“Quiet hands, Andrew.” “Andrew, quiet hands.” I can’t count how many times those words passed through my lips the first few years after Andrew’s autism diagnosis. The people with the official paperwork attached to official clipboards told me it was the right thing to do. It will help him fit in. Flapping is an inappropriate…
Everyday, as you send your special needs child off into the big wide world, consider this: “Contrary to popular opinion, and contrary to the thesis of some anti-bullying programs, bullying is not about anger or conflict. It’s about contempt – a powerful feeling of dislike towards someone considered to be worthless, inferior or undeserving of…
I’ve taken him every single day since the new school year began on August 23rd. It was a deal I made with him, to ease the transition from being at home for the summer to going back into the classroom for six hours each day. Between working on his IEP goals, attending speech, occupational, and…
I ask him if I can sit next to him and he says yes, so we sit side- by- side together he and I His fingers touch the keys with conviction while mine graze them timidly as if I’m meeting an old friend who seems less familiar than I had hoped and it’s all…
He walked in in the middle of Ian’s haircut, his young daughter clinging to his legs, her eyes locked on the floor of the salon. “Does she need a haircut?” asked one of the stylists, and I cringed a little at the thought of a pair of scissors anywhere near the little girl’s gorgeous, shiny,…
If you’re in the autism community and active in social media, surely you’ve heard the recent hoopla surrounding 50 Cent and the comment he made via his twitter feed the other day when responding to a follower: “i just saw your picture fool you look autistic” I myself read about the famous rapper’s lack of…
I had just organized my emails by recipient while looking for something I had recently sent to my editor, when an old email to an online AA support group I had once been a member of caught my eye. The subject line is “Relapse:” well I have only posted here once i think, and i’ve…