Last year I stumbled across a book called “Look me in the Eye.” As a parent who spent years trying to get her son with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to do just that, the title intrigued me. The insights of author John Elder Robison were even more fascinating. Robison was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome as
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“I would rather be in a gunfight than have to watch my grandson go through what he is going through.” This statement expressed the sentiments of many at a November meeting of the Minnesota Autism Task Force. The state-Senate-appointed panel is investigating the causes and statewide incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and assessing availability
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It was a difficult summer. After nine months at boarding school, our 17-year-old son with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) returned for a 12- week break. While he was thrilled to be home, our 14- year-old-daughter was distressed when the brother who absorbed so much of our attention settled back into his old routine. She’d enjoyed
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Recently, national radio talk show host Michael Savage caused an uproar when he called autism a ‘racket,’ the ‘illness du jour’ and a ‘fraud.’ Parents and professionals reacted by suggesting that he be ignored and that he be fired. I was not surprised by the conflicting reactions. This is, after all, the autism world, in
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I was walking with an old friend recently when the conversation turned to the challenges we both faced in our households. I had angst about what the future holds for my teen-age son with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She was worried about the future with her mother, who is in the early stages of dementia
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The federal compensation court settlement of Hannah Poling’s autism/vaccine claim has shined a spotlight on an emotionally charged controversy within the autism world. Since our son’s autism diagnosis, I’ve sat on the sidelines of this rabid dispute, deliberately focusing on the fix, not the culprit. In the wake of the Poling settlement, however, it’s hard
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Last spring, I had a troubling conversation with my adolescent son who is on the autism spectrum. He had taken a mainstream class for the first time in years, having been in mostly small special education classes since third grade. I asked him which classroom felt right for him. “The kids in the resource room
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All around me, parents fight the October blues that set in after their high school grad officially becomes a college freshman, leaving an empty spot in their hearts and their homes. Phone calls, e-mails, and visits help families make the transition so by the time the autumn leaves have stopped swirling and a new season
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I remember the conversation with my brother as if it was yesterday. We were grousing about the fact that obstetricians deliver babies without a parenting manual. As new parents, we felt ill-equipped for this momentous journey with our spouses. Since then, I’ve made thousands of decisions, ridiculously unimportant and overwhelmingly significant ones, without a manual.
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In the school of hard knocks, I’ve learned that words that describe people can have lasting and unintended consequences. In years past, I happily embraced several designations: wife, stepmother, and lawyer. All was well until late 1993, when I was pummeled with a most unwelcome label: “refrigerator mother.” This new term attributed my young son’s
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