Taking the Awe out of Autism

About a month ago, I sat in on Jacob's 17th and last ever IEP.  He's all set to graduate with a diploma this spring, and by all accounts, everything is on track. He’s showing up on time to all of his classes, he completes all of his homework on his own, he actively participates in classroom discussions, and he has a peer group to which he connects at school.. He’s volunteering in the library to complete his community service hours, and he just stared his third Workability job, a repeat of the same job he had last year at Best Buy organizing and stocking shelves. One area that I know Jacob still has difficulty is making initial connections to others. He has friends at school, but he has not made any meaningful relationships with his supervisor or the coworkers at his Best Buy job.  Even  though this may not seem like a big deal considering how well everything else is going, this is a very important skill that Jacob will need to develop in order to successfully transition to i

I love having  a mantra.  Don't sweat the small stuff  and it's all small stuff, I used alot when Jacob was a youngster.  Everything is going to be alright.  That is my favorite one right now; I even imagine  Bob Marley  singing it.  But at times, this one is a bit harder to embrace in regards to Jacob's future even though by all accounts it's smooth sailing these days. As a parent of a child with an autism spectrum disorder, I took a lot on faith while Jacob was growing up.  That the expensive bi-weekly speech therapy was really worth it.  That his classroom aide was truly dedicated in her job supporting him.  That eventually, he would mature into a productive, happy, and independent young man. Now that he is 18, I can see that most of the time, his behavior shows that he greatly benefited all of his interventions.  I can now see that he has the ability to successfully transition to adulthood and possibly do it well. I know that I was extremely lucky to live in t

Life certainly gets in the way at times, and, for me, it's doubly true for this blog.  I invite you to check out any of my past posts as listed to your left, but here are the top in order of views.  Enjoy & I promise I'll be back soon. Please Don't Tell Your Child to Look Me in the Eye Autism 101:  Interview with Dr. Sandra Kaler The Teenage Years are Tough Can't We all Just Get Along   Community

I'm finally back after being away for a few months.  Below is my monthly contribution to Hopeful Parents . In the absence of posting anything new to this website or my blog, I've been busy making many life changes including to getting remarried and purchasing a new home.  This is in no way a complaint - I appreciate all of it, no matter how stressful or overwhelming it may feel in the moment.  My life's journey has involved many roadblocks, and these changes are definitely all positive. One of the changes that has been majorly positive is Jacob.  He continues to do well at Culver City High School. I'm getting great feedback from all of his teachers, he has a few friends, and, through the school's Workability Program, he starts his new job at Best Buy on Monday.  Last year, he worked at Petco stocking and organizing and he did a great job so he's not worried about his new employment.  He's just hoping that he gets to stock and organize the merchandise in