Taking the Awe out of Autism

I really enjoyed being Jacob's Mom when he was a small child.  I was fortunate that at the time, my business was sucessful and I was able to work on my own schedule.  We spent quality time together doing a lot of kid-oriented activities. Things changed when he was about 7 when the business started to tank. I’d soon have to find employment that allowed me to work full-time and to also still be Jacob's primary caregiver, and it wasn't easy. But in his early years, I had the luxury of being a full-time Mom and I loved it. We had a lot of fun times – visits to the beach, the various parks in the area, Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles Zoo, Long Beach Aquarium, Legoland, Disneyland, Universal Studios, Magic Mountain, and more. One amazing vacation took us to Switzerland for 3 weeks, and Jacob spoke about it for years afterward. Because money wasn’t an issue, I could do these things and focus solely on Jacob. Though his behav...

This interview with Dr. Sandra Kaler was conducted in 1999.  She was the first doctor to assess and diagnose Jacob, and her support was invaluable.  She directed me towards Los Angeles Unified School District and the Westside Regional Center for support services that were a tremendous help for Jacob.  Today, the California state budget is in crisis, and many of the services that were  given to Jacob back then may no longer be available.  But that's a blog for another time. Dr. Kaler is a developmental and child clinical psychologist who lives and works in Pacific Palisades, California and has had her own practice since 1992. Dr. Kaler has been a resident of Pacific Palisades since 1984 where all four of her children attended school.  Previously, Dr. Kaler was a nursing instructor at the University of Alaska, Anchorage and UCLA. In this interview, Dr. Kaler gives a thorough overview of Autism, and should be of help to anyone wan...

Hello to everyone out there!  Isn't it a wonderful day in the neighborhood.  It can be, but many times it's not when you have a child with autism. My own journey in the 'hood started in April 1997.  Jacob was 3 1/2 and during a visit to the doctor, I heard the words "your son has Autism".  I remember like it was yesterday, and it was completely unexpected.  Jacob didn't have any glaring behavioral issues that I had noticed, but he had been hitting other children at his new preschool so the teacher suggested psychologist Dr. Sandra Kaler for an observation to see what was up.  I thought I would be receiving recommendations on behavior modification.  I wasn't expecting a diagnosis.  But a diagnosis is what I got and little did I know that I was entering a new and challenging world of which there would no be turning back. In 1997, Autism wasn't the disability du jour.  It wasn't like it is today when just about anyone you meet kno...