Guitar Kid ..

Holiday Color

Santa Pause

Miles Get Well Cards

Back in the Swing of Life .. Miles Has a Late 6th Birthday Celebration

The Miles Hospital Stay - 12.9 - 12.14.10

We all wanted to thank each and everyone for the well wishes and thoughts while Miles was on the mend at Children's Mercy South over the long weekend. He caught a nasty pnumonia strand and required some specialized help to get him back on his feet. He did remarkably well considering the amount of wires, tubes and needles that were coming towards him on a regular basis or following him around. He received quality care at the hospital and all the gifts, calls, visits and compliments made the Miles recovery that much swifter. From us to you, thank you. We put together a littler video/photo story of the 4-day stay to appease Miles. He cannot wait to get his own little scrapbook put together of the whole experience. Again, all our thanks and Miles is now at full strength running from one moment to the next in full health.

12.8.2010 = Happy 6th Birthday, Miles ..

Excited About Giving Birthday Invites to School Pals ..

New Hairdo Moment ..

AM Dadventure with Miles - Ornament Making

Miles: The Tree Climber

Miles Sings Some Songs

Putting Miles to Work

Carnival Night with Miles

Slips of Miles Paper is Everywhere ..

Thanksgiving School Artwork

AM Thrill: Waving to His Brother on the Bus

Final Soccer Team Pose with Miles - Fall 2010

The Kids Need Water

Once the skies open and the rains come down, the Miles and Zen tear outside like they are plants needing to grow. With rains coming around for the first time in a while, it was high tide for some PM swishing through the puddles.

Hippotherapy with Miles

Yo Gabba Live!

Miles actually got quite overwhelmed by the live version of Gabba, but he gave it his best shot ..

New Gradution Cerficiate - Adaptive PE

Dadventure in the AM #3

Halloween 2010

Dr. Miles and His Pal Nurse Charity

Miles Kindergarten School Picture

Conan O'Miles

Miles & His Nieghbor Pal ...

Counting the Seconds Till the Bus Arrives ..

Miles Weekend of Action!

Dr. Miles

Olympics are Back ..

Miles Does Fundraising

Miles Dug the Polar Bears

Kindergarten Picture Day

Miles Loses First Tooth ..

Miles Loves Grandma Lucy

Soccer Kid in Training

Good News from School for Miles Today ..

Kindergarten Art

Cooking Bug in Miles Lately ..

Donkey Comedian & Miles

The New Pool Toy Awaits ..

Last night, I got Milo a giant alligator for the pool. This morning, his brother slept in late and required a father-geared taxi ride to school for both of them. Before that was to happen, Miles had to have his alligator pal blown up and shoved in the car for the ride. Needless to say, he cannot wait for school to end and alligator pool time to begin .. splish/splash.

Looking for the right page ..

Miles Loves Waiting for the Bus ..

Miles is Gonna Dig This One ..

Honorary Captain on Zen's Soccer Team

First Loose Tooth

He Wants to Go to the Bus Alone These Days ..

Miles and HIs Wide World of Animal Fun

Official First Day of Kindergarten Pic

Dadventures Day 1 with Miles

At Miles' new school, Gladden, they host a handful of 'Dadventures' with kiddos. The idea is to have a breakfast and do some kind of activity together. Today, a hockey player from the KC Maverick's swung through the school and gave Miles a few words and an autograph ..

Recent Miles School Thoughts - In & Outside the Box

Underwater Pool Cam with Miles

Splash Time Roars on with Miles

Why the Sky is Blue ..

While waiting for the bus this morning, Miles threw a first out to me. He simply pointed at the sky saying, 'blue - why?' I explained why the sky was blue, how the grass was green and why the sun was a bright burst of hot yellow. He clung and laughed as we talked about the big questions that will undoubtably get bigger in his growing kindergartent brain ..

Willow Tree

The latest thrill ride for Miles has been a tree house of sorts his brother hollowed out in the middle of a Willow Tree in the front yard. It's a daily thing he wants to get his brain immersed in ..

What Happens After a Long Day in Kindergarten?

1st Official Mascot Jersey

Thanks to Coach Jason and Jennie for making Miles his own soccer jersey. It's a part of his brother Zen's soccer team .. He loves it ..

