max update: why we walk for autism.

This morning when I dropped Max off at school, he stood in line with the other kids and waited for the bell to ring. When the bell went off (a loud and shrill sound), he didn't get upset. His teacher led him into the school and off he went, with a smile on his face. Last week he went on his first school field trip to Bronte Park. His teachers were thrilled to report back that he loved it and was one of the better behaved children.

If you had told me that Max would be able to integrate into junior kindergarten this successfully at the beginning of the year, I would have doubted you. But here we are, with one week left in the school year, and Max is getting invited to birthday parties, is the best reader in his class, and can count to 200. Colour me proud.

My favourite part of Max's development is seeing his relationship with Cameron grow. Last night he requested that she come get on the teeter totter with him. They also play their own version of tag (Max has an unfair advantage of size and speed but this doesn't seem to deter Cameron). And they somehow make swinging next to each other a contact sport. He also runs to the window when people leave to watch them go, and to be honest, is often much easier to deal with than Cameron is. He is a joy to grocery shop with and is able to wait patiently when we check out (a big leap from laying on the ground and screaming).

This Sunday morning, we will be joining thousands of other people in Toronto to walk for autism. We have participated in this walk every year since Max was diagnosed. We will continue to do so.

We walk to celebrate Max's progress.
We walk to raise autism awareness.
We walk because there is no cure for autism.
We walk because 1 in 70 boys will be diagnosed with autism.

If you are able to support us on this year's walk, we would truly appreciate it. Any and all donations, big and small make a difference. Plus, if you walk with us on Sunday morning, we have some kick ass t-shirts thanks to our Team Maxwell sponsor, iVillage.ca. They were designed by top notch designer Christopherr Mendoza and are my favourite team shirts yet!