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 Several years ago, I wrote an essay that was published in an anthology of works by mothers of special needs children. “Dancing with Despair” recounted the first 14 years after my son’s autism diagnosis, during which life was overrun by doctor and therapy visits, special diets and behavioral programs. Sleepless nights followed stress-filled days.
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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 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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Tweet As seen in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on July 8, 2011. Helping our children to feel both grounded and independent is a fundamental tenet of parenting. So we give them roots and wings by imparting skills and values. We harp on them to buckle their seatbelts, eat their veggies, and treat others with
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Tweet   As seen in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on April 15, 2011. Late last month, a 22-year-old man with a criminal record pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman with Down syndrome while on a Metro Transit bus in St. Paul. The woman was one of several vulnerable adults traveling with a
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Tweet As seen in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on April 1, 2011. A friend asked whether the book “House Rules” by Jody Picoult reflects my family’s experience with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Picoult not only illuminated some of my life, she also roused a latent fear about what would happen if my adult son
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