Every year, we have the king of all barbecues at a friend’s place.  It used to be held on the weekend of the Ohio State-Michigan football game for the sake of having an excuse to set it up, but more recently, we’ve simply moved it to a convenient weekend where everyone was available.  It’s always been at said friend’s pad – whether he’s lived locally in a tiny apartment, a nicer place up in a high-rise or now in his townhouse with his wife.

So the Monster’s been going to this annual event with us since he was a baby – everyone’s watched him grow up, and all of the regulars have been aware, year after year, of his diagnoses, moving from ‘delayed’ to ‘maybe on-spectrum’ to ‘Autistic’.  So there really are no surprises – everyone knows to watch out for what he’s doing, where he’s going, and how to help cajole him back to where he’s supposed to be. Continue reading →