Maddie had little interest in any type of indoor entertainment until the iPad.
The iPad is the first device that Maddie can use by herself. She doesn’t like tv shows or movies, but she loves youtube music videos and apps that help her learn. She can work a mouse, but the iPad she can maneuver herself. Let’s learn more today about it.
2 years ago.
In a past video Maddie went to JC Penney to see her friend Lynn, who works in the Cosmetic Department. We had taken it because Maddie talks A LOT about working at the store. JC Penney saw this moving video and decided to send Maddie a gift card. It was a great surprise and definitely needed, as our girl continues to grow taller and we seem to go clothes shopping every 2 months because of it. Maddie decided to share her gift card with her brother and sister, so we see a little snippet of our shopping excursion.
With our good friend Debbie before the show.
So Maddie was my co-host for the standup to Autism Fundraiser I put together this past Saturday. It was truly the best event I have ever been part of. Magician Cody Comet burned the stage up so much he left it to a standing ovation. Special guest Jared Hiner passionately brought a spoken word piece that left no eye dry by the time he finished. And my girl Maddie was her sweet, charming self. We raised a nice chunk of change for 2 great charities (Special Olympics of Hamilton County and Noble), but even more, brought a show to the audience that they will never forget. I don’t mind being 4th best on the bill, as long as I’m part of a killer show like what happened last Saturday night.
Mallory spoke for 10 seconds and totally stole the show.
More great video to come later this week, but today we feature the opening of the show.
Maddie and her great friend Madison.
This is one of my favorite Happy Monday videos. After the plug for our upcoming comedy fundraiser show that Maddie is hosting, we see what makes the Special Olympics so incredible for families like ours.
Click here to buy tickets to Saturday’s fundraiser show.
Scott’s newest standup cd
This Saturday is the big fundraiser standup event in Fishers, IN. Click on this link to reserve tickets. See the poster at the bottom of the page.
If you can’t make it, but want to help raise money for these 2 great charities who do so much for people with developmental disabilities, click here and I will donate the profits this week to all sales of my Good Dad, Not a Great Dad cd. Under the Gun entertainment site gave it their highest grade of an A, saying “it was the most memorable cd of 2013.
I promise you that you cannot not support any better organizations than these.
I try to show a positive reflection of life with my daughter, Maddie, but sometimes I feel a bit guilty in not giving a more complete picture of life with her. So many parents of kids on the spectrum go through constant struggles and are in a complete place of mental breakdown from the stresses. We are no different on that front. Today shows that other side, as lately Maddie has spent a lot of her time at home out of control of her emotions. These are actually pretty mild examples, as she tends to calm down some when the camera is on. She has no problem acting out of control with her family, but does not like her fans seeing her this way:)
With her former Easter Seals camp counselor Billy Coon.
Just like the teachers/counselors who bring the best out of typically developing kids, the best people who work with kids with developmental disabilities are the one’s who bring a mix of humor, energy, and passion for their students, but are still able to be tough on them when needed. Today we meet a former summer camp counselor of Maddie’s who fits all of these characteristics.
Today’s post is dedicated to all the great people who are out there helping people with disabilities. As someone who is a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, I know that gig can be a bitch some days. Just know that unlike most, you are making a difference in what you do for families all across the world.
Maddie at 7, the last year she could comfortably fit into her jeep.
It’s autism awareness month and I want to show a few more sides of Maddie. Today is a a more emotional side of Maddie than I usually film.
The world is not designed well for most on the autism spectrum. One of these examples is how Maddie is a 10 year old in chronological age, but is developmentally more like a 4 year old. Here is a video with how difficult this is for Maddie to handle.
Maddie’s Special Olympics of Hamilton County Bball Team
Today Maddie and Scott promote the Indiana Standup to Autism event on Saturday, April 26th. The show will feature Scott doing standup and Cody Comet performing his totally unique magic, with added bonus Maddie hosting. Last year’s event was a great success. Proceeds in 2014 will go to NOBLE and Special Olympics of Hamilton County. Go to itsanautismthing dotcom to purchase tix or buy Scott’s cd. It’s Pledge drive time party people!
Here is the link to purchase tix to the April 26th show at Pinheads/Britton Tavern in Fishers, IN.
If you can’t make it to the show but want to help raise money for these great charities click on this link to Scott Long’s Good Dad/Not a Great Dad CD.
Now here is Happy Monday this week.
With Maddie’s teacher from K to 2nd Grade, Ms Shepperd.
On her way to Grammy’s house, Maddie stops at a family friend’s house which makes her happy.
Maddie swinging with Grandpa at 4. At this age this was the only way she could stay on without someone holding her.
I am still out on a standup comedy road trip so I wasn’t able to do a Happy Monday video with Maddie this week. I thought instead I would offer up this video I did with Maddie about autism. I was asked to make it to be shown in a 4th Grade classroom. I didn’t have a lot of time to do it, so you will notice I’m talking a bit off the top of my head, as I did a 1 take Scott. Hey, maybe my measured tone will land me the successor to Fred Rogers gig.
We will be back next week and Happy Monday!
On this St. Patrick’s Day holiday, Maddie demonstrates some of the constant anxiety she’s been going through. It’s really manifested itself in negative ways lately, which have been tough for our whole family (and her school family, as well.)
I’m not going to get into all the details, since as you will see in the video, Maddie doesn’t want me to share them, but I do want to make sure that the fans of the site understand that Maddie is not just the girl you see in the videos. Her autism impacts her behavior and sometimes it’s not pretty.
Maddie had a tough week at school, as her behavior caused some red flags all week. The crescendo was Sunday on a car drive with Susan and her siblings. Maddie’s temper flared to an very out-of-control place and made for a really stressful and chaotic 25 minute trip back home from her grandparents house.
Parents of kids on the spectrum have many moments like this and it leaves you emotionally exhausted. As much as you feel badly for Maddie, you feel even worse for your other children who are scared of what is happening. It’s nearly impossible for siblings of kids on the spectrum not to develop scars from these episodes. All you can do is try to handle it the best you can in the moment and then talk to them later about the incident.
We love Maddie and we are thrilled that so many of you have joined us in your love for her, too. My ultimate goal with this site is to raise understanding and awareness. To do this, I want to show all sides of Maddie Long. Just like all people, she has her good and bad moments. How autism impacts these moments is that it escalates the level of good or bad. The good news is that it seems like Maddie is off to Happy Monday. Her Irish eyes were smiling as she stepped on the bus…