Walk Now For Autism - Chicago

Well, I completed my first walk for autism this past Sunday. I have to say that it was a lot of fun and very very cold. I live in a suburb of Chicago and I forgot how much the lake drops the temperature down. So...I ended up wearing shorts and the only thing that saved me was that I brought a sweatshirt. I knew it was trouble when I could see my breath. Besides freezing it was a great experience and I am glad I was part of the movement. We went for my son Austin who is diagnose with autism. I was really amazed at the number of people that were there and the diverse population that has autistic children. I think that next time we will make some T-shirts up for Austin as did some of the other groups. I did receive a lot of material and information about autism that I still need to read over. I also like all the jewelry and buttons... that were made using the puzzle piece. It really got me motivated for the cure autism now movement. When my son was diagnosed with autism I was only concerned about my son and what is needed to make him lead a normal life and to live a fulfilling life; but going to this event I see that this is bigger than my family and this really is an epidemic and that we as a society need to tackle this autism problem and figure out what solutions will work. I was amazed at the statistics for autism that currently 1 in 160 have autism and about 3/4 of the children that are diagnosed with autism are boys.

The walk ended up bringing in over a million dollars for autism research, which is great news and our team "chunka munka" raised $600. I think next year we will try for a higher number maybe in the thousands. In addition to the research that needs funding we also need to get some pressure on the politicians the pass legislation that will require insurance companies to cover autism. I was surprised to find out that my wife's insurance (my insurance is too expensive for my family) does not cover autism. We are getting by only because of state funding, but this will only last until he is 3 years old. So, when my son turns 4 we will have to pay out of pocket for all of this therapy (3 times a week) and all the special things needed. So, the next steps for me are to learn and get involved to get insurance companies to cover autistic children because families are going broke and if we don't become rich we will be one of those families as well.

View photos from the walk here!