Maddie at 4.
Every year I send out a Xmas letter to our friends. I thought it might be a good timeline of demonstrating how things can change for a family with a child on the spectrum. I’m starting with Xmas of 2007, where we just had Maddie and we were excited, but apprehensive about our upcoming twin babies. I’m sorry to say but the tone will start getting darker after 2007.
Hi, guess who is back? It’s the Long family! We want to begin by stating that despite how it might appear, we don’t try to seek out unique events to make our annual Xmas letter more exciting. It just seems to happen that way. Well, this year we are set to double your pleasure, double your fun. Susan is pregnant with twins!! If you think that having twins would be exciting, we would agree. If you think that having twins would be overwhelming, we would agree. If you think that you would have no idea what having twins would be like, well, we’re with you on that one as well. The due date is April 10th. We are registered at Pampers.com.
On our side is, we seem to be able to breed beautiful children. I mean, did you get a load of the picture of Madeline we included? You would think she’s the offspring of Bradgelina. (Okay, maybe we are a bit biased.) Adding more beautiful people to this planet is vitally important because otherwise, who will appear on our reality shows? It has been a really good year for Maddie, as she has really made great strides the second half of 2007. While her comprehension has always been good, she is doing a better job of communicating verbally and has started to connect with a few people around her. Things like riding a bike with training wheels, which seemed so far off at the start of the summer, are now something she has accomplished. There are many examples of things like this that she has made great progress in and we can’t thank her teachers and therapists enough for being part of the team effort that has helped her so far along.
Earlier in the year, Madeline was diagnosed with being on the autism spectrum and we would be less than honest if we told you that our hearts and heads weren’t heavy thinking about the difficulties and challenges that lay ahead for her. We weren’t shocked by the diagnosis, but autism has such a heavy connotation to it. Autism is such a hard thing to explain, as it affects each individual differently. Here is the point where we get on our soapbox.
Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. Autism impairs a person’s ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe. (This comes from the autismspeaks.org website.)
One misnomer about people on the autism spectrum is that they are some type of mini-Rain Men types, with savant-like talents. While that does exist, that is far from the norm. Susan and I just feel lucky that we have such a sweet little girl who compels everyone who spends some time with her to fall a little in love. According to her teachers, she is the class clown. Surprising, huh? Over the past few months, she has been consumed with Halloween and Christmas. She has been carrying around a Santa doll and a flyer from Toys R Us featuring a motorized green jeep that she points to. Rumor has it that Santa is well-aware of this wish and that it will be granted on Christmas morning.
2008 looks to be the best year ever for my standup career and I’m in my 5th season writing for the NFL on FOX. My blog (thejuiceblog) has received some acclaim in 2007 and I’m starting a new video project withProTradeTV.com, which will give me another place for my rants on sports. Susan has started working from home with a company owned by a good friend of hers. It has been refreshing for her to work with someone again for whom she has a lot of respect. Most importantly, Susan has had a good pregnancy so far, as the twins have created a healthy appetite for her. Truthfully, my back hurts just looking at her. We wanted one more baby and we got a buy 1 get 1 free deal, so life will definitely become more hectic in April. Keep in mind—if you’ve ever had a dream of spending time with twin babies, we are scheduling weeks after the birth for receiving free nanny services! Remember, sleep is overrated.
Wishing you a healthy and happy New Year,
Scott, Susan, and Madeline
