Is it possible that many parents NOT involved with Autism know that April is Autism Awareness? Do the circles run so wide as to pass ramblings of projects, awareness, the push for understanding and acceptance for those living with Autism or the discontent with influential sources’ lack of attention to the month trickle into groups…
Category Archives: Raising Awareness
The Worth of a Soul: The Story of Kirill
According to a judge in Russia, a little boy with Down syndrome is better off in an institution than with a family wanting nothing more but to love and cherish him. In other words, that extra chromosome to this judge is worthy of only one thing. A death sentence. My friend Veronica holds dual citizenship…
Autism Superpowers
When Luke was first learning to understand his autism (and his, brother’s) he came up with his own explanation of how it worked. We explained to him that everyone had sensory issues, or had something they were afraid of or something that bothered them. He decided that everyone had autism, except that some people had…
Eradicate the “disease”?
A while back there was an article about a new test that would identify if your child had Down syndrome earlier in the pregnancy in a less invasive way. Dr. Patsalis was excited about this new test because it could help the medical community “slowly eradicate the disease” that is Down syndrome. I could go into…
Newborn Screening Saves Lives
What once was a nationally-mandated test of newborns for six inherited diseases has now expanded to include as many as 100 disorders thanks to new technology. Yet not every state tests for every disorder. Early detection and treatment saves lives.
“Use Your Words” , A life lesson to live by
It’s a typical school day morning, and I am in the kitchen double checking Zoe’s lunch bag, snack bag, toiletry bag- loading her backpack . I glance up, over the kitchen counter, just in time to see Zoe, who is hovering nearby in her walker. She is smiling and elaborately shaking her groove thing to…
BELIEVE! No One Can Know the Limitations of Another
We are in the process of formalizing a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder with secondary Anxiety Disorder (at-risk for depression) for my “gifted” 9-year-old daughter. For me, this process began more than 2 years ago, brought to light by the abusive treatment she suffered at the hands of her 2nd grade teacher who drove her to tears…
Is that too much to ask?
This week my husband’s grandmother passed away. She was 93 year old, never took more than a multi-vitamin in her life. She did however, several years back, begin her journey with Alzheimer’s Disease. It was a long journey, spending 10 years in a nursing home. She had 5 children, 12 grandchildren…and so many great grand…
Telling Your Child With Autism That They Have Autism
I’m not a big television watcher but the buzz this week on social media sites was apparently Max’s parents finally sitting down and telling him he had Asperger’s (that Parenthood show). Now, on the show Max is like, ten? Something like that? Ten. Soak that in for a minute. And they were JUST telling him….
Healthcare ALERT
As special needs parents we must keep informed about developments in health care coverage. Regulators are working on new rules that define coverage for 2014 and according to this news report their work may well affect our kids.