From the random files of autism: Alex is building himself quite a collection of little figures that he has a deep attachment to: dolls, more or less, though some might call them figures or dollhouse people. They’re a multi-cultural collection of professional people, an Hispanic medical professional, a woman with leg braces and a clipboard. An African-American doctor (white coat), serious expression.
I hate to think what these things have cost, and as he has clearly filched them from some recreation program, I’ve tried sticking them in his bag with a note that says Sorry! Alex didn’t mean to take these! (Though …read more

So yesterday I wrote “what comes around, comes around.” Siliconmom commented about this sentence, the last one in the post:
Is that one of the stages of being an autistic parent – that at some point you realize and accept that life is what it is?
For me, I would say, yes, very much, and that, too, hope starts with acceptance.
Charlie was around 5 years old when I let go of feeling I had to save him from, and fight against, and do the warrior mom thing. I’m not saying I don’t have moments when a shadow of the old “fightin’ spirit” …read more

With legislation for insurance for “autism treatment” under consideration around the country (in Virginia, in Florida, in Illinois), a question: The “treatment” called for is principally in the form of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). What other treatments might you wish to see covered and how might they be justified as the sort of treatment and therapy that health insurance must provide for?

Okay, there’s probably a few other things, and generally we’ve been pleased with—-and Charlie seems comfortable, for the most part, to like—his current school placement. Nothing’s entirely perfect and things this week have been more frazzled than they have been, with Charlie irked by a sore in his mouth (’tis the season for such things). Plus, he seems more sensitive to sound than ever, especially to certain types of people’s voices, and especially when these are at higher pitches and loud. A low-ceilinged classroom in a really big middle school — and fluorescent lights and linoleum — probably aren’t the …read more

Effie Linares is 11 years old like my son Charlie. Effie lives in Modesto, California and is mainstreamed in a fifth-grade class; today’s Modesto Bee reports on how far Effie’s come from the time he was 3 years old and started doing intensive ABA under the Lovaas Institute. At 5, at the suggestion of the founder of the institute, psychologist Dr. Ivar Lovaas, the BBC filmed Effie for a 2002 program. There’s a photo of Effie and three friends accompanying the Modesto Bee’s story, and it’s noted that he’s not only mainstreamed, but also “plays sports at church, is learning …read more

If you’re interested in listening in on a meeting of the Strategic Plan Workgroup of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) under the Combating Autism Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-416), go to the end of this post.
For the past several months, insurance—as in having insurance companies pay for treatments for autistic children—-has been a regular topic; a number of states have passed legislation (or not passed legislation) requiring that private insurance companies provide for treatment. A July 6th LA Times entitled Who pays for autism treatment links the “explosion in the number of children diagnosed” with autism with a battle …read more