The Stories We Shared

On March 24, the editors issued this invitation: TPGA would like to share an autism perspective: yours. As members of the autism community, we know that awareness is only a first step. Increased awareness brings opportunities to share our experiences and strive for what people with autism deserve: understanding, and acceptance. …Please send us a short essay on one thing you want readers to know about autism — as it relates to you. Share what you’ve experienced or witnessed. Tell readers about a formative experience; something joyful, or a brief moment of despair. Share your hopes, dreams, past, or future. Anecdotes laced with humor — however dark though not mean-spirited — are especially appreciated. We published 22 stories, vignettes, and interviews. Six personal stories from people with autism Corina Lynn Becker, Why I Am Wearing Black For this young adult with autism, April “is month of reflection, of remembrance. It…

Parenthood: Telling Your Child about Asperger’s

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…