Getting kids to dress when they'd rather be doing something else is rarely straight forward. Eight year-old boys are famous for finding just about anything more interesting than getting dressed. Add autism, and figure at least another 10 minutes of shepherding to get him changed and out the door.  Continue reading →

Dear School Team Jack (as I've come to affectionately know you all),

I just have to let you all know that after multiple IFSPs and a previous IEP, I believe that yesterday's meeting was a glowing example of just what can happen when good people really put their heads together for the sake of one very special little boy.  We came up with solutions, ideas, and a package of services that I believe - I hope - will produce a year full of wonderful things for my sweet boy.
Continue reading →

Last night my Autistic son's baseball game was cancelled for the 2nd week in a row due to rain. Nothing you can do about that, but Autism parents know that the surest way to a meltdown is to promise a highly desired activity and then not go through with it. To avoid the meltdown, you must immediately replace it with an equally desired activity, or one they like even better.  Continue reading →

There are all kinds of families, I have come to realize.  But the one thing that every family has that seems to connect them – is most know what they are doing, and if they don’t…they sure look like they do.

And then there is me.  Who hasn’t a clue.  Continue reading →

I wonder if the speaker ever interviewed autism-warrior-parents? It seems to me that we do not live our lives so much with the idea of optimism as with reality and doing what is best to make sure that our children have the choice to be optimistic about their future. I personally do not think of myself as one who is optimistic. Now don't get me wrong, I am a can-do parent. I demand that my children be allowed to be seen as human beings with the same rights as everyone else. But I don't know how that fits into being optimistic.
Continue reading →

The Honorable Joan Lenard is a United States Judge on the United District Court for the Southern District Court of Florida. Judge Lenard was appointed to the court by President William Clinton in 1995. On March 23, 2012, Judge Joan Lenard issued a ruling in the case of K.G. vs. Dudek. Her ruling in effect required the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration to cover ABA therapy for children in the Medicaid program, when prescribed appropriately by medical personnel for children with autism. The Honorable Joan Lenard is an Autism Light for handing down this ruling that will benefit potentially 8,000 children with autism in Florida.

Continue reading →

I’ve been spending my weekend studying up for a first aid course I’m doing this week.

Lots of reading about exciting things like funnel web spiders, drowning, strokes and car accidents.

Oh Yays.  Continue reading →

So my son has developed a new habit/stim/quirk/etc and that is chewing stuff. In the winter, he chewed his coat and his hat and his gloves. Since those were replaced with.. uhmm… nothing, it’s warm… he’s now taken to chewing other random odd things. Most notably, video game remotes.  Continue reading →

Is my 18-month-old son too young to be evaluated for autism?

This week’s “Got Questions?” answer comes from Lauren Elder, PhD, Autism Speaks assistant director of dissemination science

This is a common question with a complicated answer because there can be a lot of variation in how and when the symptoms of autism become apparent. It’s never too early for a general developmental evaluation. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, pediatricians should screen babies and young children for developmental delays at every checkup. Many of these delays – including the language and social delays associated with autism – can be identified at 18 months, if not earlier. (See Learn the Signs.)  Continue reading →

Ido Kedar is a 17-year-old young man with autism, and a champion and advocate for individuals of all ages with severe autism. Ido is nonverbal, and for the first seven years of his life, was unable to communicate with the people around him. Just as many others would, the people in Ido’s life assumed his lack of speech and sometimes erratic behavior meant he was unable to understand the world around him. It was at age seven that Ido’s mom, Tracy, realized that though he was unable to hold a pencil, he could spell. With the help of a letter board, Ido began to share the words, thoughts and feelings he had been forced to keep inside for so long.  Continue reading →