I didn’t wake up on time this morning. I managed to get breakfast made and get my daughter dressed so I could drop her off at school. I didn’t have time to make my husband’s lunch. I dropped the family mini-van off for service and hitched a ride back home with the courtesy shuttle. My…
Category Archives: Autism Spectrum
When imitation isn’t flattering
My two year old has been in a stage of imitating everyone around her lately. As these things go, I find it pretty adorable. Until she tries to imitate her six year old brother. Not so cute anymore. Her brother, Will, was born with a rare chromosome deletion that few kids in the world share. There are…
This Everyday Love
Every night it’s the same thing. At bedtime, I climb into my four year old son’s bed next to him, cover him with all his blankets, and have this conversation: Me: “Thanks for a great day today!” My son: “Thank you.” Me: “What was your favorite thing you did today?” My son: “My favorite part…
You Don’t Need to Feel Sorry For Us
One things that saddens me about having kids with special needs is when folks tell you that they are “sorry” your children are disabled. I don’t mean to be ungrateful! I appreciate their concern, I really do. It’s just that I don’t consider my children a burden (Sure, they are HEAVY. They ARE finally gaining…
‘Tis the Season!
Here it is again! It’s November! Time to pack up all the summer clothes, the picnic blankets, and turn the clocks back. I don’t know about you, but I often lament this time of year for one other BIG reason: hibernation. My little dude has junky lungs. His immune system is just not up to…
Explaining the autism experience in 6 words
As many of you know,I am a big fan of the 6 word memoir project, and asked Larry Smith, it’s creator, if I could run another 6 word memoir contest on my facebook autism page. The top 25 (I was the judge) won a signed copy of my book A REGULAR GUY GROWING UP WITH…
iPad for Autism: Selecting the best apps
“The iPad wasn’t designed with autistic children in mind, but, anecdotally, the results are seemingly miraculous,” say’s well known technology bloggers (and Apple Critic) John Gruber. There is a lot of buzz in the autism world about the many ways that the iPad helps children with autism, for good reason. As Ashley Harrell of SF…
Comic relief, autism style
It was one of those weeks when the phone rang constantly, and each was a “crises” call. My 24 year old son Matthew, who has autism, was on a bad roll. “Matthew lost his wallet, Matthew is calling a girl obsessively, Matthew called 911 because a girl hung up on him, Matthew needs this, Matthew…
Autism: Living with the looks
I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and believe that I witnessed an autistic meltdown. A father was in line with his teenage son when the woman in front of them sneezed loudly. The noise took the teenager by surprise, and he covered his ears and yelled “too loud, must leave, too loud”…
NEWS FLASH: Raising a child with special needs causes marital strain
According to a study by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Waisman Center, parents of grown children with autism are more likely to divorce than couples with typically developing children, according to new data from a large longitudinal study of families of adolescents and adults with autism. Uh, oh. The study, published in the August…