Halloween 2006

Maddie and I want to thank everyone who checked in here from the beginning. For a site that started on May 10th, it is off to a good start. I have some different ideas for next year that I think you will enjoy. Please keep spreading the word about itsanautismthing, as I’m proud to say that it’s made a difference in helping others get a better perspective on people with developmental disabilities.

WORDPRESS STATS FOR 2013

Crunchy numbers
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 8000 times in 2013. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 7 trips to carry that many people.

In 2013, there were 80 new posts, not bad for the first year!

The busiest day of the year was August 20th with 188 views. The most popular post that day was This is Not an Isolated Thought..

Maddie and Daddy on Xmas Eve.

I thought I would put together a starter kit for people who have never seen a Happy Monday video. Here are a few sides of the girl I love with all my heart. If someone wanted to get a quick sampler platter of a beautiful girl with autism, I think they would find this to be a good start.

This past summer I did a show that I will never forget at the Comedy Cafe in Milwaukee. I wrote about it here, but a brief synopsis was a woman in the audience I had a dialogue with who I quickly surmised was on the autism spectrum. Because of my having Maddie in my life, I took a kinder approach to her and it ended up becoming one of the best shows I’ve ever been part of.

One of this woman’s friends who was attending the show with her is a professor at Marquette University. She asked if she could use some of my standup clips and some of the video from this website in her Introduction to Philosophy class. I told her I would be honored and it seemed to really connect with her students.

Here is the video they sent to Maddie afterward.

I will tell you that this video brought tears to Susan and my eyes. It was incredibly moving to know that this site has reached people from different countries and cultural backgrounds.  I cannot thank Jennifer Marra enough for her efforts in bringing more awareness to the subjects of standup comedy and people with disabilities. Here is in her words how the whole project came together for her.

I teach an introduction philosophy course called Human Nature. This course is designed to cover a range of considerations for what it means to be a human being – topics like mind versus body, spirituality, social interaction, and questions of free will. Throughout the semester we studied the history of philosophy and what various philosophers believe are the essence of the human being; rationality, a soul, a free will, etc. In the final unit, the social unit, I spent a week on comedy. For most of my students, my class was their first exposure to philosophy, and throughout the course I did my best to make sure they not only saw the relevance of the topic, but were able to relate the questions and concerns of the philosophers to their lives. Comedy is the best way to do this. In refocusing away from the abstract and not so easily accessible to the concrete and highly accessible, the plan was to show my students that not only does philosophy happen everywhere, even in the comedy club, but also that the questions we had been asking have very important implications.

I first showed them clips of stand-up comedy and asked them to analyze them in terms of the theories of humor we had learned. Then, I asked very generally about ethics and humor and if they believed a joke is always just a joke. With these ideas in mind, I played a clip of your stand-up (you are talking about Angus, then transition to talking about the R word). Afterward, I asked their impression of this. Is this what we expect of comedy? Can comedy be serious? Was this an appropriate use of the stage? I then told them that I knew you and that you and Maddie make videos together. I showed them a Happy Monday video and asked again about your use of comedy to talk about raising a daughter on the spectrum. At the end of class, I asked them to reflect on the semester and consider whether any of the philosophies we had learned accommodate Maddie or others with special needs. All semester (and very commonly throughout the history of philosophy) we were talking in abstract terms about what it means to be human, and making sweeping universal claims about what consititutes personhood. But were we really getting to the core of what it means to be a person deserving of respect or consideration, or were we being exclusionary to a fault? We had talked eariler in the semester about how Aristotle’s philosophy was used to exclude slaves from personhood and classify women as subhuman, how the way in which someone defines human being can be used to justify atrocities like the Holocaust, and how even religious leaders excluded some from moral consideration because their definitions were so narrow. But while we talked about race and gender, we had not yet talked about special needs. You and Maddie allowed me to work this into my course as a very serious consideration in a very nonthreatening and non-confrontational way.

In class my students weren’t very vocal – a few here and there expressed opinions but many sat in the most contemplative silence I had seen all semester. It was later that night and over the next two weeks that they began to send me emails or talked to me privately about that lesson. Not only did this stick with them, it got them thinking about the topic long after the class was over. Many just asked me to tell Maddie hi and to thank you. Others were much more detailed about how they were affected. One students didn’t know what autism is, and we spent some time together doing research. Another emailed me to tell me he was a member of the Best Buddies club at Marquette, a sort of Big Brothers/Sisters group that teams up students with people with special needs for fun events. Another student told me with tears in his eyes how when he was younger he called his friend the R word at a restaurant without realizing that sitting right behind him was a little girl with Downs. He’s never forgotten it.

My students were more than happy to make videos, and I’m impressed at how many responded given that it was so close to finals at the time. I’m so proud of them, and so glad you and your family enjoyed it. Especially Maddie.

This is super long winded, but I felt it was important for you to know the impact of the videos for my class, not only for my students but for me as their teacher.

Jenn

We had a long night, as Maddie woke up at least 5 times last night. Tough night to not let your mind wander. Maddie discusses this and most importantly, we see her Santa gift…Her 20th basketball. She was so excited about it you would think it’s her first. Add to this her 30th backpack and she was totally fulfilled. (Hey, if you like Pizza, why eat something else you don’t like as much?)

Happy Holidays from itsanautismthing.com

Do you ever feel less than important? Well, no longer should you have that feeling. Many people would love to receive this holiday letter from me, but you are the chosen one’s!

