Dominic's "Love" for Elevators Continues

Before Dominic started expressing such a "love" for anything elevator, I never thought twice about what "brand" I was riding in. Dominic has an amazing memory and can recite back which store, building, etc. he rode a certain "brand." I know I can't do that!! Two weeks ago, he had his yearly physical and I knew I wanted him to receive the flu vaccine. When the doctor was finishing, he said, "okay, I'll send the nurse in to give Dominic his shot!" Hmm, I thought quick and said, "if you are good and don't make a big fuss, we'll go for an elevator ride at Younkers!" I knew that particular department store has a glass elevator. Well, Dominic had zero anxiety, didn't cry, scream or kick (which he has done in the past). After the nurse put the adhesive bandage on, he said, "elevator ride!" Cool, the Younkers was right down the street from the doctor's office and we had our "ride." Dominic informed me it was a Schindler elevator :) As we were walking out of the store, he was completely fascinated, because being that it was a glass elevator, you could see all the inner "workings" of the elevator. I think it kind of blew his mind! Anyways, a while back, an elevator company, ThyssenKrupp Elevators, reached out to me after reading my previous elevator post on the website, http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/ . They said they wanted to send Dominic a bunch of elevator related items. About a week or so after they contacted me, we received a very heavy, but small package. Inside was an actual elevator button that lights up along with a handwritten note. The next day, another package came with a backpack, t-shirt, pencils, stickers, buttons, bookmarks, and another handwritten note. Wow, I was overwhelmed by their generosity! I hadn't told Dominic about any of the cool things he would be getting ahead of time, because I wanted to surprise him. He loves wearing his elevator shirt to school.

I was so incredibly touched that a company took the time to read my post and then contact me! Today, I got a notification from DuFresne Manufacturing Company that they saw a picture of Dominic holding his elevator button and told me that their company made that particular part!! The next time we are in St. Paul, Minnesota, they want us to visit them and they will show Dominic how the part was made!!! Wow, that is so awesome, don't you think?!?!? We have never been to Minnesota and it's only about 10 hours from us. Hmm, road trip? I never knew there were so many elevator "enthusiasts" out there until Dominic developed such a "love" for them. I hope it continues, because I think it's pretty darn cool!

Those "Steps" to Independence Can Be Hard

We are heading towards 600 orders for Dominic's business. Since our long-term goal for Baked Goods By Dominic is having a "brick-and-mortar" and hire those with disabilities, it is essential and imperative that I continue to teach him all parts of the business. Since I prompted Dominic for so many years for speech, he has become "prompt dependent." What that essentially means is that he will look at me for a prompt, like, "what do you do next?" I do that one a lot. Dominic has been going to a private speech therapist for over ten years and she reminds me often that Dominic usually will know the answer, if I am patient and wait for him. That has been a very hard habit to break! Dominic has an incredible memory, so I put it to the test this morning. I didn't write out the steps, I wanted to see how much he could do completely on his own. We have a customer picking up his order today, but the only thing that had been done is putting the cookies into t...

Why We Pursued Guardianship of our Son with Autism

Last Thursday morning, my husband, Dominic and I went to our county's Probate Court and had Dominic's Guardianship Hearing. My husband and I are Co-Guardians, and we were granted "Partial Guardianship," which means Dominic can make some of his own decisions (future educational and vocational placement options, what to wear and how he wants to spend his free time), but my husband and I will make his medical, health care, legal, contractual and major financial decisions. The subject of Guardianship in the disability "world" has been and continues to be a controversial and divisive topic. I was a panelist for an Autism Conference this past summer and presented on what it's like to have a child with Autism. Towards the end of my presentation, I mentioned that Dominic had just turned 18 and that we were going through the Guardianship process. When the attendees could ask questions, the first person that went up to the microphone started telling me that I was...

Presume Competence

Since we have traveled outside of the United States since Dominic was very small, we have had to get him a Children's Passport every five years. Since his current one expires in February of 2024 and he is now 19, we had to apply for an Adult Passport. I don't know why my husband and I picked Dominic's first day of school and Michigan State University moving in their students, but the appointment was yesterady at 3 p.m. We had gathered all of the documents needed and then went into a special room in the East Lansing Post Office just for Passports. The three of us sat down and the clerk asked Dominic his age. He said, "19." Since we were also getting his picture taken for the Passport, he went into a separate room, where she took a picture of him and then let him look at it to make sure he liked it (it will be his picture for the next 10 years)! He said he did, so he sat back down with us. The clerk filled out a bit more of the paperwork and then she let Dominic s...

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