April showers bring May flowers.

And it is officially May! The last three weeks in England have been one big torrential downpour - halting for only brief periods of skies merely threatening rain. People attempted to hide away for the first couple of days, but quickly got over it and went back to business as usual. For Owen, his mum and I this included a 10K walk for charity on Sunday. It was an oddly satisfying experience - trekking around the Hertfordshire countryside in full-body rain gear. Everything was misty and green. And let me tell you, there is just nothing like splashing right through huge, muddy puddles in a sealed pair of wellies, whilst those around you attempt to tiptoe across the driest path. Still, a little sun would be nice. Here's hoping that some friendlier spring weather is on it's way.

Lot's to look forward to this month! This coming Monday is a bank holiday, which means that most of England gets a long weekend...and gets paid for it. I am also expecting some visitors this week. Should be a blast from my high school past. And, of course, there's the whole issue of me turning 24 in about a week-and-a-half. Scary. But, what can you do?

I know that last month's Autism Awareness posting wasn't quite as successful as I'd hoped. I'll try to do better next year. In a last ditch effort, though, here are a couple of interesting autism tidbits for those of you who are interested:

1) For anyone who might find themselves near Reading, England this summer, the one and only Dr. Temple Grandin will be making an appearance at the Reading Town Hall on Monday, June 18th!!! I wish more than anything that I could attend this event, but unfortunately I won't be able to get the time off. Tickets to the event - where she will talk about her life and experiences - are £20 and you can book them here: http://www.rsvpbook.com/event.php?484162 Anyone who could make it is highly encouraged to attend what is sure to be a once in a lifetime experience.

2) Also, here are a couple of videos that were posted on the NAS facebook page:

First, a short video made as part of a college project, which explores the range of the autism spectrum and also society's understanding of autism. Sorry about the strange formatting. I swear, I could not even begin to tell you why this text is to the left of the video.....

This is Catherine Newell talking about her experiences with her autistic child at the Catalyst Club in Brighton. She spends a couple of minutes near the beginning talking about the triad of impairments associated with autism, which may be a bit repetitive for those of you who are more informed. But, the majority of it is about her own experiences, including some great stories about her son.

Love and enjoy!