autism walk is for families

We had a great time at the Autism Walk today.  Bob was a little mopey.  He was tired, but I think sometimes he acts a little jealous of SJ.  Obviously, he doesn't want to have PDD.  I think he feels that SJ gets more attention from everyone due to the PDD.  When SJ was diagnosed 7 years ago, he would get mad that the TSS (therapeutic staff support) wasn't there for him.  We were fortunate and had a great TSS.  She would try to include Bob as much as she could, but she was there to work with SJ.  He also feels that I give SJ much more slack. (That used to be true a lot of time I am ashamed to say.)  I have been trying to work on giving each child their fair share of my attention.  Today, I was seeing some of that behavior from Bob.  We tried to get him to join SJ in the bounce house.  We tried to get him to decorate a Smiley Cookie.  We tried to get him to color a wooden puzzle piece.  Finally, we went by a booth that had a bubble machine.  The bubble machine caught both boys' attention.  It was so nice to see both boys smiling and enjoying themselves.  Then, we passed a booth that had a pitching game.  SJ got in line and I thought Bob wasn't going to participate.  When he saw how much fun SJ was having, he got in line and pitched very well!  We then had a snack and began the walk.  When we were walking, I was looking out for other families like ours.  I could see the kids with Autism, but I could also see the siblings who were walking.  I hope they enjoyed their day as much as Bob finally did.  That is the thing with Autism, Aspergers or PDD-NOS.  It affects the whole family, not just the child with the diagnosis.