My family LOVES to play games. One of the newest ones we've been hooked on is a dice game called Farkel. It's similar to Yahtzee, but way more fun.

I think games are a great way to bring family together. Some other's we like are: boggle, sequence, backgammon, othello, battleship, monopoly, phase 10, uno, cribbage, pictionary, mexican train (dominos), tri-ominos, upwords, gin rummy, blackjack, poker and sorry. We also have ping pong and air hocky downstairs. Not to mention a ton of yard games that we play (when it is nice out). We also play video games togther. We have Wii (Wii bowling is the best) and Playstation 2 (Guitar hero rules!!) and Playstation 3 and I think I have just about every old school video game ever made on my laptop.

So yeah, we are complete game junkies. It's a great way to spend some quality family time. I don't think there is a day that goes by that we don't play something together as a family. Give Farkel a try if you haven't, it's really fun and addicting (cheap too, I think it goes for around 10 bucks).

What games does your family play?

One observation I've made so far is that it's mostly Mom's around here doing the blogging. I sometimes feel like I'm the only dude around here.

Do you think that guys don't need to express themselves as much as women? Is it because guys don't have the time to blog? Are they not interested in meeting others? Is it the baby blue site? What do you think is the reason? What do you think we can do to get more men using AB?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. 

I belong to a ton of niche sites such as this one. I'm always leary when people use their first post to sell something or to put a link to their site or blog. You know they're never coming back. They don't want to be a part of the community. They are just using the site as a marketing tool. I'm not pointing the finger at anyone here, I'm just ranting.

My goal for this site is to be a place where people can post freely, share things, open up, be a part of a community, and help others, without being spammed or sold items.

Some ideas for your first post:

• Introduce yourself
• Share your story
• Tell about your family
• Answer someone's question
• Share a great autism resource (not your own site or blog)

Sure if you have something that will be helpful to the group, go ahead and share it, but if your one and only post is a link to your site or product, this seems more like a marketing tool than helping the group. If you do have a product that should be marketed to the group, create a post or two that is useful to the community. This will help your credibility and build trust.

To avoid people blatantly marketing things on this site, I'm going to begin moderating these type of posts.  

I'm looking for your help again. I'm looking to fill up the Autism Resources page, but I keep coming across spammy or junky links and I'm having a hard time coming up with valuable autism related links. If you have any links to any great autism sites, please post them (create content, link) to the resources page. I'd like to make a great links page that members will find useful. As usual, thanks for the help!!

I found this today, seems like such a cool idea. It is a blog that is maintined by a six year old autistic child. He gets some help from his mother, here's what it says at the top of the blog:

"This is my own blog. I am a six year old autistic boy who struggles to talk (at this time). My mom has set this blog up for me. [My mom will write or ask questions in square brackets] so you know who is talking until I can tell her to stop interfering." 

Really interesting stuff and a great idea. Get your kids blogging.

Adam's Blog 

With the explosion of blogs, you are just a small fish in a huge pond...why should anyone read your blog? Most of the blogs I read because I like the writer's tone and what they have to say.

So, how should I write my blog posts? Below are 20 tips for better blog posts.  read more »

Conference seeks clues on autism increase
McCLATCHY TRIBUNE
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.02.2008
Fearing that a hospital birth might increase her son's chances of developing autism, WyattsMom decided to have her baby at home. For the same reason, she skipped vaccinations commonly given to newborns. Despite those preventive measures, her son, Wyatt, now 4 1/2, was diagnosed with autism.
"He's happy and energetic," WyattsMom said. "He's really smart." Taking care of Wyatt is a full-time job, his mother said, pointing out that 40 hours of therapy is recommended each week to help treat the neurological disorder that the California Department of Developmental Services says nearly doubled in diagnosed cases between 1998 and 2002.

WyattsMom, who lives in Carlsbad, Calif., was one of several hundred parents, researchers, teachers, doctors and psychologists who attended a sold-out autism conference at Stanford University on Saturday. As many as one in 166 U.S. children has been diagnosed with the disorder, which can manifest itself in a variety of ways, said the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health. In milder cases, a child might be seem socially awkward and repeat obscure facts, while a severe case may manifest itself in a youngster who does not speak or show affection. Autism is more common among boys than girls.

Dr. Carl Feinstein is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford's Medical School and co-director of the Stanford Autism Working Group, which aims to shed light on the complex disease for which there is no cure. Feinstein said the cognitive styles of some successful Silicon Valley residents, especially those in high-tech fields, may share a few traits in common with those diagnosed with Asperger's or autism.

The conference offered data about genetic factors connected to the disorder and possible environmental elements that may play a role.

Nice, I see lots of people uploading their images...cool. It's nice to see who you are talking to, or half of them. : )

I always think it is so strange when you chat online or talk on the phone with someone, you have this mental image of how they look. Then you finally see their picture or meet them in person and they're nothing like you expect.  

I'm toying with the idea of making more support group type sites like this one. I really like the idea of building sites that will help people, rather than building spammy sites just to make money. I'd be using this site as a guide, so I want to make sure it is the best it can be, and as usual, your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Some other groups that I thought might find a site like this useful are:

• Down Syndrome
• Alzheimers
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Cerebral Palsy
• Breast Cancer
• Depression
• HIV/AIDS
• Recovering Drug Addicts/Alcoholics
• Diabetes
• Epilepsy
• Infertility
• Leukemia
• Paralysis
• Sleep Dissorders

What do you think? Are there any others? Who else might find a support group useful? Should I bother spending my time building these sites? 

Why should you spend your valuable free time writing blog posts?

There are several reasons:

• To share your knowledge and information with others
• To vent
• To persuade
• To get something off your chest
• For journal purposes
• To ask a question
• To start a conversation
• To help others
• For the fun of it
• To begin your authoring career
• To maintain your sanity
• To reach out to others
• For support
• To feel part of a group

Blogging can be therapeutic. It's amazing how blogging can lead to great things. Takes just minutes a day, and you'd be surprised how good you feel when you look back at all you and your blog have accomplished.

Is that it? Did I miss anything? Please post comments if you can think of other great reasons to blog.