Walk with us!

What a week! I almost gave up on a blog post altogether this week, but the only way to establish a habit is to fight through it, right?

This is one of the busiest weeks I've had in a while. A lot of you have heard by now that my coanchor, Andre Hepkins, is leaving St. Louis for Baltimore. His last day is Friday. Boo!! I'm bummed to see him go, and also excited for his next opportunity. He'll be anchoring evening newscasts in a great city, and actually working with a friend of mine from college. The TV news business is scary small. I love it.

So aside from all the heart-to-hearts and party planning, I'm also working on five stories that air next week. I'm so excited about this! KMOV is partnering with Autism Speaks, to get the word out about the St. Louis chapter's big walk coming up on October 8th. (Please join me!) The pictures at Forest Park are from our promo shoot a few weeks ago. I got to meet four kiddos with autism, and film a little commercial with them. The kids were great, and SO funny. The end result also turned out really well....I posted it on my Facebook page if you'd like to check it out.

In the last month, I have learned a lot about this thriving community. So far, my rule number one is to never underestimate someone with autism.

The spectrum is so broad, and each person so different. We can't assume one person with autism can even speak at all, while others are very social and engaging. They are smart, and capable people, and have gifts to share, just like we do. If you're not familiar with the disorder, or maybe see a child or adult out in public and suspect they may have autism, I suggest you follow their parents' lead. See them as an individual and love them exactly the way they are. I guarantee you'll be in for a treat.

These two guys below were so great. John and Ray. Cousins and characters. John is an entertainer and Ray is quite the gentlemen. They love Toy Story and Ray loves Lady Gaga. This might be the story I'm most looking forward to, because you'll get to meet them both. I am so happy and grateful to the families who have let us into their homes and lives. I can't wait to share their stories next week...stay tuned!

Thanks for reading,
Emily