Your Custom Text Here
ASD Dad now has a Facebook page. Why? Well, people have mentioned wanting to get regular updates without having to subscribe for emails or following me on Twitter.
If that's you, just like my Facebook page. (Of course, you can still follow me on Twitter or sign up for email updates.)
Oh, and if you're so inclined, I'd be very grateful if you'd share with others who might be interested.
Thanks for your support!
Here are some things I’ve been reading that you might find helpful, informative, or inspiring.
How I Learned to Accept My Son’s Quirky Obsession. I've written in the past about how C's obsessions often end up being a great way to connect with him, despite the fact that some professionals warn against encouraging them. After trying to stem his son's obsession with Sesame Street, this ASD dad now accepts and encourages it. Besides creating a deeper bond, he and his son now have entirely new ways to engage and play. Read more
Why I Best Remember This Moment. File this under important to remember. The mother of a girl with Down syndrome weighs the good against the bad. "Then I have to remember that the bad is just life. The bad moments have a purpose. The bad make the good that much better." Read more
Parenting an Autistic Child. The autism journey is framed as one of tragedy and heartbreak, where the child (with autism) is the cause of all that suffering. But what is the effect of that message on the child? "The things that are being said, all those recommended check lists and the questions asked by all those autism organizations and experts are encouraging us to teach our children that they are the problem." As my views on autism evolve, posts like this help me see a new way forward. Read more
Stop Using my Children to Scare Parents out of Vaccinating. This post pretty much sums up my opinion of the anti-vaccination movement, particularly in terms of how they view autism and children like my son. As the author writes, "Vaccines are blamed for everything from common skin rashes to the Sandy Hook school shooting. But the big thing, every time on every group or thread, is autism. Autism is a scourge. Autism is a tragedy. Autism is taking our children away. My autistic child is damaged, I was told, and vaccines are to blame. The more I read, the angrier I became...As an autism parent, it offends me my children’s condition is being used to scare people away from life-saving medicine. I don’t want that to happen. It angers me that there are people out there who truly think my children and others like them would be better off dead than just a little different." Read more
New Study: Most genetic risk for autism resides with common variation. A fascinating, important, large-scale study published in a well-respected science journal, the result of which is the identification of a series of genes that are likely involved in autism (not one single 'magic bullet' gene, as has been speculated). Moreover these genes are very common in the general population, but when occurring in significant enough numbers in any given individual, increase the risk of autism. Read more
No, autism in Scandinavia isn’t rare and “high functioning” A common trope among the anti-vaccination crowd is that autism barely exists in Scandinavian countries. A large-scale study debunks that myth. Read more
I've written about this before, recently even. But it's worth repeating.
There's a different C that most people don't see, and this is the C who comes out when it's quiet. I mean, really quiet. And not just when it's quiet, but when we're quiet.
Instead of unresponsiveness, C answers. Instead of silly talk, he is frank and funny, and sometimes poetic. For example, just after I took the photo above I asked him what he was doing (he was so intent and still, very unusual for him), and he said, "I'm listening to the quiet."
Quiet. It's hard to come by. But it's worth it when you can find it.
When I first began researching autism, I came across the work of Dr. Lorna Wing, a true pioneer in the field of autism research and acceptance. Dr. Wing was a female researcher and psychiatrist at a time when that was a rarity. She was a mom trying to deconstruct her daughter’s elusive condition. She resurfaced the work of Hans Asperger, and renamed "autistic psychopathy" as "Aspergers syndrome" for fear of what the earlier term might connote.
Dr. Wing was an early proponent of the notion that autism doesn't necessarily equal intellectual impairment. And, she was at the forefront in arguing that autism is likely a cluster of underlying conditions with a common core of symptoms, not a singular condition, something many scientists are just now coming to understand.
One could argue she was an early proponent of the notion that autism comes with many gifts, once saying, "I do believe you need autistic traits for real success in science and the arts, and I am fascinated by the behaviors and personalities of musicians and scientists." Sounds a lot like Temple Grandin, I think.
Personally, she was one of the first people I'd heard of who had turned their professional expertise into a lifelong passion in response to a deep need to help their child and others, something I aspire to myself, though on an admittedly much smaller scale.
So it was with sadness that I learned of her recent passing. I am grateful to her and those like her who have set us all in the right direction.
Here are some things I've been reading that you might find helpful, informative, or inspiring. Bury My Son Before I Die. "I used to worry about Benjamin dying but now fifteen years in, I worry about him surviving beyond my husband and me. Only we have comforted Benjamin through daily seizures and seven surgeries. We are his one true voice. No one can understand Benjamin the way we do." Gut-wrenching and brutally honest. Read more
When You're Gone: Practical Planning for Your Child's Future. A helpful and thorough guide to the things special needs parents should do now to help their child after they're gone. Read more
The Obsessive Joy Of Autism. "If I could change three things about how the world sees autism, they would be these. That the world would see that we feel joy—sometimes a joy so intense and private and all-encompassing that it eclipses anything the world might feel. That the world would stop punishing us for our joy, stop grabbing flapping hands and eliminating interests that are not 'age-appropriate', stop shaming and gas-lighting us into believing that we are never, and can never be, happy. And that our joy would be valued in and of itself, seen as a necessary and beautiful part of our disability, pursued, and shared." Read more
Sesame Street, This is an Autistic Speaking. An adult with autism makes a heartfelt plea to Sesame Street to reconsider its partnership with Autism Speaks, an organization she feels stands in stark contrast to the inclusion and acceptance Sesame Street is known for. Read more
On Education and Communication; A Message to Parents, Professionals and People with Autism. A powerful, hopeful message from Ido, a young man with autism who, though once written off by teachers and therapists, is now proving them all wrong. Read more
I Am a Pushmi Pullyu. A 50-year-old with autism comes to grips with being both an extrovert ("Yes, you heard that right. I am an Autistic extravert, the creature some would assure you doesn't exist.") who struggles with social situations, sensory issues, and PTSD. Read more
Tips for Encouraging Joint Attention. Fun, easy ways to do just what the article title suggests. Read more
What I Wish Your Child Knew About Autism. Ten things one mom wants you and your non-autistic child to know about her son, Leo. Read more
Out of the Closet. Observations by Ido on all the children who are "new communicators," finding their voice through assistive technologies. Read more
And finally...
Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Silver Announce New Steps to Help Families of Students with Disabilities. Great news for NYC families — like ours — who have struggled with the DOE. Read more