fave dessert – Nonnie’s coconut cream pie
17. Fave Disney character – This is a tough one, but I will go with Buzz Lightyear
18. Fave Jess saying – You dang know it!
19. Nickname – Now, of course, it is Baddaddy! However, I had a nickname when I was young – Bull. My younger brother couldn’t say Campbell. He could only say “Bull” as in the “bell” of Campbell.
20. Favorite hobby – I have several, but I like to read
21. What is your favorite sport to do? – As an adult it is now Crossfit
22. What is your favorite color? – I like orange best but my clothes are mostly grays, blacks and blues so……

April Fun Facts

No one really knows how April Fools’ Day started! What is known is that it’s been around since at least the Renaissance times in Europe. One of the best April Fools’ pranks includes the BBC’s “spaghetti tree hoax” in 1957, showing Swiss harvesters picking spaghetti off trees and bushes, claiming the region had had “an exceptionally heavy spaghetti crop” that year. This year, Twitter claimed it was working on an edit button and a pizza restaurant introduced raw carrots on its pizzas.

April is also known as Autism Awareness Month and we are glad to support, and feel your support for, autism awareness and acceptance all year round!

For your Calendars

• April 2 World Autism Awareness Day
• April 6 New Beer’s Eve 
• April 7 National Beer Day
• April 8 Draw a Picture of a Bird Day
• April 11 National Pet Day
• April 14 National Pecan Day
• April 15 Good Friday
• April 17 Easter
• April 17 International Haiku Poetry Day
• April 19 National Hanging Out Day 
• April 23 National Zucchini Bread Day
• April 26 Virtual Launch of For the Love of Autism
• April 30 Hairstyle Appreciation Day

Thanks & FAQ

Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for following along in our journey! We enjoy sharing our joyful life with you all, and love knowing all of the various ways our story and videos help others.

FAQ

• What does Jess see?
• When did Jess’ interest in cards start?
• Why good one, bad one?
• Has Jess always talked?