Introductions Are in Order

Okay last time I tried this, Google Chrome crashed on me as I was half-way through my post. Not a good sign. We'll see what happens today. 


Since we were practice blogging (thank you, Arc of Indiana), I threw my first post up there to see if it would stick, so to speak. I jumped right in, though, without introducing you to the cast of characters. Rude of me. So here we are:


Anne:  That's me. Occasional writer, part-time employee, wife, mother of two.  Procrastinator extraordinaire. 
Eric:  My husband. Vice president of human resources at a hospital one state over.  Quirky sense of humor.  Tigers, lions, Spartans.  Yes, we are and will always be Michiganders at heart. 
Daughter Dearest:  Our oldest. Part-time college student. Part-time brand new employee.  Constantly battling OCD.  Now learning to accept that she has Asperger's as well. Passionate about fantasy fiction, online escape games, anything with dragons. And Glee, of course.
Fickle Fan:  Our son.  A senior in high school. Diagnosed with high functioning autism at 3 1/2.  Passionate about football (but his loyalties tend to shift to whoever's in the lead--thus the name), Top Chef, movies, plays. Passionately hates school. 
Bullet:  Cat in residence. She adopted us six years ago. I know: The name is weird, but she brought it with her.  What can you do?


I have a few ground rules.  I don't feel comfortable talking about my children unless I have their permission.  I did ask; I do have permission.  BUT, I'm not allowed to post their photos (so Fickle Fan's picture, in my first post, needs to come down). Darn. That limits my ability to decorate my space here, but I'll do what I can. 


It isn't my intent to embarrass my children (although I'm good at that!).  Rather, we're sharing what we're going through so that we can learn and other families might learn from our experiences, good and bad.


Okay, Chrome has already crashed again. So I may need to post this prematurely, just to get this up there, and then figure out what the problem is. Aaaaargh! 


For the most part "Two in Transition" will focus on how we as a family are facing the opportunities, frustrations, transformations and unknowns of the transition process. Transition is the fine art of helping students with disabilities move from high school to the world of work, community participation, and postsecondary education or training. It includes special needs trusts, guardianship, college planning, student support, driver's ed, dances, relationships, housing, employment, and more.  


Like an increasing number of families who have children on the autism spectrum, we live life in two states.  We struggled mightily in downstate Illinois to support Fickle Fan, but there was a painful lack of services, educational training and understanding, medical support, and community acceptance. Sorry, Illinois, it's the truth. Eventually, in order to provide Fickle Fan with a better future, we decided it would be necessary to leave the state.  My husband, however, has a good job, with a good retirement plan and works with a team he likes. Rather than yank that stability rug out from under us, we opted for the two-state solution: My children and I live in Indiana; my husband continues to live in downstate Illinois. For the most part he comes here on weekends; when he's on call or for special events, we'll go back there for weekends. Yep, it's a little strange, but it actually works.  We're now in our fifth year of this arrangement, and I think it was a good decision on our part. 


So, that's the status.  Next time, I'll give you the scoop on Daughter Dearest.   And, as always...


As a family, we are, after all...moving on.