Taking the Awe out of Autism

As humans, we like to laugh.  We value wit.  We are drawn to people that we think are funny.  It's a compliment when someone tells us we have a good sense of humor. Because we are not robots and are unique individuials, what is funny is a very subjective thing, viewed through our own individual prism influenced by everything that is unique to our life.  Culture, heritage, age, ethnicity, social economic status and where we live, all of these things and more, combine to give us our take on what is humorous.  What makes us laugh depends on our life experience and circumstance, and what I think is funny may be perceived as rude or insulting to someone else. Jacob loves to be funny and he tries very hard to make me laugh.  Two of his favorite shows are Family Guy and South Park, which is pretty typical for the kids in his culture.  Yeah, I know what you are thinking.  Those shows are pretty inappropriate and poli...

This is my December contribution to Hopeful Parents . The life of a Mom of a teenager with autism is many things. At times is can be challenging. Other times it can be frustrating. Sometimes it can be both at the same time. But one adjective I would never use is boring. This is never a word I would use the describe the life in our home. 13 years have passed since the day that I heard the words "Your son has autism", and now  that day seems like a distant memory. I've gained much wisdom through the years, and whenever possible, I try to help other families as best I can. I'm President of the Autism Society of Los Angeles. I’m starting a support group in my community for parents of children with autism. In a very real way, Jacob's diagnosis has given a purpose to my life that wouldn’t have happened had he not had a disability. As a young child, Jacob’s behavior was very challenging, and sometimes, I didn't know how I would manage to get to the end of the ...

The word community can mean many things. It can be the neighborhood in which you live. It can be the school that you attend. It can be a group of people in which you share a commonality. Like it or not, having a child with autism automatically makes you a member of the "Autism Community". Like any community, it's members are individuals with their own way of interpreting the world. But unlike many other communities, the way those individuals interpret their world varies widely depending on the abilities of the individual. Autism is considered a spectrum disorder which is why you'll hear it referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD. It's a wide spectrum, and the individual's place on it is determined by the person's level of functioning. Generally, those that are non-verbal and severely impacted with co-concurring conditions are labeled as low-functioning, and those that are verbal with an average or above-average intelligence are labeled as h...