Another Change in Direction

We are feeling our way, lost in an unknown land, without a guide, as the guardianship process for my brother in law with autism crawls along.  We've never had a guide for anything pertaining to my brother in law, who was born long before the autism epidemic I touched on yesterday started.

Here I am, a blogger and writer.  Shouldn't I be writing that guide, that book, describing what we have done? What has worked, what hasn't? Our mistakes, so that others don't repeat them?  There are millions of people out there with children with autism, being born or in the process of growing up.  They will need a guide as they transition from raising a child to helping their child in adulthood.

If I don't write it, then who will?, I ask myself.

And then, I get second thoughts.

First, blogging is not book writing.  I enjoy blogging.  It uses an informal voice, it uses links to other blogs and websites, and you can insert other media.  In particular, I enjoy taking photos and posting them.  Others make videos.  I sometimes link to You Tube videos at times.

Books are more static.  It's a whole other thing, I am finding.

I'm finding I'm staying up at night thinking about the blog.  I don't like that.

Also, in thinking about our guardianship efforts, a lot of what we have experienced is specific to New York State, where both we and "B", my brother in law with autism, live.  Some of his other experiences are New York specific (such as something called "Medicaid Service Coordination".

And finally - I think I am rethinking just how much our experience will help others in the future, as social service and societal attitudes are changing so rapidly.  My guide may end up being a historical curiosity if I do it wrong.

 I hoped to use this month's posts as a springboard to (perhaps) writing that guidebook I wish I had in my library.  Now, I am rethinking the project  Perhaps not blogging that book, but gathering thoughts for further editing.  Right now I'm too thought scattered to make a success of this.

I will still do it, just on a smaller scale for now.

In the meantime, I have decided to cut back some (not all together) on the autism posts for this month.  I will still have my Spring Things (I hope you love what I have planned for tomorrow), my Sustainable Saturday.

This is not a failed experiment. In fact, I'm glad I tried it.  I'll just have to see how it progresses.  Worst case, I'll have content for my blog.  There's nothing wrong with that.

If you feel you will get value from more autism posts, please feel free to comment on what might help you.

And, see you tomorrow with some lovely spring photos from upstate New York.