Autism Conference and Ryan

A few weeks ago Ryan was invited to give a presentation at an upcoming autism conference.  To my surprise, he accepted!  For a kid who didn't talk until he was 5 and has never really liked talking, this is HUGE.  Ryan will be part of a panel of young adults with autism.  They will speak individually about their lives with autism, and then they can focus on some aspect, whether it's their future, their education, or their outlook on life.

Last week we met with the coach and monitor of this panel.  Ryan was not comfortable at first, but he answered all of her questions.  He showed her how he'd use a microphone.  Basically, they covered the ground rules and expectations.  He said he understood everything.

In the last week I've had to push him to finish his presentation with slides.  He kept procrastinating, saying he'd work on it "tomorrow".  Finally on Tuesday, I said he needed to finish it, so he could practice his presentation with the slides.  I love how there is always tomorrow...

On Wednesday he gave his presentation to his grandparents.  They were quite happy!  Ryan spoke clearly and slowly.  Very deliberately.

I can't wait until tomorrow.