Jake, back from undergrad academia, was with us for our weekend with the big guy. Ben loves Jake, even though he hardly ever sees him. The twins have lived apart since they were twelve, with Ben in Wisconsin for five
Lability
Back Seat Reading Spot
Ben’s twin brother Jake being with us for a weekend is why we have this 10-second clip of an activity Ben requests a lot on every visit, and Karen is always happy to comply. And since I’m always behind the
Collecting Not Watching
Ben loves his Busy World of Richard Scarry video, which is where some of his favorite little mantras come from — like “Juggling!” (a.k.a. what he sometimes says while hurling a book into the air, emulating a character exclaiming “Juggling”
Alfresco Ben!
Ben’s staff are trying to widen his flexibility regarding where he likes to “take his meals,” and a gorgeous day like this I’d have to think would appeal to the big guy, though if there’s food in front of him,
Benjamin Pavarotti
One of our nicknames for Ben is Pavarotti. Here is a minute and twenty nine seconds of why. We don’t know exactly where some of these are from, like the “Weeee, Ah Weeeee, Ah Weeeeeeee-T!” We do know “Arrr-Purr” is
Clean Hands
When Ben hits the bathroom, he makes sure to wash his hands – as many times as there are sinks (unless there’s a dozen or something like that – then he just bothers with one). His technique is a little
Autism, Choice and the Book & Film, “Life, Animated”
Frankly, I was surprised to be asked to introduce the Academy Award-nominated film, Life, Animated, for an autism benefit recently. I have a history with Ron Suskind’s book and, by extension, the film, and it’s a little bit, as they
Ass-Backwards: For Shame, ACLU
Truly mind boggling. I am a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union, a fan even, and dumbfounded by how they have managed to fit their heads SO far up their ass. This is the opposite of “civil liberties.”
Need Another Reason to Quit Smoking? How About Autism?
A month or so ago, in an unrelated e-mail exchange, autism philanthropist, ex-lawyer, mother to nonverbal autism, and major supporter of research Jill Escher asked me a question. “I’m just curious, did your mom smoke, or did your mother in
Trojan Horse Veggies — Ben’s Burger
From Anola: “So we have been trying to figure out a way to get our guys to eat more veggies so we came up with the idea to blend the veggies in a blender and put them into burgers. Today