Frank Talk About Special Needs and Hygiene
By Shannon Des Roches Rosa

"Most parents fret about their kids' hygiene and how it is affected by factors like circumcision, tooth brushing, or toilet training. Said fretting escalates when the kids in question have special needs, but hygiene doesn't have to be the skunk cabbage in the special needs bouquet -- not if parents do their best to understand why our kids' hygiene can be complicated, encourage self-care, recognize that not all hygiene needs will be rooted in special needs, and help make self-care part of a routine."


When the Best Place for Children Is Not With Their Mother
By Shannon Des Roches Rosa

"I can't stop thinking about the story of Anita Tedaldi, who, after eighteen months of mothering an adopted special needs son, decided that the best place for her son was with another family. Anita's story hits me in two of my tenderest spots -- as the mother of a son with special needs, and as a birth mother who placed her first son in his adoptive parents' hands almost twenty years ago..."


What Will Early Intervention do for me?
Written by Amber Lesovoy

"More and more children are being diagnosed with Autism in the last couple of years than ever before. Whether this is because of better diagnostic tools, more observant parents, or higher incidences of Autism, one thing is certain: The sooner you can catch it, the sooner you can begin treatment."



Food for Thought, Courtesy of the Food Court
Written by Amber Lesovoy

"As a mother of a severely autistic child, I tend to look at situations in public places with a little more depth than the average person might. For example, if I see a child screaming and flailing on the grocery store floor, my mind immediately jumps to the possibility that the child might have a developmental disability of some kind, rather than thinking "wow, what a spoiled brat that child is! His mother should smack some sense into him". Parenting a special needs child and spending large amounts of time with special needs people of all ages has given me a different perspective."


Refrigerator Boxes Reign Supreme: Buying Gifts for the Autistic Child
Written by Amber Lesovoy

"In the past five years of gift shopping for my autistic son, I cannot count the number of times I've thought that it would be more logical to bypass the expensive, flashy toys in favor of the boxes and wrapping that he enjoys so much more! How many fellow autism parents have developed an eye twitch after spending hundreds of dollars on high tech toys promised to develop skills that these kids are lacking, and seeing them toss the toy across the room then grab the bubble wrap and scream with delight? Fear not, however, I have finally found some toys that can compete with their packaging."



Chelation: My Thoughts
Written by Amber Lesovoy

"I spent a couple weeks reading up on it. The pros, and the cons, the how's and why's and who's. I came to this conclusion... It's as unnecessary, unproven, and potentially harmful as I thought. But the research was enlightening."



McJenny, you do not speak for me
Written by Amber Lesovoy

"Jenny McCarthy seems to spend an awful lot of time telling the world how she is our voice, she speaks for Us. Us, as in parents of, and children with, Autism."


One of Jenny McCarthy's Warrior Moms
Written by Katie Wright
Posted on Age of Autism

"Like millions of moms and dads of autistic kids I absolutely adore Jenny McCarthy. Jenny had the courage to share her own devastating experience with autism with the world and inspire and empower parents in the process. No one in the public eye was talking about hope for our kids beyond early intervention until Jenny."


My Turn
Written by "Captain Blog"
Captain Blog and the Quirky Boys

"There is nothing quite like laying in bed a night thinking that something could be wrong with your child. I remember thinking of the events of the day and how M, my beautiful, bright, funny son handled himself, and wondering if everything was ok."



An Open Letter to any Parent who thinks their Child might have Autism
Written by "Squid" Rosa
The Adventures of Leelo and his Potty Mouthed Mom



Hosed by Denis Leary
Written by Kim Stagliano
Posted at Huffington Post

"...What's exhausting is this seemingly acceptable anger and bitterness toward parents of kids with autism, as evidenced by Michael Savage a few months ago and now by Denis Leary's rant ..."



Autism and Politics: We're on the Island of Misfit Toys
Written by Kim Stagliano
Posted at Huffington Post

"There's been a lot of talk about disabilities on the Presidential campaign trail. Sarah Palin has been presented by the McCain campaign as an expert in disabilities by virtue of the fact that she has an infant with Down Syndrome and a nephew with autism. The Obama campaign has put out statements regarding the Senator's commitment to disability issues and correlated that to having a staff member with a child with autism."



This is Autism
Written by Teresa Conrick
Posted on Kim Stagliano's Blog

"This is Autism. It's heartache. And so we fight. And will NEVER give up."


Reflection on the Sky Walker/Trudy Steuernagel murder debate
Written by Amber Lesovoy



My Son's Trail of Sparkles
Written by Gertrude Steuernagel

"I still don't enjoy picking minuscule pieces of sticky cellophane from the kitchen floor, but the pieces that get tracked through the house? I try to appreciate the sparkle they bring to aged carpet, the pattern they make on worn tiles. I see those sticky cellophane bits as a trail my son leaves for me as we navigate this strange world of autism, because we do navigate it together and always will. Sometimes I lead and sometimes Sky leads and sometimes we get it right. Like we did this time. Sky can use scissors and use them well. He mastered that skill and he will master others."



Just a Conversation
Written by Gertrude Steuernagel

"What I wouldn't give for a conversation with my son. I don't mean "the" conversation as in the birds and bees talk, but a conversation. My son has autism and he and I have never had a conversation. I keep waiting for that day. In the early days, right after his diagnosis, I was sure it would happen. Now, as Sky has celebrated his 17th birthday, I'm not so sure that will happen. So now I plan, just in case."


He Doesn't Bite (Hard)
Written by Amber Lesovoy

"The challenges of helping an autistic child function in a less than accepting world."
(Click link above for full article)



If the First Child had Autism
Written by Kim Stagliano

"A truly touching view of what the presidential inauguration might look like if the First Child
had Autism." (Click link above for full article)



The Little Things that Keep us Sane
Written by Amber Lesovoy

"When we as parents go through tough times with our children, it's the little things that keep us from duct-taping them to the ceiling fan."
(Click link above for full article)



Whose American Life?
Written by Becky Estepp of TACA



Autism and Christmas
Written by Amber Lesovoy

"Christmas trees, wrapping paper, ribbons and bows... And the unmistakable sound of my autistic son opening the gifts I painstakingly wrapped for him- A month early!"
(Click link above for full article)



I Officially Join the Mercury Militia
By Kent Heckenlively on Age of Autism

"It may seem strange that six years after I started in the bio-medical world, beginning with the gluten/casein free diet for my daughter, and encompassing just about every other known treatment, that I’d questioned whether mercury played any role in her problems." Click here for accompanying graph.
(Click link above for full article)



Autism: It's not all Sunshine and Butterflies
Written by Amber Lesovoy

"We can't be positive 100% of the time, can we?"



Reflections from the Battlefield
Written by Paige Went on Age of Autism

"There's a saying that you're only as happy as your least happy child, and my least happy child was suffering and miserable." (Click link above for full article)



A Ripple of Hope: When Courage and Conscience Collide
Allergy Kids.com

"As headlines in the paper warned me of environmental dangers, I began to pay attention.  What was in the food?  Wasn’t organics a left-leaning thing?  And what about the plastics and the baby bottles and the vaccines?  Should I worry? Doesn’t our system protect us from these dangers?"
(Click link above for full article)



The Rise of the Cookie Monster
Written by Amber Lesovoy

"A cookie monster suit, a sandbox, and a baby stuck in a McDonalds PlayPlace. What else could happen?"