Maybe I'm just callous and cold-hearted, but I wasn't heartbroken by it at all by the snake thing. Honestly, I found it really eye-opening. This is probably a horrible thing to say, but is this what they're dealing with every day? Good gravy......
They used to include more about the really bad stuff on the vlog, but I remember they changed their tune after befriending Jen Msumba. Asa explained that he had been inspired by her to no longer show Abbie "at her worst" (meaning when she was in full tantrum mode.) This is possibly (probably?) the right choice ethically, but it makes the videos less interesting to me and I think it has created a false representation in all of their videos since. It went from this real, serious brutal reality and this glimpse into the type of lives that some families have to just this "autism-lite" version where it just kind of seems like she's a teen who can't talk and likes to thrash around and rock. Again, I know there are ethical considerations to consider, but I feel like there is real value in allowing others to see the way things are, the way they can be, how they can sometimes be really difficult. It made me feel a tremendous amount of compassion and admiration for families dealing with these types of challenges. Now they're just sort of boring and generic with no real purpose that I can tell.
sit in back with Abbie while Assa drives. 
