ANTICIPATION

I suppose Andy Warhol was right on.

My mother called me today, to say that CNN was airing short profiles of autistic people and their families. She was happy to report that most were positive stories, and they were showing autistic adults as well. So, I turned it on and saw this great story. I wonder if Jenny was tuned in to CNN today?

Anyway, at lunch this weekend, discussion turned to the "Naughty Auties" special (which I missed) and then Autism: The Musical. I've gotten quite a few phone calls and emails in the last few days, friends and family alerting me to different news specials I may want to watch.
Earlier today, my older daughter tells me about the Autism-Teletubbies commercial she saw when her sister was watching cartoons. This was comical, she relayed the ad practically verbatim. I joked, "so, are the Teletubbies coming to live with us?" My very serious eldest, unamused by my question, says, "No. But, they did give a website, www.autismspeaks or www.speaksautism or something like that." Great.

So all of this in the last couple of days, coupled with the commercials promoting World Autism Awareness Day, and the many fund raisers going on during Autism Awareness Month, I have this feeling of anticipation. All of these groups and news organizations have hyped tomorrow so much, that I am anxious and excited for it. I realize that April 3rd will be no different than today. It's not like some momentous event will occur tomorrow, changing all our lives. But still, I feel I will have a hard time sleeping tonight. My mind will surely wander--what will be aired? What messages will get across? How many times will I cringe? There's a part of me that is very hopeful. Maybe, just maybe, some really good perspectives will be shown. It's possible that good programs for children and adult autistics will be born out of the information presented tomorrow.

Thus far, the overriding theme seems to be about adult programs. I hope this carries over for tomorrow, along with financial planning (aka don't throw blow through all your money and go into debt while your kids are still in the single digits, what will you do for them in their teen and adult years??). That would be a welcome and refreshing change for autism awareness. I suppose I will watch quite a bit of TV tomorrow, my DVR is already set to record a few programs. I suppose I should hit the grocery store for some snacks just for this occasion (sarcasm).

You can visit CNN and see what they've already aired, and what is on the schedule for tomorrow. Better get your popcorn...