This is a repost from April 1st of last year. It seems relevant still:

It is Sunday morning – and I asked H to help me with this post. I want to talk with him about Autism Awareness/Acceptance.

It is April 1st… do you know what that means??

It means we get to goof off.

H is now telling me about the best place to buy whoopie cushions and fake turds. (His words not mine.) He is 13 so I indulge this for a couple of minutes and I also suggest he pour himself a glass of milk… I figure this will anchor him (figuratively) to the table and assist me in a redirect… (Silly me!!)

OK honey – I want to talk to you about something else.

Mom tell every one out there if they like pranking – they should go to ‘Deal Extreme’.

I want to talk to you about somethings else: It is not just a day for pranks – it is also the start of Autism Awareness/Acceptance month. What is one thing you would tell people about having autism?

I get cool ideas like how to make stuff and to design cool things out of Lego. Then: I can’t believe it is April.

He is now off looking for his sack of jokes and tricks – I think he is trying to come up with some trick to freak his dad out.

So this is the reality… it is not about what I want… or what I want my kid to want… The message for this first day of autism acceptance month is about honouring the person and appreciating them for where they are at this very moment. My son is perfectly being a 13-year-old that is thrilled to be pulling pranks on his father this morning.

I helped him to make the finger in the box trick – which was a new one for him. He pulled out his nail through the finger illusion, and now he is messing with some invisible ink.

He is interacting with me and with his dad and he is loving the response and emotional connection! Anticipation, interaction, joint attention, prediction, emotion sharing!! This is SOCIAL!!

Update for 2013:

Today was much the same as last year. H again wanted to prank his Dad, but apparently, with a more dramatic ‘injury’. Ya… not sure what to say about that. Once he’d done his ‘prop arm injury’ with masking tape and not-quite-permanent permanent marker, H realized his dad had headed out to do some errands.  Not to be thwarted by small details, we took advantage of his special effects effort by filming another hilarious scene for his movie. Craig viewed the scene and a few stills when he got home, and… today I got to be behind the camera. Whew!

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30 Days of Autism is a project designed to fight stigma, promote civil rights, and increase understanding and acceptance for those who process and experience the world differently.

© Leah Kelley, Thirty Days of Autism, (2012) Reposted (2013)