Watch it, Watch it! May 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.

We are in the middle of a 30-day #HowItsGoingChallenge, so let’s look at how April started and how it went. For our 22 in ’22, you are in for a treat as we are featuring my son Madison. Before getting to know Madison, let’s dive into the April report.

April Report

April started with me telling Jess I was taking a short trip. Jessica has grown a lot in terms of her separation anxiety, but, as I discuss in this bideo, news like this requires a thoughtful approach. April included a mix of familiar, medical, and adventure.

There were the usual Wednesday sleepovers at Nonnie and Granddad’s. An outing to a restaurant captured Jessica’s cute review of her dinner. And, Jess, Marlow, and Mama Jo were at it again. This time they enjoyed the crazy dogs playing and to our surprise Jessica tried cheese curds for the first time. We also enjoyed looking back at some favorite past moments with some fresh reels like Jessica vs the shape sorter, Jessica and baby Zoe, and Jessica teasing BadDaddy.

On the medical front, Hannah’s LASIK eye surgery was a great success and I finally sought treatment for a nagging injury. Jessica had an at-home EEG to try and get a clearer picture on the frequency and nature of her seizure activity. For 24 hours she had a ‘crown’ and she did better than we expected. It was a team effort between Hannah, Marlow, BadDaddy, and me. Days like that are hard on not only Jess, but the rest of us as well. We are glad to have the EEG behind us and celebrated with a Brownie Sundae party. Now all that is left is to await the results.

And on the adventure front, I took a solo trip to Charleston to visit my son Madison and his wife. If you are interested in seeing some memories from that trip, check out my Do Stuff Go Places Instagram account. Hannah and I were honored to be invited to participate in an anthology project and the book, For the Love of Autism is now available on Amazon. If you missed the April 26 virtual launch, you can still watch it on Facebook.

Finally, we shared a big decision that we have been talking about for quite a while as a family: we are moving! Taking advantage of the hot housing market, we have decided to combine households temporarily at BadDaddy’s house. We appreciate the kindness and support of our family and if you are interested in learning more, please check out this Q&A.

22 in ’22

In this monthly feature, we invite you to get to know the special #goodones in our strong loving village. For this month, it’s a special treat as my son Madison has agreed to complete the Jessica-inspired 22 question survey. Madison recently contributed a sibling’s perspective in the For the Love of Autism anthology. There, along with Hannah, he shared some candid and insightful perspectives on growing up with Jessica. Madison lives out of state with his wife, Sarah and he is currently a neurology resident.

1. Fave song or musician – Taylor Swift
2. Fave show/movie/book – The Lord of the Rings
3. Fave thing about J – That she makes everyone laugh
4. Fave quote or saying – ‘When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear.” – Mark Twain
5. One thing you’ve learned about autism – Cases are all different, with significant similarities.
6. Best advice – “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
7. Fave season – Autumn
8. Best vacation – Alaskan cruise with dad
9. Fave animal – Bears
10. Gadget you can’t live without – I could live without gadgets.
11. Dream job – Retiree
12. Fave game – Guessing my wife’s mood
13. Go to emoji – 🙃
14. Fave breakfast food – Biscuits and gravy
15. Fave dessert – Blackberry cobbler
16. Fave recipe from Nonnie’s cookbook – Applesauce Pie
17. Fave Disney character – Quasimodo
18. Fave Jess saying – I’m going to bite you!
19. Nickname – Brew
20. Last person you texted – Dad
21. Do you have any pets? – One cat
22. What did you have for supper last night? – Ribeye steaks that I cooked.

May Fun Facts

The name May comes from the Latin word Maius, which has origins going back to the time of the ancient Greeks. They named the month of May (or Maius) after the Greek goddess of growth.

A fun fact about May is that no other month in one single year starts or finishes on the same weekday as May. This year, May 1 is on Sunday and May 31 is on Tuesday. That means no other months this year will start on a Sunday and end on a Tuesday!

May is also known as National Hamburger Month, Get Caught Reading Month, and National Military Appreciation Month.

For Your Calendars

• May 2 International Harry Potter Day
• May 2  National Brothers and Sisters Day
• May 3 National Two Different Colored Shoes Day
• May 5 Cinco de Mayo
• May 4 Facebook live with Kate Swenson of Finding Cooper’s Voice
• May 8 Mother’s Day
• May 9 Moving Day!
• May 10 National Shrimp Day
• May 10 National Eat What You Want Day
• May 14 National Buttermilk Biscuit Day 
• May 21 World Whisky day
• May 29 National Paperclip Day
• May 30 National Creativity 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?