Kevin's Speech, live

Tonight was the night Kevin gave his speech at school, to a packed audience of peers and families. He did a wonderful job, and despite a brief, unfortunate technical malfunction, he nailed it.

This was part of a program in which all the seventh and eighth graders at his school had to perform either a visual or performing art. Kevin was the only one who received a standing ovation. People were crying! Afterwards, as we were leaving, so many people - kids, parents, and teachers alike, were high-fiving Kevin, shaking his hand, and telling him what an awesome message he put out there. He made a BIG impression. My heart is so full right now, of love and pride for this amazing kid, and my faith in the ultimate goodness of people is restored.

Dress Rehearsal: R-word speech

Kevin had to do a dress rehearsal today at school for the speech he's giving tomorrow evening, and apparently it went really well. When I picked him up from school this afternoon, he was beaming. I asked him how it went (as practice, he had to give his speech in front of the entire seventh grade) and he said, "It was really impactful, Mom!" (I swear he used that word!) He said that during the speech, a lot of kids were giving him thumbs up, and afterwards several kids made a point of telling him how "awesome" they thought his speech was. A few kids told him that they have siblings with autism or other diagnoses, and that they understood exactly what he was talking about. One girl said to him, "Wow. I am never going to use that word ever again." When he told me this, I was just overcome. This is what it's all about - making a difference. Another kid told him that it was the "second best speech" he'd ever heard, the best being Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech.

I'm so proud of that boy. And I can't wait for the real thing tomorrow evening!