Juggling Autism: The Chronicles of Ben Royko

For the weekends in between visits, Karen always sends a little package for Ben to open on Saturday that often has a book or toy or something he likes, but ALWAYS has some sort of tasty treats that he loves

Not directly Ben-related but… We have a few routines built into the end of our Ben visits on Sundays, the almost-final part (before the trip to Luna Bakery for cookies) being a drive out to the Hiram College area in

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

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

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”

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,

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

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

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

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.”