Be Different: An Interview with John Elder Robison

April 15, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

John Elder Robison is as fascinating as you might imagine; bright, articulate and thoughtful. His first book Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s became one of the most popular works to introduce people to autism. He thought he would write a second book because he realized that people had such a strong desire for insight. Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian With Practical Advice for Aspergians, Misfits, Families & Teachers is filled with stories he says “show how every component of autism that you find in the DSM manual affects my life. Some of those things help me to be successful, and some of those things hold me back, so it’s a mix, all those different traits.” Your new book is Be Different, then you use the term “Free Range” in the subtitle. Are you describing a time before diagnosis? I grew up without being constrained…

Disability

An Interview with Dr. Robert Goldberg, PhD, Author of Tabloid Medicine

March 21, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

I got a chance to talk with Dr. Robert Goldberg PhD about his new book “Tabloid Medicine.” In it he breaks apart the formula for Tabloid Medicine: change the terminology to fit your agenda, create an instant expert, play the little guy against the big guy, proliferate bad information, then find a celebrity to lead the charge. Voila! Your very own epidemic-I make light, but this book doesn’t, since it’s not really a funny topic. We spoke of how he came to the topic as a parent, when his own daughter struggled with misinformation in the media, but continued, fueled by the tragedy that with so much good the internet could be doing, it was being “hijacked” by the likes of Andrew Wakefield, Jenny McCarthy, David Healy, Sidney Wolfe MD, and Barbara Loe Fisher. Passionate about the subject, and well-grounded by facts, Dr. Goldberg answered a few questions for me.…

Disability

Parenthood: Telling Your Child about Asperger’s

March 7, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

How do you tell your child he has autism? Or, how do you tell your child he has autism when perhaps you are just hearing the information for the first time too? We asked some questions on our TPGA online community page and got some great answers. We also asked whether our community would be watching NBC’s, Parenthood last week when the topic was a featured story. A young boy, Max (Max Burkholder) discovers he has Asperger’s when he hears his father Adam (Peter Krause) yelling at his Uncle Crosby. Adam shouts “Get it through your thick skull, your nephew has Asperger’s!” Looking down from the stairs, Max says, “I have Asperger’s? What is…Asperger’s?” Stunned, the adults were speechless. In the storyline, the parents, Adam and Kristina (Monica Potter) have apparently known for a while that their son has Asperger’s but decided he was too young to be told about…

Disability

Support the Autism Science Foundation

February 21, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

Dr. Paul Offit is the Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a relentless advocate for children’s health and childhood vaccination. We interviewed Dr. Offit several weeks ago here on The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism, and in a continuing effort to support him with the release of his new book, we are encouraging people to buy the book via Amazon on Monday, February 21, 2011. A frenzy of book-buying could push the title into Amazon’s Hot New Release list, raising publicity about the importance and safety of vaccines. Even if you already have a copy of the book, consider purchasing another copy and donating a book to your local public or high school, a health education teacher, or your child’s pediatrician. Hard cover: Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All ($17.11) and the Kindle edition: Deadly Choices on Kindle ($9.99) (Dr. Offit is…

Disability

What You Ought to Know: Autism

February 19, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

Great video. Clear information. Maybe the perfect video to send your family when you are trying to explain a new autism diagnosis.

Disability

When Medication Is the Right Choice

February 2, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

Jennifer Byde Myers www.jennyalice.com Jack is asleep in my bed right now. He wandered in while I was folding clothes; I pulled back the covers and asked if he wanted to snuggle. He’s non-verbal, but he made a happy sound I know to be yes, and from across the room he leapt in, buried his head under the pillows, and fell back asleep as I returned to my unmatched socks. It’s hard to believe that he’s the same boy who as a three-year-old didn’t sleep for 52 days. Fifty-Two days where he didn’t rest longer than twenty-thirty minutes in a row and no more than one to two hours in a 24-hour period. Back then he would scream and thrash the entire time between passing out. It’s an example — the worst one — of what we call “episodes,” what appeared to be pain from unknown source, and it happened…

Disability

Profound Lessons from Asperger’s Syndrome

January 21, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

Sam Keller www.scrappysam.com It was the night of the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at our church. As the pastor’s wife, I am generally required to attend these sorts of things with the unspoken expectation to always smile, be nice, and glow with the joy of the Lord, even if I have to, dare I say … fake it. I was running late that evening, overwrought with juggling three kids, sports practice, and a cranky baby. My plastered-on smile thinly hid tears of frustration leaking out my nose. As I stood and perused the room full of familiar faces, the tension in my spirit only clogged my throat more. I felt like an intruder interrupting a play in the second act. The crowd was engaged in conversation and gaiety and I felt like I was barging in with a bag full of awkward. I stood on the outside, trying to find the…

Disability

Carol Greenburg Joins as TPGA Editor

January 11, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

We are so pleased to announce an addition to the editorial team at The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism; Carol A. Greenburg will join our efforts here as an additional resource and editor. We are honored to have her rich experience and important perspective as part of our team. We’re thrilled she was able to add TPGA to her very active life, and our community is lucky to have such a great advocate. Please join us in welcoming Carol. **** Carol Greenburg, executive director of Brooklyn Special Needs Consulting, is a special education consultant and lay advocate in private practice serving the five boroughs of NYC and beyond. Her unique perspective as an adult with Aspergers Syndrome and as the mother of a severely language-delayed autistic child, informs all of her work. In September, she was appointed the East Coast Regional Director of Autism Women’s Network (www.autismwomensnetwork.com) A frequent speaker at…

Disability

Buying Hope

October 13, 2010January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

Jennifer Byde Myers www.jennyalice.com Lotions, potions. A special chair for eating, a special chair for learning at home. Shoe inserts, leg braces, seat cushions with no grip, a lot of grip, seat cushions with little bumps, seat cushions with little bumps and gel inside, and a backrest. Fancy forks with bendable handles, child-sized forks, spoons with holes in the bowl, bowls with grips on the bottom, bowls with the side cut out, and special chopsticks, and sippy cup after sippy cup with any number of parts and combinations to mess up. Small piano keyboards, and larger piano keyboards, and a keyboard you can walk on, just like in the movie Big. A touch screen monitor, an adapted computer, an adapted tricycle, an expensive German tricycle. Jackets that zip with a nice big tab, pants with an elastic waist that are easy to take off, overalls which are difficult to take…