“Surprised By Autism” Debuts for Autism Month

Today is World Autism Awareness Day and April is autism awareness month. I’m excited about the elevated attention given to this cause at this time, and here are a few links I’d like to share with you, including our own documentary that my husband produced:
Jenny McCarthy’s third book was just released called Healing and Preventing [...]

Our “Surprised by Autism” show coming soon

I’m so proud of my husband. He’s a tv producer on a local cable channel, and he debuts a whole 30-minute show about autism next month. It focuses on our personal journey so far with our Josiah, and on getting out information to those early in their journey about what options are out there to [...]

Angels Who Punch a Time Clock

LOOKING FOR HELP
A little over a year ago we found an oasis in the middle of what felt like a big, scary directionless desert. We had just come to understand that our little two year old had autism, and we had started some speech and occupational therapy for a few hours a week, but we knew Josiah [...]

The One-Year Anniversary

It’s amazing the power of a word. One year ago today (August 25) the word “autism” was breathed for the first time in our home. It hung in the air like a dense fog that took my breath away. I will never forget the scene… we had just put Josiah to bed and we returned [...]

Our Video: A World of Hope for Autism

Understanding. Solidarity. Empathy. Hope. Awareness. This past year, I have Googled my heart out to get a grasp on this world of autism, and it’s other parents that we don’t even know that have really been there for us through their videos and sites. I think so many shell-shocked moms and dads are just desperate [...]

We Wear the Mask

We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)
    WE wear the mask that grins and lies,
    It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
    This debt we pay to human guile;
    With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
    And mouth with myriad subtleties.
    Why should the world be over-wise,
  [...]

That Had to Be a ‘God Thing’

It’s really late tonight, and I’m so exhausted that I can’t sleep. Does that ever happen to you? Your head hits the pillow and while your body so badly wants to go into dreamland, your mind can’t stop racing with thoughts? I find that it’s better for me to just get up and do something [...]

Autism Yesterday

“Autism is reversible.” I remember in the early days of Josiah’s diagnosis coming across this statement on a Google internet search. It was such a different declaration than what so many books and websites said. I kept seeing things like, “Autism is a pervasive, life-long disorder with no known cure and no known cause.” What [...]

One (in 150) is the Loneliest Number

Can I be real with you?
It’s been about seven months from the time that we were first alerted to the fact that something might be wrong with our little Josiah. I’ve been kind overcome lately about how lonely and painfully long this journey of autism can be. At first, you work so hard to get [...]

Autism? That’s Rainman, Right?

When my son was diagnosed with autism back in December, I was talking with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. I told her that we’d been having a tough time because our son has autism. She blurted out, “Now what’s that again–that’s Rainman right?” With everything in me I wanted to defend my [...]