Adventures for Autistic Adults

08/31/2026

🍕 A3 Returns to 5th Street Pizza!

Last Monday, A3 returned to an old favorite — 5th Street Pizza in Allen!

Before the pandemic, we used to meet there monthly to eat some delicious pizza, play games, and, of course, play Bingo. When everything shut down, we moved Bingo to Zoom — and we still play online today — but we have definitely missed our in-person Bingo days!

So last week, we were back…and it honestly felt like we had never left. ❤️

One of the best parts was realizing that Jeff, the owner, remembered us! When I called to make arrangements, I left my name and number with the person who answered the phone. But Jeff recognized the group and immediately reached out to Jamie because he still had her number saved in his phone! Jamie pointed him my way, and when we talked, we discovered he even still had our regular pizza order on file! 🍕

Those are exactly the kinds of connections A3 is all about — becoming part of our community, building relationships, and having places where our members are remembered and welcomed even after years have passed.

And apparently, we were having such a good time that not one of us remembered to take pictures!

So instead, you get a picture of our very cool Bingo cards that Jamie found for next to nothing at an estate sale. They worked perfectly!

It was so good to be back.

08/28/2026

Mosaic Day at A3!

Yesterday we broke out the black canvases, colored cardstock, scissors and Mod Podge and let everyone create their own mosaic designs. While those dried, we used little scratch-art papers to make a second mosaic.

There were no real “rules” for the designs—just simple shapes, color choices and creativity. With varying levels of help, everyone came up with something completely different!

And because this is A3, there was a little social-skills practice mixed in too. One member was having a hard time concentrating because a few others were doing quite a bit of chatting…about pretty much everything except mosaics!

So we had a gentle reminder that some of us are working on staying on topic and keeping the noise down, while others are working on patience and tolerance. We try our best to balance both at A3.

In the end, everyone finished their project, everyone survived the chatter, and we ended up with some pretty great mosaics!

08/22/2026

Please read this looong post! Thank you!

It may still be 100 degrees in Texas, but once school starts, most outdoor pools scale back their hours. So today, a handful of us headed to the indoor pool at Oak Point Recreation Center for a little swimming and something extra.

Normally, our members are free to do their own thing in the pool. That often means five people enjoying themselves but doing five completely different things. Today, I had another plan.

With a couple of foam dice, a laminator, and a little imagination, I created a game called Pirate Dice!

After everyone who wanted to ride the slide had taken their turns, I gathered the group and explained the rules. Each player rolled two dice, added the numbers, and checked the laminated scoring chart to see what they had earned.

Supplies, Treasure Maps, Treasure, and Gold Coins were all up for grabs. A lucky roll of 12 meant Buried Treasure and 25 points! But rolls of 2 and 7 were trouble: Shipwreck and Pirate Attack. Not only did those earn zero points, but they also wiped out the points from the player’s previous roll.

We played five rounds, and everyone participated with a different level of support. Some needed help adding the dice, some needed reminders about the scoring, and others just needed encouragement to take their turn.

But the important thing is that they played together.

At Adventures for Autistic Adults, our goal is to do more than occupy our members’ time. We look for ways to build connection, practice listening and taking turns, and turn everyday outings into opportunities for interaction.

Finding creative ways to make that happen is one of the things I love most about my job. Today, all it took was a swimming pool, two foam dice, and a little buried treasure.

08/21/2026

Happy Birthday, Nick!

Whenever Nick meets a new friend, one of the very first questions he wants to ask is, “When is your birthday?” Birthdays are important to Nick, and he makes sure every A3 member gets all the birthday “things” when their special day comes around: a birthday pin, a hat, a necklace, and balloons… always balloons!

So, of course, Nick deserved a BIG birthday celebration of his own!

We celebrated at Take Off Adventure Park with about a dozen friends, along with their attendants and caregivers, giving Nick quite the birthday entourage. Everyone had a great time jumping, sliding, climbing, swinging, and making their way through all the trampolines and obstacles.

We also welcomed a new friend, Christopher, who joined us for his very first A3 event and jumped right into the birthday fun!

And I have to give a special mention to Nick’s mom, Becky who shares her own birthday with Nick. She is my right hand and half of my brain! She makes sure the candles are there and lit, helps keep everything running smoothly, and takes so many of the great pictures you see in our posts.

And, of course, no celebration would be complete without Becky’s brownies!

Happy Birthday, Nick! We hope your day had all the birthday “things” you make sure everyone else gets to enjoy. You certainly deserve them!

