Someone once said, about her developmentally disabled son, “His wheelchair is on the inside.”
Looking at this picture, I think it’s hard to tell which boy has issues. The one on the left somehow doesn’t look quite with it, at least to me. The one on the right is smiling broadly, his arm placed (protectively? affectionately?) on his brother’s arm.
I think people don’t always know something is different about Alex. In a good photo, like this one, he looks entirely typical. It’s a frozen moment, and I think he was happy to be with his brother and his parents on vacation …read more

When I first came across the notion of perseveration, I thought it was questionable. I mean, so  someone stays locked on a subject or activity. What’s wrong with that? Shows they’re able to focus.
Yesterday Alex spent the entire day asking, Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin? Penguin?
You get the idea. Thank god for ctrl + copy so I didn’t have to type the word “penguin” as often as he said it.
Alex has a collection of toy jungle animals and some sea birds. Perhaps because we went …read more

Today’s responses from the forums are to the question: “What trait of your autistic child would you most like to see more in yourself or in others?”
“His genuine smile,” said one respondent. “His innocence,” said another. “Laugh, just because it feels good,” replied a third. “Spend the whole day playing, with no other cares in the world.  View people as strangers only as long as it takes to greet them with a hug, then they are instantly my friends.  Take everyone at face value, no assumption/concept of hidden agendas or ulterior motives. Courage to take people by the hand and …read more

Last Saturday night, May 25th, a 10 year old autistic boy wandered from his home in Graham, NC, and was struck by a train. WCNC news reports that police were looking for him when he was struck.
I think of the street I pass occasionally with the sign proclaiming “Autistic Child” and I wonder, is there any thing we can do to keep a child truly safe?