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“Calm comfortable mother most important determinant of outcome”

My Dad recently sent me an Audio Digest CD to listen to with a 3 page article titled:

Autism: A developmental Pediatric Perspective
From Pediatrics Updated 2009, presented by Phoenix Children’s Hospital Ruan D. Melmed, MD Medical Director, Southwest Autism Research and Resources Centre, Phoenix, AZ and Director, Melmed centre, Scottsdale, AZ

On the third page it is talking about Educational Programs and says: More Here...
Book Reviews - "Middle School: The Stuff Nobody Tells You About – A Teenage Girl with High-Fun

I Teach Autism’s favorite independent publisher AAPC has come through again with another wonderful resource to help teach students with high functioning autism. We highly recommend this book for it’s unique perspective that will surely prove helpful as a teaching resource. Young artist Haley Moss knows that middle school can be rough. In her new book, Middle School: The Stuff Nobody Tells You About – A Teenage Girl with High-Functioning Autism Shares Her Experiences, Haley wrote an extensive “survival guide” for succeeding in middle school, a time she found particularly difficult because of her autism. The book is the latest release from Autism Asperger Publishing Company.
More Here...

Being an Autism Parent: Overcoming Self Doubt

The hardest part, I think, to being an autism parent is the doubt. Not just in general but the self doubt in particular.

We ask ourselves

It doesn’t really matter where your child is on the spectrum, we all ask ourselves the same questions.

Am I doing the right thing?
Am I strong enough?
Am I smart enough?
Could I find a way to make more money?
Could I fight harder/smarter to get the services my child needs?
Am I listening to the right people?
Will what I’m doing now, be enough?
Am I making the right choices? More Here...
How I survived a bridal shower weekend

I hate parties. Hate them. They're loud, there are a lot of people, and I'm expected to socialize, even with people I don't really know. If you ask me, that's plenty of reasons to hate parties.

But, it was my sister's bridal shower, and I had to go. It's my sister. She wanted me to be there, and I would never let her down, if I could help it. More Here...
Updating of the DSM

Among other proposed changes to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, due in 2013, Asperger's, PDD-NOS, and all the other diagnoses on the spectrum would be classified as Autism Spectrum Disorders, instead of having separate entries. I have no problem with this: it makes sense to refer to all those shades of functionality - from Aspergian genius to the most severely-affected, wordless recluse - as points on the same spectrum. More Here...

Father's Mission to Change Schools

I read a post not too long ago about a father who wired his autistic 10-year-old to find out why he was always so angry when it comes to school. The result is completely appalling.. I mean the things that his teachers were capable of saying out loud in front of him and his classmates.. More Here...
5 Easy Steps to Autism Junk Science

The latest attempt to use science to deny children with autism access to treatment came into my e-mail recently. I think this one needs to be shared.

Here’s the background.

The Ontario government has created a set of benchmarks to monitor progress and facilitate clinical decision-making for children in behavioral autism treatment programs. In the vernacular for the rest of us who are outside of government-based healthcare or social services, “benchmarks to facilitate ...decision-making”, means rationing of care. The general idea is to deny ongoing treatment for children with autism who don’t progress quickly, per a set government-approved schedule. This, of course, is to the benefit of the public purse at the expense of children with autism. More Here...

A Mom’s Story: Autism and Family Income

Guest post by Melanie Schrader, an active volunteer with the St. Louis chapter of Autism Speaks.

Being a working mom, especially a single working mom, can be difficult for anyone. Being a working mother and having a child on the autism spectrum has proven to be one of the biggest challenges of my life. This is my story. More Here...
Ignorance and Judgement

This post is dedicated to all the beautiful families out there that have been touched by #Autism more than once. While my words won’t remove the sting of another person’s snap judgement, hopefully it will at least feel good to know that you aren’t alone "

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Autism Light: Anita Lesko

Anita Lesko is from Pensacola, Florida. Anita was diagnosed with Aspergers at age 50, and lived the first five decades of her life without knowing about how Aspergers impacted her relationships and life. Autism though has not held Anita back from working to help others. She is an anesthesiologist, author, speaker, trainer, and one of a group of leaders seeking to establish a mentor program for people with Aspergers. Anita Lesko is an Autism Light for the important role she has filled in bringing awareness of autism through her writing and working to establish a program for mentors for people with Aspergers. More Here...