AutHaven March or April 2015

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The second Annual AutHaven is tentatively scheduled for March or April 2015 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It will be a night longer [4 nights] and is tentatively priced at $225 per person, which will include food, lodging, etc. I don't think we'll have any problems filling up as pretty much everyone who came this year is already excited about next year, one is starting her fund raising next week, and a few have already convinced friends to attend.

People seemed to love the meals [compared very positively towards the 2 big by and for autistic retreats. Also, I was worried that we would run short on food but there is an upright freezer and a refrigerator crammed full of prime rib, turkey, ham, pulled pork, chili rellenos chicken cacciatore, veggies, fruit, cookies, cakes pies,etc. that were left over. All said they felt extremely cherished and respected.[ There were a few minor program changes which we hope to avoid next year. Everyone loved the location and the amenities included in the location rental. There were a couple of people who I think would have been lost in the shuffle and less personalisation of a of a larger group who felt included and appreciated.

We had quiet rooms, but nobody seemed to need them. I was a little disappointed because we had semi-stocked the ice cream shop and the only time that anyone ate ice cream was when we brought it to the clubhouse.

There was a problem with echoing in the clubhouse, so after the first presentation the rest were held in the lodge. The clubhouse still worked well for ping-pong, billiards, pin ball [no quarters needed] and playing games in front of the fireplace and making s'mores.

Star [I am using first names only] found a couple recruits for doing volunteer work to help build Ocate Cliffs Retreat Center in New Mexico this coming June and some people were excited to be a part of the intentional autistic community within an already existing community we are planning in Colorado. Denver taught us about being pro-active autistics and Kassiane taught us how to autistify our life in ways that will greatly improve our executive function, Xenia led a discussion on recovering from sexual abuse, and Bryan led us in a fascinating drama class.

We all fed the stingrays after going through the Denver Aquarium, hiked the trails, and watched the deer from the window, A few people were happy to discover that they had a streak of "nudist" inside them.

We bought a small box of wine and everyone was allowed to bring their own alcohol in addition, but pretty much noone drank [or smoked]much of anything. Despite that, we had a ridiculously fun time playing "hit and run" ping pong, which is a form of ping pong that no NT would probably have been able to enjoy unless they were beyond sloppy drunk.

There were a few near meltdowns which were rapidly and lovingly attended to. Probably the biggest problem was that we had a few people who had difficulty adjusting to the altitude. Tonight I will research on how to best treat and prevent altitude adjustments and also take my first online lesson in sign language [ one young lady lost her words for a couple of hours. She could still sign but no one there understood sign language.]

Everyone pitched in with cooking and cleaning and there was no problem with us working together cooperatively. That being said, when Felix insisted on taking care of much of the cooking, no one objected {Thank you Felix!]

Kjensmo had recently visited Japan and she brought me back green tea kit-kats and Denver made me one of the most beautiful pendant necklaces I have seen in my life.

Gracie, Masha, Nick, and LJ [youngest son] went a little wild exploring trails on the golf cart...so wild that we finally had to take away the key. Actually this was not "Autistics Gone Wild" as much as it was my 16 year old NT grand son stayed with us.

This old granny did NOT belly dance as promised but I was given a pass because [1] we had difficulties with the sound system] and [2] the meds I am on really mess with my bones, ligaments and muscles.

anyway, I would LOVE to answer any questions.

Last edited by vickygleitz on 25 Feb 2014, 9:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Wow, the two intentional communities you're in the planning and working stages of, one in New Mexico and one in Colorado,

sounds really worthwhile and also really hard. Any information and advice you feel comfortable sharing would be most appreciated.

I wish we had something like this in Houston:

Every month, an interesting speaker say at 1:00 pm on a Saturday. Some of the group just comes to hear the speaker and that's fine. Other people adjoin to a late lunch, snack, or just coffee or tea at a local restaurant. And the transport over there can also be a group building activity. And some people go home after the late lunch and that's fine. Other people continue to a games evening at a local university which has a safe environment (I enjoy Cuba, Dos Rios, Stratego and other board games). Some people show up for just the games evening and that's also fine. But we currently have nothing like this. I really wish we did.

And the fact that we would meet every month, for example, the first Saturday of the month, would also help to build the group and give us a chance to get to know each other.

