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Shifting Focus: Eight Facts About Autism the Media Is Not Covering

Holly Robinson Peete www.hollyrod.org Over the years many parents have reached out to me for emotional support after their child was diagnosed with autism. I particularly remember getting Jenny McCarthy’s phone call shortly after her son’s diagnosis. Like most moms and dads, she needed to connect with somebody who knew first hand the swift gut-kick of this difficult diagnosis, somebody who had been in the trenches for seven years already.  We cried. We cussed. We even managed to laugh. We spoke for eight hours. She was naturally frustrated with the lack of answers about autism. I was there for her as I’d be for any parent, and I told her she was blessed to get such an early diagnosis. Her passion was palpable and I could tell she was going to grab autism by the horns, making it her mission and focus. I knew she’d help spread autism awareness like…

Autism, An Equal Opportunity Disorder

Frances Vega-Costas www.viviendoenotradimension.com dimensionautismo.blogspot.com Autism is a very complicated disorder and not only affects each individual differently, it strikes anywhere in the world. Never in my life would I imagine that I would be a special education advocate nor that would I use the “A” word almost on a daily basis. Almost ten years ago the “A” word moved into my house and it has been a very interesting relationship with its ups and downs but as any regular couple we learned to live with each other in peace, accepting each other as we are. My son was diagnosed almost at four with PDD-NOS, which by that time I did have an understanding of, and to be honest for me is a fancy label for “we don’t know in what part of the ASD Spectrum your son is”. Since he was 18 months we began to see that something was…

What I Want People to Know

Corina Lynn Becker nostereotypeshere.blogspot.com In my time browsing the online community, I often get asked about my story, what it’s like to be a late-diagnosed autistic and what I want people to know. This is rather odd, because I’m not in the habit of showing off my scars, but there are some things that I think that I can talk about. I want to be very honest with you. I am an adult living on social assistance, in a shared accommodation run by a non-profit housing organization. Despite being highly educated, I find it difficult to find and maintain a job on my own, and I’m not even sure that I ever will. I struggle to survive with few to no supports, mostly my family and the little that some organizations have been able to provide. It is, at times, very and extremely hard. There is a lot to remember,…

What Now? Ten Tips for Families with a New Autism Diagnosis

Squillo http://confutata.wordpress.com I’m sure the person who said hindsight is 20/20 didn’t have a child with autism. (Actually, I’m sure he or she didn’t have a child of any kind.) You’re never finished being a parent: as the Jason Robards character said in the movie Parenthood, “you never get to spike the ball and do your touchdown dance.” I have no idea if some of the things I’ve done will end up having helped or hindered my attempts to attain that Holy Grail of Parenthood: happy, healthy children. Of course, this has nothing to do with autism, and everything to do with just being a parent, but there are challenges (and joys!) specific to parenting a child with autism, hence the birth of this group and this website. Shannon, one of The Thinking Guide to Autism’s founders, asked me to put together a list of things I wish I’d known…