08/20/2026

Yesterday we hit one of our favorite bowling spots, Pin Stack in Allen, to celebrate Aniyah’s 26th birthday!

At A3, we do our best to make sure every member gets the chance to feel celebrated on their special day. We had a great turnout of friends and family, with a dozen bowlers hitting the lanes, and Aniyah received lots of cards and gifts from her friends.

These birthday celebrations mean a lot to us. Some of our members didn’t have many friends to celebrate birthdays with when they were younger, so we love being able to give them that experience now — a day surrounded by people who are genuinely happy to celebrate them.

From the smiles in the photos, I think it’s pretty clear everyone enjoyed the day!

And a special shout-out to Ebby, our high scorer of the day with an impressive 129!

Happy 26th Birthday, Aniyah! We’re so glad we got to celebrate with you!

08/19/2026

I just completed listings for my most recent Collectible items Autographed & Donated by our friend, voice actor Eric Vale! OnePiece, DBZ and more! Figpin, posters and Funko Pops! All proceeds are donated through eBay Charity to Adventures for Autistic Adults!

Please "like" and "share"!

08/17/2026

🎄 What If 1/3 of Our Followers Gave Just $5? 🎄

We’ve been looking at our page lately and realized something pretty amazing: more than 2,000 people are following Adventures for Autistic Adults!

And we know you all found us in different ways.

Some of you are current members and families. Some are friends. Some are businesses and community partners we’ve had the pleasure of working with. Some of you have supported us since the early days of Austen’s Autistic Adventures, all the way back to 2017, and simply stayed with us when the organization became Adventures for Autistic Adults.

And some of you…well, we have absolutely no idea how you found us, but we’re glad you did! ❤️

So, here’s a little Christmas math:

If just one-third of our followers donated $5, we could raise more than $3,300 toward our A3 Christmas Party!

And we could do something REALLY special.

🎄 A party bus to go see Christmas lights
🎄 A great event space where everyone can relax and celebrate
🎄 Good food
🎄 Games, fun and plenty of Christmas memories for our members and their families

Five dollars may not seem like much by itself, but when a community comes together, those $5 gifts can turn into one pretty fantastic Christmas party.

There’s absolutely no pressure to give. Following us, sharing our posts, cheering on our members and telling others about what we do all help A3 grow.

But if you’ve ever watched one of our adventures and thought, “I’d like to help make one of those days possible,” this would be a wonderful way to do it.

$5. One Christmas Party. A whole lot of happy memories. 🎅🎄

This Link is for our Square Donation Page, or you may use the "Donate" button on this post!

https://pci.jotform.com/form/230845032136145

And if donating isn’t in the budget, sharing this post with someone who might want to help would mean just as much to us.

08/13/2026

Added to eBay...

This Funko Pop! Animation #198 featuresFerid Bathory from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign and is hand-signed on the front window byEric Vale, the English voice actor for Ferid Bathory. Character: Ferid Bathory.

08/13/2026

I want to give a very special shout-out to My Martial Arts DFW and Black Belt instructor Mr. Tony Rios.

I don't know exactly when or how Jamie Wheeler first crossed paths with Tony, but I do know we are very lucky that she did. He has been working with our group for many years through his exceptional Adaptive Martial Arts program, and his dedication to our members has never wavered.

When I first became involved, we usually had 5 to 7 students participating in martial arts. These days, we are grateful for our five regulars who have stuck with it, but life happens. Schedules change, appointments come up, people get sick, and sometimes our little class gets even littler.

Today, we were down to just two guys.

Once again, I apologized to Mr. Rios for the low turnout and told him I would be happy to pay him a flat rate if he needed me to. Once again, he refused. He told me he enjoys the class no matter how many students show up, and that when there are only one or two, he gets to work with them one-on-one and really give himself a workout too!

That pretty much sums up Tony.

He never makes our members feel like they are just another class on his schedule. He knows them. He understands their abilities and challenges. He pushes them when they need pushing, encourages them when they need encouragement, and celebrates their successes right along with us.

And we can't forget Black Belt Coach Ms. Ronnie, who assists Tony and brings her own patience, knowledge, encouragement, and kindness to every class. Together, they have created an environment where our members are welcomed, respected, challenged, and genuinely cared about.

Adaptive programs are only as good as the people behind them, and My Martial Arts DFW has two very special people behind this one.

Mr. Rios and Ms. Ronnie, thank you for your knowledge, your patience, your dedication, and most of all, for the genuine love you show our group members. Whether five students walk through the door or only two, you make the class matter.

We are incredibly grateful for you both.