WESTERN AVENUE

The august 9th live performance and album release for Western Avenue has ben postponed for health reasons. We are hoping this is only a temporary setback and will inform our fans of any future changes that may come.

Joseph is like his little brothers guardian angel. In nice weather, Joseph like
to play in the yard on the swings, slides, and climbing apparatuses. His
favorite outdoor activity is the inflatable pool that we set up at the bottom of
a giant slide so he can slide into the water. You can't keep him inside as
soon as he sees the pool set up. But when his baby brother is sleeping he will
not step outside. He will keep going into his room every few minutes to check on
him. And while traveling in the car, he will start  to wave his hands and point
at his little brother and say the word HELP if he sees his brother has removed
his seatbelt.

Joseph is quite musical and has an excellent ear for tones. When the church
choir sings poorly or even the slightest bit off key, he will cry real tears
until they stop singing. But when he hears a good singing group he is in heaven.
And of course you cannot leave the church until the last song is completely
finished. If we try to leave while the music is still playing, he will flop
himself down like a ton of bricks and is as strong as a football player when you
try to move him.

Many autistic children have photographic memories. Our Joseph was away from a particular place for over a year and when we returned to that same place, he was agitated until we convinced the kind and understanding people to switch seats with us since they were sitting in the same seats we used the previous year.

We would like to hear your feedback on the song about our Joseph. Please leave them here. We want to thank all of you for your support

Once in a while when Joseph feels it's time to go to sleep, he will go
through the entire house and switch off every television and light in each room.
It's funny to see him send the message that when he wants to go to bed,
everyone else needs to also. And then in the morning around 6AM when he wakes
up, he will jump on top of everyone in the house to wake them up. Fortunately he
doesn't do this everyday, but when he does it's cute.

Our home needs to be "Josephized"  We have all the faucets on every sink with removable handles that we keep in the nearby cabinet drawers. He learned to turn the water on and hold his thumb under the spout and spray water everywhere. He is unaware that water can damage things. In his mind he's in a water park having fun. 

Joseph knows how to travel to familiar places that are far away. He points to every expressway ramp we need to turn on and every street we need to drive on. Even when we have to drive 100 miles he knows the way. When we try to fool him he gets upset and waves his hands and says "Help" if we turn on a different street or take a different route. 

Joseph figures many things out on his own. One thing he learned is how to navigate a complicated video system on our big screen TV. He learned how to operate every function of every system and sub system along with all the various DVD players, tape players and recording devices. He knows the numbers of hundreds of different channels and what time certain programs come on. 

I constantly read of people who desperately  spend thousands of dollars to try and find a cure for their autistic children. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scams that take advantage of peoples desperation.  Of course we always hope for a cure or treatment to help our son have a better life but at the same time, we are quite content and would not be devastated  in any way if our Joseph remained the way he is. With him we never have to worry about where he is or when is he coming home, who his friends are or many of the things that parents have to protect their normal children from. He is always with us and may possibly remain an everlasting child. By loving him the way he is, we also find peace and comfort.

Joseph doesn't carry on any conversations with anyone but is able to talk. He lined up stuffed animals and then started reciting the entire Catholic Mass word for word, including the parts in the ancient Latin language to his toy "friends" . He was role playing the part of the priest. 

One line in verse 2 of Joseph's song describes, "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you can live these words through this boy" Having a special needs child brings blessings upon our family. By taking care of his everyday needs, we have the opportunity to store up heavenly treasures in everything we do for him. He is a saint among us sinners.

Even though at times Joseph can be a challenge, we wouldn't want to be without him. Our song "Innocent Boy" describes the joy of having a child with autism. He is always happy and playful, constantly smiling, and plays with the simplest things for hours at a time. He has the face of an angel and you can see by the look in his eyes that he is living a life with no stress or fear. He is truly at peace in his own little corner of the world.