It can be easy – too easy—to assume that people on the spectrum prefer not to engage that much, if at all, with others. This is a very false assumption. Children and adults with autism want to connect and engage with others. They desire social relationships just as much as…
Middle school. A gigantic new environment – outside the boundaries of our school pyramid - so that he will get the support he needs to learn. Alarm sounding at 6am, getting dressed and out of the house to sit on a bus for 50 minutes. “Mr. Bonkin (bus driver) lets…
Sometimes, I get a little panicky, wondering if I am doing all I can to help each of my kids. My third child has special needs which makes his current path blurry in my mind. Will he ever read on grade level? Will he be able to sustain current friendships…
It’s 3:00 pm on a weekend afternoon in Autumn. I drove my three boys to a skateboard park we’ve been to before. As we approach the skateboarding ramps, we notice a 16-year-old boy who happens to be our neighbor. “Carlos!!” Brady shouts out. Carlos looks up, nods but keeps his…
Brady with a kind stranger dressed as Mario. Brady was so happy to meet Mario. "Can I go to your castle home?" “We have got to work on keeping these children engaged with the world.”– Temple Grandin on the importance of connecting autistic children with others and the world around themSurreptitiously,…
“Mom, did you know that other people matter even if we don’t like them?” It’s a Friday evening and he’s carefully slicing his favorite cheddar cheese while seated at the kitchen counter. It’s hard to watch him cut, with a mildly serrated knife, but he’s nearly ten and I suppose…
“Here, my new friends gave me their phone numbers. Invite them to the climbing place for my birthday. Okay?” He gives me three crinkled up small strips of paper, all warm from being balled up in his hand. I unwrap each one as we walk home and read the kid-written…
On the second day of school, as he sits at the counter eating his breakfast, Brady asks me:“Mom, am I weird?”I know that's a word usually said with negative intent, especially when kids are using it to label children who seem so different. Like my Brady.I take a deep breath…
He runs to me after only 15 minutes since arriving to a place that, in terms of sensory needs, should be a utopia for a child who loves to jump and climb. But Brady is now by my side, looking up at me. His face is distressed, and his eyes…
