Lydia Wayman www.autisticspeaks.wordpress.com If I knew what to say, I’d tell you a million little things that I’ve acquired in my brain over the weeks and months — and lifetime. If I could, I’d tell you that I’m so over age appropriateness. You say Disney and American Girl isn’t age-appropriate for me? Well, excuse my language, but I say you can shove it. I would, if I could, ask you what is the point of encouraging age appropriate interests? Is it to make friends? I have many, even more than I can keep track of sometimes. Is it so that people will like me? Hate to break it to you, but people already do like me (not everyone, but, well, obviously, right?). Is it so that I can be normal? And to what end, I would ask? If I’m comfortable with it, you should be comfortable with it, and that’s…
Author: Jen Myers
AIML Learning & Development @ Apple | Writer | Speaker | Autism Advocate.
Jennifer Byde Myers www.jennyalice.com My son Jack is a long, lean, boy with an odd gait and a subtle smile. His first diagnosis was benign congenital hypotonia, which was later upped to cerebral palsy, ataxia. He added his autism diagnosis just after he turned three, about the same time he began to walk. He can spin a plate over and over again, but he can not yet stab a piece of food with a fork. He straddles the worlds of ‘autism’ and ‘special needs’; stimming, using a wheelchair as necessary when his muscles are too weak, or when the environment is too bustling. He’s a young man of few words, unless he does say something, at which point he is always relevant, and often wry. I’m his mom, so I can generally guess what he needs, but communication is a struggle; it can be hard for him to clearly share what…
The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism has been humming along for over a year now, and we’ve shared more than 200 great interviews, stories and how-to’s here. We’ve watched the TPGA Facebook page grow with active, vibrant discussions, and we love seeing many different perspectives pop-up in those comments. It’s encouraging, knowing these pages have provided a positive, supportive and safe environment for discussion and questions. We are seeing a community come to life here, and it’s exciting. Editing is under way on the book, The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism, with a plan to publish later this fall. In an effort to get the best resources into the print version, we are putting out one last call to our readers and contributors: Share the wealth of knowledge you have collected. If you have an online resource, book, service, government agency or other great person, place, or thing that we…
I met with Eric Peacock, the GM of MyAutismTeam and Insider Pages. He believes strongly in community, and empowering patients, and proudly retweets many of the posts from TPGA. This is not a promotion, or an advertisement for MyAutismTeam, although Eric did buy me breakfast (thank you Eric). MyAutismTeam is a resource with headquarters based in San Francisco, near three of the TPGA editors, so being an active part of this new resource has been a natural extension of our general interest in community education. TPGA will not make any money from posting this information. It is our sincere desire to highlight companies, both non- and for-profit, which we feel can help our community, and welcome suggestions for other companies and agencies to showcase. If you choose to use MyAutismTeam, and we hope you do, please provide feedback on the site as you use it so it can become an even…
Jennifer Byde Myers www.jennyalice.com My son was almost three when we realized how much he needed a label. Without an official diagnosis, it would be nearly impossible for him to get services he needed from the county or state. A label is required so bureaucrats can check the correct boxes, which allows everyone to take money out of the right vat with the right dipper. It’s a huge pain, by the way, more difficult than finding childcare or signing your kid up for summer camp. Getting someone, anyone, to write down, definitively, what is “wrong” with your child is a serious lesson in patience, persistence and the power of language. No one wants to be the first person to label your child. We begged to get “cerebral palsy, ataxia” to describe Jake’s odd way of hipping, and hopping, and stumbling around. No one worried about anything behavioral at that point,…
L. Mae Wilkinson www.autismisnottheboss.com Could this be the year you take your child overseas for a family vacation? Yes! …and you can have a fabulous time. Travel is enriching, educational and fun. It offers a break from therapy, homework, housework, deadlines and bedtime battles. Travel is pure, quality, family time with no distractions. And in our case, our son always rises to the occasion by being on his best behavior. Here are some tips for those brave enough to travel internationally with an autistic child. Practice. International flights are not for novices. A child (and his/her parents) will find it comforting to have had at least a few domestic flights under the belt before heading off on a long-haul trip. Using a combination of credit card points, frequent flier miles and fare sales, we’ve been traveling since our son was three years old. Starting out, we used pictures to preview and practice…
Jennifer Byde Myers www.jennyalice.com In our family, we make medical decisions using science, facts, and data, and we believe in keeping our children healthy, so we vaccinate. I have never thought that vaccines caused my son to be autistic. Except for that one time. Lucy was a perfect baby; not that she never cried, or blew out a diaper, but she held her perfect little round head up, and rolled over on time, and she just looked. so. perfect. When she was four months old I took her for her routine vaccinations. She was in the 90th percentile for height, the 75th for weight…right on track, and the nurse gave her 3 shots: HIB, Pneumococcal Prevnar 7, and inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) She got little round bandages stuck to her little chubby leg. She scrunched up her face to cry and I nursed her a bit, and tucked her back…
Kerry Magro KerryMagro.com Kerry was recently featured in a story that ran in the Orlando Sentinel and the L.A. Times which shared his transition to college life and the skills he gained there as he became a self-advocate. He has since graduated from Seton Hall. -The Editors Hello, my name is Kerry Magro and I have autism. I just recently learned about The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism from a truly outstanding individual, Laura Shumaker, who is a remarkable advocate for those of us who are on the spectrum. Once I looked at the website, and read some of the essays, I knew I was hooked. Regardless of what I took from the essays, I wanted to help in any way I possibly could. This gave me the idea of posting one of my own personal works about coming out about being on the spectrum. Below you will find…
Autism Science Foundation is featured on Philanthroper.com today giving us a simple way to donate. The Autism Science Foundation provides funding to scientists and organizations conducting, facilitating and promoting autism research, and has our shared desire to seek evidence-based therapies. ASF was the initial support behind the grant that allowed TPGA editor Shannon Rosa to go to IMFAR, and helps fill in the gaps that federal cuts have left in research budgets; sometimes it only takes a seed grant to get a driven researcher on their way. Today you have the opportunity to make a quick, small donation to a great organization, and Philanthroper makes it easy to do. Philanthroper has been described as the “Groupon” of the nonprofit world raising funds $1 at a time for a selected nonprofit and today that’s Autism Science Foundation: https://philanthroper.com/deals/autism-science-foundation#/ Philanthroper is about group giving. If everyone gives a little bit it…
Earlier this year we interviewed John Elder Robison, but today TPGA editor Carol Greenburg gives her unique perspective as she reviews Mr. Robison’s new book, Be Different. -The Editors Anyone who has ever tapped on the window of, but cannot open the door to the world of normalcy (wherever that is) owes it to themselves to buy Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian with Practical Advice for Aspergians, Misfits, Families & Teachersby the luminously wise John Elder Robison, author of Look Me in the Eye, a 2007 memoir that well earned its place on the New York Times bestseller list. I’m on the autism spectrum, myself. Like Mr. Robison I was diagnosed in my forties, which means I was born long before Aspergers was generally recognized as a diagnosis, too early for effective intervention. For me Be Different, the follow-up to Mr Robison’s ground-breaking memoir Look Me in the…