As part of the Bupa Family Challenge we’ve been working really hard on limiting electronics time to two hours a day.
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Kinectimals has been one of our number 3 son’s favourite games for a while now. I love it because it makes physical activity fun, and for a boy who isn’t into sports that’s really quite important.  However he loves it for a lot of other reasons so I’ll let him tell you why in his own words:
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Autism is truly an invisible disability.  The general public - hell, even people who are part of the special needs community but don't have direct experience with autism - seem to have this idea in their minds as to what autism "looks like".

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That never really applied to me because I don't like the spotlight, and I would never seek it out. However, being Autism Awareness Month, I felt we needed to shine a spotlight on Autism locally, so we did just that.

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Carly Fleischmann is a teenage girl with autism who after years of being unable to communicate with the world is utilizing her computer keyboard to write and communicate with the world. Carly Fleischmann is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada and now that she has her voice is an effective proponent of autism awareness. Carly Fleischmann is an Autism Light for the way her assisted communication is opening a window into the thoughts of nonverbal people with autism. 

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This is more a tackle and score for James than for me. A few months back math was his nemesis, bringing more behavioral issues than answers. Touch Math was being offered up, as well as a number line that ran vertically.

Well, long story short. I don't think touch math is The Answer for James. There are too many touch and steps. I questioned the vertical orientation of the number line, which was literally a 90° change from the left-to-right horizontal lines he'd been using for the past 2+ years.  Continue reading →

We are a judgmental species. We judge others the moment we meet them. How a person looks, how they behave, what they wear, how they speak, the words they use, their posture and then, if we ever get that far, their decisions and opinions. We can’t help it. We form our own opinions, not just of those traits but of those people themselves, without even knowing them.  Continue reading →

This blog post is by Eric Peacock, MyAutismTeam 

Two years ago I met with the folks at Autism Speaks and told them we’d like to create a social network just for parents of kids on the autism spectrum.  They said, “How fast can you move and how can we help?”  Well, as Autism Awareness month approaches for the second time since launching MyAutismTeam, it’s amazing to look back at the past 18 months and see how quickly the supportive and engaged community of parents on MyAutismTeam has grown. We first launched in June 2011 with just 30 parents from the Bay Area and today we have more than 40,000parents on MyAutismTeam from all across the United States and Canada!   You can find, connect with, and learn from parents just like you no matter where you live or what your child’s specific development needs may be.   Continue reading →

In case you were wondering , here are our rules.  We don't need to stick with them  as much as we did when he was younger.  Do what works for your child.  Be bold and courageous.

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Just because he speaks, that doesn't mean our life is an easier. It doesn't always make our life a cake walk. Just because he can speak to me, doesn't mean he can verbalize what he feels. Anger, sadness, and sometimes even happiness can't be verbally expressed by my son. Yeah, of course I can see it on his face, with a smile, or a frown. But if I ask him why he is sad or mad, he can't always express to me why. He can't seem to find the words.  Continue reading →