Share

At 16 sites around the nation today Friday November 13, 2009 a miracle took place. A National Town Hall for the Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism supported by over 64 organizations & Coordinating over 1000 people. The Objective was to engage, Come to agreement, propose actions, & craft a report /format for the Autism Congress of 2010. www.afaa-us.org

When was the last time two Americans in a Town Hall meeting agreed on anything with out shouting, name calling, and throwing stuff. Well today as I said over 1000 Americans agreed that developing an action plan to deal with Adults with Autism must be completed. over 91% Pledged commitment to the initiative. On most topics agreement was about 80%. That was the miracle.

Now Most miracles do not take place unless there are a few angels involved. I must say I was Amazed by the coordination & professionalism of a group called AMERICASPEAKS ( Engaging Citizens in Governance ). They saw to it every ounce of creative potential was brought forth from the group. I would say they have just recruited over 1000 thumbs up reccommendations.

Another thing people will not believe is that How many times have you been in a large conference without a single Break and everybody was smiling & Dancing for a full day. The Energy level in the room was so high that we did not need to have breaks and lunch was brought to us at the table.

I have to single out a few of the 64 Autism Speaks, The Autism Program of Illinois and the Hope Institute all did amazing things at the central hub location where I attended in Chicago.

The Mayor & His Wife Opened the Town Hall. Mayor Daley & His wife were very eloquent And Passionate about the needs of those on the spectrum and pledged there support. Peter Bell Executive VP from Autism Speaks put a human face on the trials of families dealing with Autism. Taking us through the babybook & Dreams for his first born Tyler who is on the spectrum. His "What we wish for you" Had me in tears. The reality is all the dreams are still real. Independence, Health, Respect, & Happiness. Those are all things we as a unified community need to demand for our loved ones.

The day would not be a true miracle if nothing was accomplished. Before we left, hot off the press a preliminary report was handed to each of us and posted on the web. http://bit.ly/2Fm4iX

I could write a lot more about the great dialog we all had. The new associations made. The faces put together with friends from Twitter, facebook, and the web. But I am going to leave it for now.

I just want to say plans were made. The sound of silence moved mountains for those dealing with Autism. It is sad the major media outlets missed this as they do with many headlines when it comes to the Autism Health Crisis. Pay attention world because we will not be silent any more.

Join me in Marching towards unity within the Autism Community. Respect Independence Services & Answers put us all on the same page.