Taking the Awe out of Autism

I remember when Jacob was diagnosed, one of the first services I implemented was speech therapy. Jacob was verbal, but he needed help in learning how to use his speech. Beginning at age 3 1/2, he was taught concepts like rhymes, antonyms, synonyms, and the basic usage of speech that he wasn't able to master on his own.  One of the areas his therapist targeted was Jacob's lack of eye contact, something common for children on the autistic spectrum. I was taught early on to constantly remind Jacob to make eye contact with anyone who conversed with him. I witnessed a mom doing the same thing on Saturday with her young son. Each month, the Autism Society and AMC theatres nationwide have a monthly Sensory Friendly Screening of a newly-released major motion picture. The lights are slightly up, the sound is slightly down, no previews or commercials are played prior to the showing, kids can walk around and parents are free to let their child bring food and toys into the theatre. It...

One of the interesting things to emerge from my blog is that parents are emailing asking for advice on what to do with their own teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). There are many families in crisis, and they all want to do what’s best for their children. They just have no idea what to do. Their child’s school isn’t equipped to help, it’s tough to find professionals that really understand the issues, and when they do, the fees for the services are usually really high. It can suck to be a parent of a child with ASD. You have this terrific kid but the all cool stuff is masked by his outwardly obnoxious exterior, and you have no idea on how to solve the problem. I received this letter through the Autism Support Network (which is a terrific site with great resources). I was really moved by how tough it must be for this Mom to be a parent to her step-son, and how un-empowered she felt. I’ve changed the name of her and her step-son so I can honor their privacy, but I’m absolut...