Blue Waters

Green Car Pal

Over the summer, Miles spent a good amount of time with his babysitter, Megan, which Miles has dubbed her "green car" because Megan is hard to pronounce for him. It's a habit of sorts for him to associate names with objects becuase the actual name is too much. At the close of the summer, Megan sent Miles a little drawing of them going to the zoo. Here's a look ..

Miles: Aha Moment

The Mutual of Omaha piece on Miles is now live on the web. Check it out ..
Click here to view.

Ready to Work ..

The Big Kindergarten Leap ..

Miles Profiled on Supportforspecialneeds.com

Joe Dimino: The Future for Miles

August 11th, 2010

in Featured, Inspiration

No Comments »

by Joe Dimino

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your family?

The Dimino family resides in Belton, Missouri (suburb of Kansas City). It includes Joe, Carrie (lovely wife of 6 years), Zen (12-year old brother) and Miles (5). Joe is an IT technician by day and a visual artist, videographer/photographer and writer at all other times. Carrie is a professor of English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, an avid reader and a skilled writer. Zen is entering middle school this fall and is excellent in both karate and soccer, along with being a very avid fisherman. Miles is going to be in Kindergarten and he loves to swim, play and make art. Our entire family is very close and thrives off the time that we all have together to do a host of things whether in the house or on a run. Carrie and I are conscious advocates for Miles in the autism spectrum and very involved in both of our boy’s lives.

How did you find out about the My Baby Rides the Short Bus, anthology?

My wife, Carrie, follows an Autism support listserv out of Lee’s Summit, MO and someone posted a notice to submit a story for a new book that would be released in the Fall of 2010. From there, I began crafting a story that my wife embellished and made into a workable slice of work that appears in the Short Bus book.

How did you choose to submit “Watching My Son Grow: An Illustrated Timeline from Birth to Three Years Old?”

I really believed in the overall project of shedding more light on parents that live with both Autism and the Autism Spectrum on a daily basis. To weave together an anthology of stories that share the tragedy and triumph of daily life in both a raw and clever ways ultimately swayed me. Overall, I’m not shy about being a proponent and advocate for my son and the Autism Spectrum. I find that every effort a parent or family touched by autism only makes it more plausible for folks to understand and help the momentum of passing needed legislation to assist families tackling high expenses in conjunction with therapy and other needs.

Miles has been going to the doctor a bit more this year and he’s really taking a shine to it. In fact, he has been telling us lately that he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. On a recent trip to the doctor’s office, he was ecstatic to get a pic with one of his doctors. Enjoy …

You can buy a copy of My Baby Rides the Short Bus by clicking the link!

Miles and His New Favorite Animal Pal

Pool Time

Accidental Kid Video Capture

Getting Real Good at Fishing ..

Rudy to Young Olympian

I did an interview with Rudy Ruettiger (the inspiration behind the movie 'Rudy') about a month ago for Current TV. After the interview and the piece was produced, I requested several autographs for the boys. Rudy, as he was in my interview, was a class act and complied. Zen and Miles quite dig their autos ..

Kid Plans in Motion

Aha Moment

Waiting Around with Miles

Day in the Life - Featuring Miles & Zen

This video was shot as a part of a film being made with the youtube community via Ridley Scott .. Enjoy.

The Miles Gift

I keep wanting and talking about getting Miles into a nursing home and simply going room to room. He can hug, talk and make all the residents laugh a bit. I joke about it, but there will be nothing better and truer than to have Miles ignite the palpatating heart of one of those institutions starving for some affection. Recently, Miles found an old man down in the field by his Ebenezer donkey pal and planted a good hug on him ..

Miles Readies to Eat His Favorite Food: Sushi

Quick Summer Cut

Last Day of Kindergarten Summer School

Click here for a podcast on Miles' reflection of the past two weeks.

Miles with His Summer School 2010 Class

Miles Gets a Visit from an Old Friend

The combo of Bridgette and her blue car put Miles into a twirl ..

The Future for Miles ..

Miles has been going to the doctor a bit more this year and he's really taking a shine to it. In fact, he has been telling us lately that he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. On a recent trip to the doctor's office, he was ecstatic to get a pic with one of his doctors. Enjoy ..

Miles Makes Smoke Bomb Art

Miles in his new Kindergarten Summer School Home Room

Moments Before the Final AM Bus Ride to Grace ..

Pajama Day at School