autism & aspergers

What's a mother to do? The great vaccine debate

Please green the vaccines. I’m asking as an undecided, expecting mother who already has a child with autism.
Statistics show that I’m 10 times more likely to have another child on the spectrum. Only it’s not that simple. It’s thought environmental factors could trigger autism in an already genetically predisposed baby. My baby.
This leads me to [...]

autism & aspergers

Savage remarks shouldn’t be ignored: Take a stand for autistic children

There’s an epidemic in America. Today’s parents are labeling their brats as autistic and everyone’s buying it.
Instead of moms telling their kids to ‘cut the act out’ or dads telling their sons to ‘stop acting like a putz,’ these kids are getting diagnoses and extra support. Their sucking down the resources others could be using.
Guess [...]

autism & aspergers

Free legal help for special-needs families in California

Struggling to obtain services or an appropriate educational placement for your special needs child? If so, you can now obtain legal help free of cost.The Protection & Advocacy (PAI) office of Sacramento has opened a new location in Fresno. It serves the seven-county area – Tulare, Kings, Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, and Tuolumne.
PAI helps inform [...]

autism & aspergers

What’s normal? The socially acceptable prejudice against autistic people today

Drug them or keep them hidden was the response of blogger Gayla McCord to the recent news of an autistic boy and his mom being booted off a plane.
In her blog titled Sometimes ‘Special Needs’ Just Need To Stay Home she states:
I think the United States has latched on to the whole if it’s out [...]

autism & aspergers

Autism Reads: From ‘Autism is Hell’ to political correctness

What’s in a word?
Are you autistic or do you have autism?
Dave, author of 4 Daves and a Zoo, writes:
People with Autism? Or Autistic People? Which is the proper way to refer to people with an autism spectrum diagnosis?
Earlier this week I was asked how I referred to my son. Generally, when speaking, I say he [...]

autism & aspergers

Autism Reads: From dads to dads, Happy Father's Day!

Dads like you
Happy Father’s Day dads! Blogs everywhere are posting their cheers to great dads.
The editors at the Age of Autism write:
Happy Father’s Day to the Dads who’ve stuck by their kids and their wives. … To the men who hold onto their child during a meltdown – while Mom grabs the activated charcoal. To [...]

autism & aspergers

Autism Reads: From 'Don't speak for me' to autism twitterings

Coming of age
What happens when children with autism turn 18?
Sara, author of Living with Asperger’s, writes:
Is he magically cured, or… does he die? You see, autistic adults exist, and there will “be” more of us in a very short time due to the increase in diagnoses made, which again is due to a better understanding [...]

autism & aspergers

Autism Reads: From mainstream to moving out

Education for Aspies and Auties
Sheila Schoonmaker, author of the Sheila Schoonmaker blog, writes about mainstreaming autistic students versus better education environments.
“Special needs classrooms are still in the mainstream environment. Those classrooms will not only never be built differently enough, they can never become customized for each Aspie student’s needs.”
She writes that there are Aspies who [...]