Month: June 2013

  • Deaf Autism Research Project at Boston University

    Please pass this on....

    Continue reading →

  • Guess what?


     
    One of the things that I truly appreciate about Bianca is the level of our communication. I understand her like no other person. I know what she means when she furrows a brow just so, squeals a certain way or pulls my hand in a certain direction… and of course when she just plain asks for stuff. 

    Continue reading →

  • Achieved IEP Goal

     

    We had our IEP meeting with the TEAM.  And we are incredibly encouraged by the fact that we kept seeing 'achieved' by all of his IEP goals.  Continue reading →

  • Katie Couric Talks Autism


     

    Katie Couric is an award-winning journalist and TV personality, well-known cancer advocate, and 'New York Times' best-selling author of 'The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons From Extraordinary Lives.'

    Couric hosts and executive produces her own syndicated daytime talk show, Katie, which premiered in national syndication last September. She also serves as a special correspondent for ABC News, contributing to 'ABC World News,' 'Nightline,' '20/20,' 'Good Morning America,' 'This Week,' and primetime news specials. 

    ---

    My godson, Jay Burstein, was diagnosed with ASD ten years ago. Little Jay (he was named after my late husband, Jay Monahan) had no spontaneous language until he was almost five years old. He has worked incredibly hard --with many gifted therapists and teachers, and today Jay attends a special education program in a public school, where he spends part of each day with his mainstream peers in mainstream classes. I’m so happy to say, he rarely stops talking. For many reasons, Jay is very fortunate. I am incredibly proud of him and all that he has accomplished. I’m also so grateful for all of the dedicated professionals who have helped Jay —teachers and therapists can make such a difference for children with autism.  Continue reading →

  • Sometimes Safeguards Fail


    This is my front door. There are 3 locks. 

    To blog when you are frustrated, when you feel like you have been pushed beyond what you can take is never a good idea and yet, here we are.

    Today has been a craptastic day. Anything that could break has broken. anything that could be made a mess of, has been made a mess of. any fight that could have been fought, has been fought. any request that could be denied, has been denied. I hate this day. I have had enough. and then there's more. I'm not mad at the comment, I'm mad at the situation. I'm mad because there is nothing to be mad at and I need to be mad at something. I'm so freaking tired, so stressed out. I am so thankful my brother showed up just at the time I really needed a break. but I'm still frustrated. Continue reading →

  • Keeping Your Child From Closing an App


    I get a lot of questions on how to keep kids from closing apps on an iPad or iPhone.  I made a photo tutorial last year for the iphone and decided to try my hand at a video tutorial.  You can change settings on your iPad to use a feature called Guided Access, which allows you to shut off certain areas of the screen, lock the volume and home buttons, etc.  Super useful.  So, after several hours this afternoon, TA DA! My first video tutorial...  Continue reading →

  • It's not his fault, It's not my fault


    A couple of weeks ago a nurse at the neurofeedback therapist's office put electrodes and goo all over Ryan's head, clipped some wires to his earlobes, and ran a series of five short tests called a brain map. For the first test, Ryan had to sit very still with his eyes closed for three minutes (I had him in a death grip for this) to measure his resting EEG. The nurse measured the electrical activity in various parts of his brain while he rested with eyes open, read a book, counted.  Continue reading →

  • Artists for Autism Awareness

     

    Artists for Autism Awareness (www.artistsforautismawareness.com) are dedicated to raising money for research, awareness, outreach, sibling services, and more.  Our main form of fundraising is our online concert series on Stageit.com.  All of our shows on Stageit.com are always “pay what you can”, that means you can watch any of our shows, live via the internet, for only 10 cents.  We do this so that families affected by autism spectrum 
    Continue reading →

  • Father’s Day is Becoming Amazing




    Since getting involved in the autism community, particularly with my blog, I’ve gained a little extra attention simply for the fact that I’m a father. I knew, going in, that fathers speaking out was a rarity but I really had no idea just how rare. And while I enjoyed being given a little extra oomph to my voice by people willing to help get fathers heard a little more, I also kind of felt that I shouldn’t be taking it because… well, it’s really not fair. My voice was new, not yet established and even I wasn’t sure if I should be reaching a wider audience yet.
    Continue reading →

  • End of the year party!

    James' teacher invited all her kids, and any willing parents, over to her house for her end-of-school year party. Wow! That was incredibly generous and such a nice way to bring the second part of James' school year to a close on a happy note.  Continue reading →