As much as I’ve enjoyed being a standup comedian, this is the first year in my career that I’ve really felt like I was doing something special. The 1-man show I wrote about the journey of being a parent of a child on the autism spectrum I’ve converted to my standup show and it’s really connected with audiences. I had success in doing this show as a fundraiser for developmental disability charities, which has been very rewarding. I’m proud to say I raised thousands of dollars this year for a few organizations that do some great work.

Branching out from the stage show, I built a website with some major help from my friend, Ken Arneson. Itsanautismthing.com has grown steadily starring my girl and her Happy Monday with Maddie videos. Elementary schools, University classes, and even police training groups have used the website to better understand what life is like when you have a disability. If you haven’t checked it out yet, what the hell are you waiting for? itsanautismthing.com

I released my newest comedy cd, Good Dad, Not a Great Dad, in late November on Rooftop Comedy Records. (They were great to work with.) I’m proud of how it turned out, as the cover I think is pretty awesome and I think the material isn’t bad either. It’s sold pretty well, so far, which is fairly remarkable considering we are in the age of the free download.

My standup calendar has never been more busy, so that is great. It was needed because after a decade of writing for the NFL on FOX I finally faced the chopping block. Combine this with astronomical health insurance increases, Susan (me wifey) bumped up her hours at her job to qualify for the health benefits at work. This insurance covers way less and is still very pricey, but so far it’s enabled us to keep the roof over our head. Yeah for us!

At the home front a beautiful thing happened. In August Sam and Mallory (twin terror) began full-day Kindergarten. I’m not Catholic, but sweet mother of Mary was that a Godsend. Maddie has been her up and down self, but she has been greatly aided by the iPad, as it’s the first thing that she likes to entertain herself with. She also has enjoyed the new stardom the website has brought her.

I would suggest you take a look at the link here, as it gives you some of the visual highlights of 2013. It’s our version of a holiday card from the Long’s.

I hope you are having a great holidays and don’t be a stranger.

Scott Long
http://scottlongcomedy.wordpress.com/

Happy Holidays bonus.

The second clip has Maddie at a restaurant. Maddie loves to eat out but it’s always risky when she goes to one as you can’t control the atmosphere like at home, so there’s the potential that something could go wrong.

I can tell you I rarely risked going out when her twin siblings were younger, because as a group they were way beyond what one person could handle on their own. It’s only recently that I’ve been brave enough to go beyond McDonalds. This still happens very rarely, though, as we don’t have the scatch to go to a restaurant. I did it today because I knew Maddie was going to go bonkers staying inside, plus since I was taking them by myself, I knew I could cover 3 kids meals, especially since I had a 10 off 30 coupon!

The overwhelming costs of a child with some type of disability makes eating out a total luxury (unless you are ordering off the dollar menu.) Some weeks I look at the heavy bills we’ve accrued and think we should be standing in line for some government cheese. But we manage…

The restaurant visit went well for the most part. Maddie had a couple of moments and I’m sure I was too quick to get on my twins, as when you are dealing with autism, you expect too much out of others. I mean, these my twins are 5 years-old. Sorry guys. I hope some day when you read this you will acknowledge Daddy was working on a thin edge.

Today I give you a double shot of Happy Monday. This is Maddie in the morning and she is a little agitated because of the lack of schedule in her life, since winter break has school on hiatus. Maddie doesn’t play with toys or watch tv, but she will sometimes do imaginative play. One of the big themes for her is putting on a few layers of clothing. It’s a sensory thing.

Sometimes it takes a song to help you remember to Keep on Smilin’.

I hope things are going well in your life. Our family has had a rollercoaster year as usual, but that is the way life works for us.

Career wise my standup career made a big turn, as I wrote a new, very personal show about how much I’ve learned from having a child like Maddie–a child with special needs. It was kind of scary discussing some of the raw emotions involved, but challenging myself to do it has been very personally rewarding. I have never had so many people come up to me after the show and express their appreciation. I am working on a book based on this show and just recorded a DVD of it. I began my 10th year as part of the writing staff for the NFL on FOX pregame show, but was bumped off the payroll mid-season. I’m proud of a lot of sketches the show has done during my tenure and left on good terms.

Maddie is 9 and the tallest person in her class. She loves basketball and swimming. Her autism brings many unique challenges. Behaving like a 3 year-old when you look like a 12 year-old is difficult to deal with for people who don’t know her. We continue to try to be like chess masters, trying to anticipate a few moves ahead to keep her from being distressed.

Speaking of exhausting, Sam and Mallory are 4. They continue to be the Dallas Cowboys…Great individually, but stink as a team. Sam is starting to come into his own. He was 2nd leading goal scorer on his soccer team, but I think he could care less. It’s hard for me not to push him, growing up with a Dad like Bob Knight, but I’m trying (not always succeeding) at letting him follow his own path. Mallory is dramatic, aggressive, athletic. She’s the girl that wants to wear a princess dress while kicking your ass. I fear what a 15 year-old version of her will be like, but I can’t imagine she won’t be the best she can be.

Our private health insurance continued to rise to the point where it was over 500 dollars more per month…than our mortgage. We reached a financial crisis situation where we had to make a decision, so Susan boosted her hours to full-time at Propeller Marketing, so we cut our insurance premium in half. Our deductibles are going to skyrocket with it, but we had no choice. We are very fortunate that Susan has a great boss who she loves to work for. You will notice from our annual photo montage that Susan looks 10 years younger than her actual age. 25 years into our relationship and my respect for her continues to grow.

The family highlights were our trips to Disneyworld, Oklahoma City, and our annual vacation week in Door County. Our crew actually is at its best when on the road. Maybe they share my travelin’ man instincts. Well that is what I have time to share this year.

Happy Holidays.

I can’t find a copy of our yearly letter from 2011, but here is the year in pictures from us.