Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.thinkingautismguide.com www.squidalicious.com I had the good fortune to speak at at well as attend last week’s UCSF Developmental Disabilities Conference, thanks to the networking wizardry of TPGA contributor Laura Shumaker. It was an experience for which I am profoundly grateful — it exemplified The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism’s mission of […]
Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.thinkingautismguide.com www.squidalicious.com According to Tim Shriver, Chairman and CEO of the Special Olympics, FX is currently the only TV network that bans the word “retard.” Bullying of people with special needs remains entrenched, and insidious. According to AbilityPath.org, “Some reports estimate that nearly 85 percent of children with special needs experience
Rupert Isaacson www.horseboymovie.com horseboyfoundation.org Rupert Isaacson and Kristin Neff were in crisis after their son Rowan was diagnosed with autism, because for Rowan autism meant constant distress, tantrums, and social isolation. His parents sought out the best help and therapies, but little helped ease Rowan’s dysfunctional autism symptoms until the family stumbled upon Rowan’s connection
Vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit is the author of the new book Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All. We talked with Dr. Offit about realities of vaccine-preventable diseases, the importance of herd immunity, just how contagious measles really are, why you shouldn’t have chickenpox parties, why neither he nor Jenny McCarthy are
It is bizarre that claims linking vaccines to autism have persisted for more than a decade when they can be debunked by a sixty-second Google search. But, as investigative journalist Seth Mnookin explains in his new book The Panic Virus, vaccine facts can’t always compete with parent-, internet-, and media-generated vaccine beliefs. The Thinking Person’s
Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com As the 2008 holiday season sputtered out and the last relatives left our house, I exhaled, then smiled. I’d really enjoyed all the feasting and fun, from the morning moment the kids’ cousins started frolicking underfoot, until the last precious late-night conversation wound down. But there is no way in
Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com A lot of us parents like to put our hands over our ears and shout LA LA LA LA LA when asked to think about formulating a life care plan, because that means we’re envisioning the future of our children with special needs without us at their sides. But denial
TPGA is taking a wee break as all but one of our editorial staff is traveling — with our children with autism — and that is a rather time-consuming and internet-unpredictable undertaking. We’ll resume posting essays on Wednesday, August 25th. We’re very grateful for the fat pile of submissions both published on the site and
Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com www.canisitwithyou.org www.blogher.com/blog/shannon-des-roches-rosa There are so many factors that can influence or illustrate how our children with autism are wearing their own skin, including but not limited to: health, toileting, aggressive and/or self-injurious behaviors, sleep patterns, medications, language usage, diet, and school performance. We’ve used a Google spreadsheet to successfully track
Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com www.canisitwithyou.org www.blogher.com/blog/shannon-des-roches-rosa Consider the same day, the same circumstances, the same children, the same parent – but filtered through two different attitudes: Leo and I had the worst day ever. Leo and I had the best day ever! Why does Leo always wake up so early? His sisters sleep until
