For the second time, John Elder Robison has given me new insight into my severely autistic son, Ben, and I’m not sure I like it. The first time was nine years ago, through his first book, Look Me In The
I remember my dad advising me about doctor’s visits, especially to be as specific and thorough as possible when describing symptoms — good, solid and maybe obvious advice. Like so many things with severe autism, “obvious” is a luxury unbestowed.
As the Illinois political freak show drags on — the State is now closer to NEXT year’s budget deadline than the one they already missed in July — the painful writhing of those most in need continues. In a nutshell
Sometimes Ben will accompany us – or more accurately, we’ll try to keep up as he lopes through the store – into Whole Foods for “a treat.” But more often, we’ll drop Karen off and go get gas for the
Ben completely focused on the music in his favorite “listening room,” the back seat of our car, especially while we (by request) “drive fast.” At that moment yesterday, also by request, it was Nickel Creek on the stereo.
Ben’s “chore” as we’re packing up and getting ready to take him back to his house at visit’s end, is to take the recycling to the chute. Not that he needs inspiration to sing, but yesterday this seemed to spur
The headline is, The Frighteningly Few Housing Options for Adults with Autism. Stories with similar headlines are becoming an almost daily occurrence. At least the crisis is being publicized even if we are currently light-years from solutions. “Autism Awareness” now
Recently, we found that Ben has a new activity, or at least one we hadn’t seen him doing before, involving sorting large wooden beads of various sizes, shapes and colors using dowel rods. What cracked us up was how he
Psychology Today blogger Amy Lutz told John Elder Robison her son’s “…cognitive impairments are too severe” for him to choose where he lives. Robison responded: “I had a hard time believing that. My dogs can pick which place they want
I have kept this post “alive” even though it is redundant since it was originally a Facebook post that I fleshed out to the full blog piece above (January 24). But I didn’t want to eliminate the comments attached to