Of course, this is not the only kind of arrangement I would enjoy.

I would be very interested in hearing about the next one.

About my area, I wonder if there's a hope of enough people to converge on one spot. I live in Montreal. I could get to Ottawa or Halifax. Toronto costs a fortune but maybe there's a way?

Anybody?

Vicky, I noticed that the 2015 AutHaven will be 4 days instead of 2014's 3 days. Do you think that any AutHaven-type event would require 4 days?

I think that 3 days would generally be long enough, assuming that all or most participants were from the same general area as the retreat. We had attendees from 4 different states though, and flying out for a 4 day event, in my opinion, makes more sense than flying out for a 3 day event.

Our dream is that there will be mini retreats throughout the country [world?] in not too many years and therefore no one will have too far to travel. When that happens, 3 days will probably be plenty long enough.

A little off the subject, but the charge for each AutHaven attendee was only $100 per person. Quite a few people were on full scholarship. Here are some of the ways we did it, and other ideas we did not incorporate but might in the future.

[1] We cooked all of our own meals. This saved us tons of money, allowed us to eat everything from prime rib to tofurkey [and real turkey] to tirisamu to all sorts of both healthy and decadent foods. It also was a great tool for getting to know each other better by working together.

[2] We begged for [and received] financial donations. When we asked for a donation we usually were offered $20. when we specifically told them that $100 would sponsor someone, they usually gave us that.

[3] We asked for food donations from 3 different churches. 2 actually helped us out [pies, cakes, cookies, fruits, potatoes] and the third said they would probably have helped had we given them more time]

[4] I am a member of the club where the retreat took place, which afforded us a fairly substantial discount. The venue used has never rented out their facilities before. We had to ask.

[5] Being paranoid,[actually, there was a bit to worry about] I worried that we might lose our venue. I found 2 people with large homes that told us we could stay there if need be. Also, a Unitarian church has told me that we probably could have used their basement. For a small group, these options might be considered before paying cash for a rental.

[6] Goody Bags; okay, we went a little crazy on the goody bags [ we went FAR beyond the original goody bag list I wrote about] but each one was personalized to such an extent that every person knew they were cherished within minutes after arrival. We also asked people we knew if they had any super cool stuff that they wanted to donate and much of that was used as goody bag fillers.

[7] We went to the Denver Aquarium, which generally costs $17 or $18 per person, We managed to get freebies. Ask, ask, ask, and you can do it by e-mail, or better yet, snail mail.

I live in Toronto and will most likely be going unless there aren't serious attenuating circumstances that will prevent me from doing so. We could try setting something up and traveling together, if you would like, although it's still a ways away and plans always do change.

I also am a sign language user and would actually love if there could be an event like this that is sign- and Deaf-friendly. I am not Deaf but very much enjoy the culture and socializing with Deaf folks. Sign language is also a beautiful language that I feel is muh richer than spoken language. I wish more people signed.

Let's keep in touch for the next gathering.

I feel the same way you do about signing, except I never learned it! I feel a new sense of purpose - I'll check it out. How did you learn?

Sure! And I'm taking a university ASL class, signing with friends, and also attending Deaf socials whenever I can.

i just started trying to learn to sign. My old arthritic fingers are having one heck of a hard time trying to make various shapes and gestures.

I'd be very interested in going. I'm just next door in Utah.

It's a ways out of course, so I guess it's easier to figure it out as it gets closer. I only heard about this a week before the event this year, and getting time off work can be tricky.

AWW Vicky. sounds like it was a super great time. I am so excited for you at how well it went. You are so awesome to have put this together. I am really proud of you for doing that.

Vicky, did you find it easier to get fundraising and support from groups when you were able to show that there was a tangible event taking place?

If the charge for a 3 nights AutHaven was $100, then why is the charge for a 4 nights AutHaven $225?

A 33% longer AutHaven with a 125% price increase?

If memory serves, it was fairly close to AutHaven when the price was lowered to the $100, due to the generous support from various donors. It is a little early to have donors lined up for next year.

Vicky,

- you seem like such a nice person. Scratch that. You ARE a nice person. In my mind, you are something I should aspire to reach.
- I doubt I could make it, that sounds like spring vacation time, and my family comes first.
- you could hit me up for $20 donation.

And to Vicky and everybody else ...
Hope your day gets better!