Tweet Patrick was a 19-year-old who didn’t have a friend to call his own. While living with his parents, he enrolled in a local community college, where he met a couple of guys who wanted to hang out. When his parents learned their son was going out for the first time, they were hopeful —
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Tweet           A PROVOCATIVE PIECE..  As seen in the Huffington Post, April 2012 By Liane Kupferberg Carter Freelance Writer Huffington Post Blogger     I don’t know how to do this. There’s no book for taking the next step. No Fiske’s Guide to Colleges. No Barron’s. When our son Jonathan was preparing to
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Tweet As seen in the Huffington Post, April 18, 2012. Time can be our ally. It can also be our adversary. For months now I have been marking its passage with ever-growing dread.  By the end of May, our school district will have fulfilled its mandate to educate my son.  As its’ obligation is being
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Tweet As seen in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on  April 20, 2012. If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism, the saying goes. It’s hardly a one-size-fits-all disorder. That makes it tough to understand the one in 88 people who have the diagnosis today, as compared to one in
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Tweet On September 30, 2011, I wrote a column for the St. Paul Pioneer Press about Jimmy Reagan, a young adult with autism who is an emerging artist (http://bit.ly/ntyE0A).  In this guest blog post, his mother, Peg Schneeman Reagan, provides a fascinating update. Over the last six months, Jimmy’s art has been growing in ways
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Tweet A growing number of young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder are reaching adulthood.  Families are searching for options and opportunities; for living arrangements that work and employment opportunities that are well designed and meaningful.  In the coming weeks, I will highlight programs and opportunities that are in place.  It’s a starting point for families
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Tweet As seen in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on October 28, 2011. Two decades ago, autism was a mysterious condition known to relatively few. These days, media reports about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) appear daily; it’s rare to find someone who doesn’t have a connection to the lifelong condition affecting between 1 million and
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Tweet My guest blog post that appeared on Laura Shumaker’s San Francisco Chronicle blog (SFgate.com)  on October 20, 2011. I sat down at the table for our 2 p.m. meeting and looked up at the clock. We were about to design my son’s last IEP (Individualized Education Plan) – the roadmap for his final services
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Tweet As seen in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on September 30, 2011. Jimmy Reagan’s story unfolds through pictures. It begins with baby photos his parents treasure: Jimmy as an infant, snacking in his high chair, impish grin stretching between rosy cheeks; Jimmy frolicking with his dad in a pile of leaves, bright eyes focused
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Tweet There’s lots of buzz about the NBC show “Parenthood,” which will soon begin its third season. I’ve just tuned in so I’m playing catch up with the show with multiple sub-plots. I’ve learned that 8-year-old Max Braverman has quirky habits and a brilliant mind. I’ve also learned there is a familiar explanation for Max’s
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