One of the great things that we get to do at ASA is to meet up with some friends. ASA attracts a few of our favorite people in the whole wide world. Here are some of the great people that we got to say “hi” to:

(Eric:) Jill and Simon from OCALI- Fun to laugh with you guys about driving 15 hours! You guys are the best!

(Eric and Jen:) Keith and Brenda Myles from AAPC and from EVERYWHERE in the autism world. Come to think of it…EVERYONE at AAPC is cool and we get to see most everyone from there. Just look up “nice people” in the dictionary. Their picture is there!

Keith with Craig, Jamie and Jordan

(Eric:)Barry Grossman and Ruth Aspy from the Ziggurat Group. They are always helpful and ask about the kids. Simply put, they inspire me.

(Cam:) Steven Shore is a LOT of fun. He is a great guy who has been helping people with Autism and Aspergers advocate for themselves for many years. He has a great sense of humor and he is a brilliant presenter.

(Jordan:) I like Kirsten (from AAPC). I just love her passion for books and I like to talk with her. She is a nice friend that I can talk with about autism ideas.

(Craig:) I like hanging out with Dad the best. We have plenty of fresh seafood to sample here in Florida and at home we are always too busy for cooking and relaxing.

(Jamie:) I did not really meet him, but Elijah Wapner (presenter and comedian) was really funny…I enjoyed that presentation and laughed a lot.

(Eric: ) We thought that we would blog a bit about our ASA Conference speaking experiences so that our family and friends can see what we are up to! We will include pictures here where possible and will be adding a Photo Gallery into it tonight!

Actually, we probably should start at Day 0 or even Day -1 (7pm…that’s when we took off on our 15 hour plus drive to Orlando). Long trips are always long and this was no exception, but Team Blackwell did just fine. By the time we got to Kissimmee (suburb of Orlando), everyone was READY to check into the condo and get some rest. Mom and Dad were pretty tired by overall it was a great trip.

We did decide that going through Lexington and south on I-75 through Chatanooga was a little more fun than through Nashville and it took about the same amount of time.

Here are some photos of the amazing Gaylord Palms Resort and the Conference center.

Alligators! Very cool!

Favorite Sessions for today:

Cam: My first 20 years, Learning to be an effective advocate. This was presented by Jordan Ackerson and Lisa Lieberman, Valerie Paraeiz, and Elijah Wapner. This was great because it had people on the spectrum and their mothers explaining how self determination and self advocacy have helped them in their lives. Awesome.

Favorite thing that he did today:

Jordan: I tried sushi and I liked it! It tasted different, like cold rice and greens, but I liked it!

Craig: Cooking Fresh Salmon last night and having some really good sushi today. Good eats.

Jamie: I like hanging out at the exhibit hall and finding some fun stuff at one of the jewelry places there! I also like to go swimming and that has been fun!

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