Babble, an award-winning Web site for parents owned by Disney, is holding a contest for the 30 best autism blogs. Somehow, Life with Clay wound up being nominated. (OK, the nomination may have come from Clay’s number one fan.) That being said, if you care to cast a vote for this blog, it would be much appreciated. You can vote here or click on the Vote for Me box on your right. Then, find Life with Clay (currently on the second page of the list) and click “I like this” Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

We’re lucky enough to have a celebrity guest blog today from none other than my wife (Clay’s Mom, typing partner and number one fan) Roe DeLuca, who is holding down the fort in more ways than one while I’m off in exotic lands—well, Connecticut—at another speaking engagement.

—

If you’ve been reading “Life With Clay,” you know that supported typing has opened up Clay’s world—and it’s giving us snippets of insight into a young man who is intelligent, aware and soulful.

For instance, when Larry was having difficulty with providing the right resistance when supporting Clay in typing, Clay told him to “keep it real.”

When our dog Maverick passed away, Clay told us that Maverick had been in pain “since Sunday” because “I can feel it.”

Other times, the message is strictly communicative.  Last night, for instance, Clay was upstairs in his room watching Toy Story for the 500^th time, when he suddenly started crying. I fully expected it to be one of his headaches, but he informed me otherwise: “A tag is bothering my neck.” Read the rest of this entry »