The Best Gift You Could Give Max.

Today is Max's 4th Birthday. It's also Scott's 29th birthday (for the 7th time). So, happy birthday to my two favourite guys!

As you all know, my son Max has Autism. You may not know that 1 in every 110 children and 1 in 70 boys is now being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. 20 years ago it was 1 in 10,000. Scary shit, I know (first hand). You may have a child with Autism. Or a family member or close friend. Maybe there is a kid on your block with Autism. Heck, you may not know anyone with Autism but be deathly afraid of one day having a child of your own who ends up being diagnosed with this devastating disorder. I know I was.

Scott, myself, and many of our family and friends participated in the Toronto Autism Speaks Walk for Autism last year and were thrilled to raise over $5000 to support research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for Autism. We were blown away by how generous our friends, family, coworkers and readers were. We're hoping you'll support us again this year.

Trust me I know times are tight for everyone. But I'm still going to ask you to support us if you can. $5. $10 or $20. Whatever you can spare - it all makes a difference and we appreciate every single penny.

I'm going to up the ante this year. If you donate $50 or more, I will send you one of our walk t-shirts. And if you join our team and walk with us, you'll get one automatically, regardless of how much you raise (we would love to have a sea of green shirts at this year's walk!!). While I'm at it, let me thank the talented Christopherr Mendoza of Designmojo who donated his time and talent to design this year's (and last year's!!) shirt for us. We will wear them proudly.

The best birthday gift you could give Max is to support him by sponsoring Team Maxwell in the Autism Speaks Toronto Walk For Autism. Thank you in advance! Remember - every penny counts!