Last Day Of Autism Awareness Month - Are You More Aware?

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday April 30, 2008 · 6:56 AM PDT

2008/04/30 · 06:56

To the parents of a child, or children, on the autism spectrum, or to those on the spectrum themselves, every day is in Autism Awareness Month. To those who know someone on the spectrum, either as a friend, co-worker, or relative, every day is in Autism Awareness Month. To those who advocate on behalf of, and for, those on the spectrum - to the professionals who work day in and day out with those on the spectrum, especially the teachers who teach those on the spectrum - every day is in Autism Awareness Month. However, today, April 30th, 2008, is the last day of Autism Awareness Month for this year for the majority of Americans. This I want to ask you - are you more aware than you were on April 1, 2008?

Poll

12 votes Show Results

Are you more aware?

12 votes Vote Now!

Are you more aware?

Yes.

10 votes

What Was The Question?

2 votes

UPDATED: Not A Candidate Diary - Autism Movie Fundraiser Soon Online (With Poll)

tkmattson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday April 21, 2008 · 7:49 PM PDT

2008/04/21 · 19:49

Just wanted to give those you at Daily Kos a first crack at being "Aspie Angel", (Aspie is a term used within the Asperger's community), or at least helping in spreading the word that there is a filmmaker soon looking for "Aspie Angels" - essentially not an investor, nor a donor, as the company will be set up as a social enterprise, much like Working Assets, for those familiar. That and asking for your specific guidance in presentation, which will be at www.rembrandtmachine.com towards the start of next month. For example between the difference between a donor or an investor, "Aspie Angels", who would actually "gift" the movie, legally speaking, and will receive an altruism statement annually (or quarterly if said Aspie Angel would prefer). The film's name is "One In A Million", and a trailer link (can't embed for some reason - if someone would in the comments that would be great) follows in the body.

Poll

10 votes Show Results

I Am Thrilled About This Movie!!!

10 votes Vote Now!

I Am Thrilled About This Movie!!!

Yes, almost as much as you are.

10 votes

Maybe, I'm not sure yet.

0 votes

Film? I like video games. Make an Asperger's video game and then we'll talk

0 votes

UPDATEDx7 - BREAKING: BUSH & CHENEY RESIGN!!! (With Poll)

tkmattson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday April 01, 2008 · 4:10 AM PDT

2008/04/01 · 04:10

Yeah, so according to MSNBC & CNN, Bush and Cheney both resigned today, at exactly 3 AM EST, when the President received a phone call from Senator Hillary Clinton, who told him that either he could resign or "whoever is the Democratic nominee" will make sure to impeach him post office, once elected, which apparently you can do.

Poll

56 votes Show Results

Wouldn't it be nice if it was actually April 2nd, 2008?

56 votes Vote Now!

Wouldn't it be nice if it was actually April 2nd, 2008?

Heck yeah - then I wouldn't have to put up with BS diaries like this one

23 votes

Heck yeah - then maybe diaries like this one would be true

33 votes

2nd Update-Pulled My AS Daughter From School Yesterday

tkmattson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday March 08, 2008 · 7:21 AM PST

2008/03/08 · 07:21

First off, thank you to all the posters who had kind things to say, yet it appears I struck a nerve with a few posters, to the point of one questioning my parenting abilities. For those who missed the diary yesterday, it is HERE. At any rate, the crux of that diary is that I had to pull my daughter who has Asperger's Syndrome from her school because the school was showing signs of impropriety in their teaching/disciple methods. I mentioned that I am a professional filmmaker, making my second feature documentary, shot on 24P HD, this time about my daughter, and that I was planning on including the fact that she developed her first signs of the disorder shortly after her flu vaccine, for which I had to sign a Mercury waiver for. Not conclusive, but part of the story nonetheless. The majority of the film is more about what does a parent do after their child is diagnosed, very personal, and focused on Lucy specifically, hoping to speak to the issue at large with a simple small story of our family's singular experiences.

