Dads Unite at Autism One
By Cody Jordan
The Generation Rescue/AutismOne conference is just around the corner, and I’m making a call out to all the dads out there who are able to attend. I’ve been going to this conference for a number of years, and the thing that I really enjoyed, other than learning more and more about recovering my son, is the camaraderie between all the dads. I’m not so naïve as to think we’re wired the same as our spouses because we’re not, and sometimes we need to gather together to share “war” stories in our own unique way about our fight against autism. And there’s plenty to do to which we can relate.
The first one I’ve always attended is a parent mixer on Thursday night. It’s a good way to start the entire weekend, and one thing I notice is that once a few couples start talking, the wives and husbands separately gravitate towards each other. And that’s just the beginning.
There are a few presentations that I, as a dad, have either attended before or something similar, the first being a presentation by David Geslak of Exercise Connection. What I like about this is that you get and moving during much of the presentation, and that’s one of David’s main points about our children. We need to start by getting them up and moving. And some of the things I’ve learned gave me an excuse to go to the hardware store to buy building materials for makeshift pieces of exercise equipment for my son. I even tried to include my son in the building process, and then he even got to use the equipment he helped make. It’s an overall great presentation that gave me many ideas on how to get more involved with my son.
Another great presentation for dads this year is by Ken Siri, “Raising a Child on the Spectrum- One Dad’s Journey of Transformation.” Not only is he the dad of a child with autism, but he’s a single parent as well! That presentation is on Friday afternoon, and it couldn’t have been timed any better because not long after that presentation is one of my favorite events, Dad’s Night Out.
When all the women are away at their Salon Night, the dads are able to get together for a few hours off pizza, beer, and bowling. It was at last year’s Dad’s Night Out, where I met and talked to Ken Siri, which is why I look forward to his presentation. Every year at Dad’s Night Out, I get to meet so many other dads, and sure, we talk about our children, but it’s the general camaraderie that I enjoy the most. There’s laughter, pizza grease, and the occasionally spilt beer. We talked about anything and everything, and in some instances, our outside worlds of autism seem to melt into one common existence – being the dad of an autistic child. On the ride back to the hotel after this event, I could sense the relief of a recently released pressure valve. We all got together, blew off some steam, and were able to head into the rest of the conference with fresh and open minds.
Cody Jordan is father to Harrison, whom he calls "A Child Warrior."
Always too far, too expensive to get there and no time available. Story of my life... Good luck to all
Posted by: John Kirton - Dad 0f 6 Autistic Kids | April 27, 2013 at 08:18 PM
Http://www.facebook.com/singlesuperdaddy
I am a single, autistic dad raising his autistic/diabetic son and autistic/diabetic/hypothyroidism daughter alone for the past 8 years
Posted by: scott | April 23, 2013 at 12:06 PM
Hey, I hope to run into you there.
Posted by: Carter's Daddy | April 22, 2013 at 10:54 PM