Despite the fact that I am the “heavy” in the relationship, the one who does the horrible things to get my son the benefits to which he is entitled, I really am a nice, friendly guy. I’m far more suited to being more sociable and the jokester.
This applies to the Monster’s Autism too. Which means a lot of gallows humor at times.
Now, we’ve all read the post that’s passed around about “Ways to Make Your Next IEP Awesome!“. (I’ve linked to a reblog since the original seems unavailable at the moment.) But most of those aren’t my speed… I mean, I’m as much in the mood for “fun” as the next guy, but most of those just seem to run counter to the person that I am in IEP meetings. (See the comment above about being the heavy.)
The topic of humor, though, occurred to me on the way home from an errand this morning with my wife, when we had a good forty-five minute drive to pass in the car together. We were discussing the imminent release of the new CDC statistics on prevalence of Autism, and on getting the Monster signed up for the DDA waiver. And I’ll admit that I wasn’t really paying that much attention, until the wife mentioned that it’ll get a case opened for him while he’s on the waiting list, with all of the fresh copies of his reports…
And inspiration struck. (Let’s be honest. It’s more like a moose falling on the car than a bolt from the blue, but hey…)
“Hello!” I sang from the driver’s seat, in my best “Book of Mormon” imitation. “My name is [insert real name here]. You simply won’t believe how much this file will change your life!”
So my wife eyed me for a moment. Most husbands would probably know to stop at that point. I was not apparently born with that common sense.
“Hello!” I continued. “My name is [insert real name here]. Our eldest son has Autism and oh, have you met my wife?”
I’ve now been informed that, apparently, it’s considered gauche to introduce yourself to folks in the disability support realm with parodies of “Book of Mormon.” I’m trying to figure out what songs from “Avenue Q” or “Les Miz” would fit better..