Poll

66 votes Show Results

Have You Ever Met A Child With Asperger's?

66 votes Vote Now!

Have You Ever Met A Child With Asperger's?

No, but I'd really like to get to know yours through film.

7 votes

Yes

55 votes

Pizza Pie

4 votes

Update: Pulled My Daughter With AS From School Today

tkmattson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday March 07, 2008 · 11:14 AM PST

2008/03/07 · 11:14

Many who have read my diaries, or gotten to know me, know that my daughter has an autism spectrum disorder, Asperger's Syndrome, specifically. I am currently shooting my second feature documentary, "One In A Million" about her specifically, with my wife and I being anciliary roles, as parents who both have manic depression, and are trying to raise a daughter with an autism spectrum disorder. At any rate, there was an incident at her school yesterday that has caused us to pull her from it. Most parents who have children not on the spectrum would be able to talk to the principal, demanding changes and waiting for system to work, but when you're the parent of a child with an ASD you do not have luxury of doing so - it's a risk we cannot afford. What bums me out is she has been saying "I don't want to go to school", but cannot articulate why, due to her disorder - so we took her anyway, and saw nothing wrong. My wife's mother has over thirty years as a special ed teacher, and stayed for much longer than I have been able to, wonder if they just let their guard down, and this has been going on all the while. It makes me sick to no end. The body does not address our full beefs with the school, just the ones that called for us to take immediate action.

Poll

52 votes Show Results

When The Time Comes, I Will Consider Being An Angel Investor ($5/mo for a year) To The Film

52 votes Vote Now!

When The Time Comes, I Will Consider Being An Angel Investor ($5/mo for a year) To The Film

Yes

11 votes

Maybe

19 votes

22 votes

Update: G-L-O-R-I-A (With FUN Poll)

tkmattson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 03, 2008 · 8:47 AM PST

2008/03/03 · 08:47

http://www.observer.com/...

Plausable deniability is being claimed by the Clinton campaign in this flap, seeming less and less plausable, almost like the John McCain, I didn't know he was going to say "Barrack Hussein Obama" flap. If this doesn't give one pause as to why HRC is not such a hot idea for a GE candidate, then I can't help you. Upshot - at an event billed as "One Million For Clinton With Gloria Steinham", Gloria, stumping for Clinton said....

“Suppose John McCain had been Joan McCain and Joan McCain had got captured, shot down and been a POW for eight years. [The media would ask], ‘What did you do wrong to get captured? What terrible things did you do while you were there as a captive for eight years?’” Steinem said, to laughter from the audience.
McCain was, in fact, a prisoner of war for around five-and-a-half years, during which time he was tortured repeatedly. Referring to his time in captivity, Steinem said with bewilderment, “I mean, hello? This is supposed to be a qualification to be president? I don’t think so.”

Poll

40 votes Show Results

Clinton's Hands Dirtied By This?

40 votes Vote Now!

Clinton's Hands Dirtied By This?

This has zero traction.

11 votes

Who cares?

14 votes

This shows what the "media bias" really is, that this hasn't gotten play.

15 votes

Damn your diary is short, expand please.

0 votes

UPDATE: "One In A Million" - The Story Of My Daughter With Asperger's

tkmattson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday March 02, 2008 · 2:50 PM PST

2008/03/02 · 14:50

I'm planning on adding to my www.rembrandtmachine.com website so that it can accept small "angel investor" (more like a donor) subscriptions (for example $5/mo for a year), in exchange for a early press finished copy, and credits in the film. The film, shot on High Definition (with the Canon XH-A1 and HV20), is about my daughter, who has an autism spectrum disorder, and how as parents, my wife and I over the last year have had to make adjustments to the diagnosis, which initially brought about relief in explanation, and later sorrow in what it potentially meant for her, and the learning curve we have had as parents.

Poll

24 votes Show Results

Trust/ Use PayPal

24 votes Vote Now!

