Do you have a PhD in autism?

I don’t have a university issued PhD, although I often wish I did; sometimes I even beat myself up for not knowing more. Yet in many ways, I know so much more than those educated PhD’s, who have no idea (ok maybe they have theoretical knowledge, but no personally...

Coming to Terms with Life with Autism (Part 2)

As our understanding of autism grows, we adapt our methods of relating and communicating to better suit our autistic loved one’s understanding of the world. Because those individuals with autism are not receiving and integrating social information like the rest of us,...

Coming to Terms with Life with Autism (Part 1)

Autism takes many forms, and is very misunderstood in the general population. The old stereotype of a child, rocking in a corner, unable to speak or function still comes to mind for many. I see this in the faces of people when I tell them that my son is autistic....

Parenting a Child on the Autism Spectrum is Emotional

Being a parent of a child on the spectrum is a very emotional experience for most of us. Before the autism is diagnosed, we frantically try to make life work, and often find that we aggravated the pain and frustration more than calm it. None of us wants to push our...

Life before diagnosis…

Like most of you who have had a child diagnosed with ASD, our journey was a struggle. Before the diagnosis, I felt desperate and confused. One minute my son seemed so “normal” and the next minute he was melting down because he could not tie his shoes! I distinctly...

What are limitations anyway?

On the one hand, there is nothing more compassionate we can do than to understand our loved ones with autism and be compassionate about their struggles. If you are a parent and trying to “therapize” a child into being non-autistic, or into acting like someone who is...

For the love of our Autistic Children!

I am so grateful and pleased by the outpouring of likes, shares and comments from our Facebook group to our Holiday message about honoring my son’s gifts. It became crystal clear to me that many of you feel the same way about your children and grandchildren that I...

A Gift For Our Children

The was a National Autism Academy FaceBook post from me on December 19th: I recently visited a school that only serves children on the autism spectrum. The woman who gave me the tour confirmed what I have seen in my own son so often. Our kids, especially if they are...