Trust/ Use PayPal

No Freaking Way

8 votes

Depends On Vendor

4 votes

Hell yeah. Haven't seen my credit card for years.

12 votes

Asperger's/Autism Movie Online Fundraiser

tkmattson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday May 10, 2007 · 4:53 AM PDT

2007/05/10 · 04:53

I am currently in pre-production for "One In A Million", a HD feature documentary about my daughter, Lucy Jane, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome - a form/cousin (depending on WHO you ask) of high functioning autism. In support of that film, I am selling copies of my previous movie, "Doolittle Raiders", an animated documentary about the opposition to Bush from within Bush country, directly from Customflix for $12.99 (it is also available through Amazon for cheaper, but they keep most of the money). All sales for the next three months will go directly to funding the autism documentary.

Poll

18 votes Show Results

Autistic children show no empathy?

18 votes Vote Now!

Autistic children show no empathy?

False

9 votes

False

9 votes

Why Al Gore Won't Get An Oscar.

tkmattson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday December 19, 2006 · 3:44 AM PST

2006/12/19 · 03:44

There is a mass delusion that is not only pervasive in the mainstream media, but here on Daily Kos as well, where people - including Al Gore's likely supporters - ought to know better. This mass delusion is that somehow, despite no precedent, despite it being a violation of Oscar rules, despite it being against the Director's Guild's collective bargaining agreements, Al Gore would somehow walk up onto the Oscar stage, receive the Oscar for "An Inconvenient Truth", and announce his candidacy for presidency. I want to dispell this misnomer once and for all. Al Gore will NOT receive an Oscar, which is to say, it will be Davis Guggenheim's award, if and when "An Inconvenient Truth" wins the coveted Best Documentary Feature award. Who's he? He's the director of the film.

Poll

33 votes Show Results

Al Gore on stage at Oscars?

33 votes Vote Now!

Al Gore on stage at Oscars?

Quit harshing my mellow.

7 votes

Give me reality, or give me death.

19 votes

Twenty-Two by Seven

7 votes

DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS - "Doolittle Raiders": Being Anti-Bush In "Bush" Country

tkmattson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday November 24, 2006 · 8:17 AM PST

2006/11/24 · 08:17

The recent rash of regionalism diaries & comments, in particular the ones blaming the South for this mess that this Bush administration has made, is perhaps the most insidious argument we could possibly be having at this time - and dangerous to the well being of this community as a whole. I would simply like to state for the record that those among us who would consider the efforts of Southern Progressives to be nonexistent, or irrelevant, have extremely short memories, and no understanding whatsoever what being a progressive is in the face of true opposition, other than having to preach to the choir. At least that's the impression you're leaving with your comments.

Poll

43 votes Show Results

Barbecue?

43 votes Vote Now!

Barbecue?

Carolina

1 vote

Kansas City

5 votes

Memphis

11 votes

Texas

26 votes

McGovern To Meet With Congressional Progressive Caucus

tkmattson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday November 10, 2006 · 4:37 AM PST

2006/11/10 · 04:37

George McGovern is a voice of reason, a war hero, and a man of honor. We have to have his back when the Congressional Progressive Caucus meets with him, because we ALL know how this is going to be spun out of control in the press. They will try the old "look they're doing what we said they would, they're trying to lose this just like they lost Vietnam". What we have to remind them of is that both NIXON and KISSINGER knew that the war was lost, and cynically pursued their "Peace With Honor" plan, which didn't accomplish anything except assure more of our kids died, and that we were stuck there when the country did collapse in pure and total chaos. Read More

My Next Door Neighbors Work At ES&S

tkmattson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 01, 2006 · 4:46 AM PST

2006/11/01 · 04:46

....And they came by last night to enjoy the Halloween festivites (they're both Democrats BTW). They have been working their asses off for the last few weeks, driving state to state, and all over Texas, calibrating their machines - which apparently have a brand NEW protocol, that if you don't go out back out a particular menu screen after you calibrate, the calibration does not take. Read More

Newer
Older

RSS