By Toni Lapp
You would think that everyone affected by autism would be united in their views on the subject, but that is far from the case.
Should researchers continue to look for a link to vaccines or should they investigate genetic testing? Should taxpayer money fund employment incentives? Should health insurers be mandated to cover ABA therapy?
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By Sarah Smith Nessel
As the mother of a child on the autism spectrum, I’m becoming increasingly dismayed by the notion that children like my son are somehow deficient and need to be “cured.” I realize I’m stepping into a minefield here. A diagnosis of Autism or one of its related disorders can be a wrenching event for a family, particularly if the child is so severely affected that he or she is deemed unlikely to ever speak, laugh or connect with another person in any meaningful way.
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
Q. I read that when Temple Grandin was a young girl, her mother hired a nanny to play turn-taking games with her to improve social skills. What sort of games do you recommend? Are there any that you don’t recommend?
A. After every holiday meal, my family would gather around the dining room table with a game purposefully selected by my mother for this occasion. I remember Taboo, Scattergories, Trivial Pursuit, Outburst. No matter the age of the player, the expectations were the same: follow the rules, win with humility, lose with grace, do your best, and never, ever complain. Games make up the fabric of a childhood and, perhaps, a lifetime, and appropriate game play opens doors to respect, friendship, and fun.
» READ MOREBy Kate Duffy
A while back, Toni, the SpectrumConnection editor, asked me to write about how far parents should go to help their teens on the spectrum land a job. Since then, several of our Hot Topics parents have shared their kids’ job search stories with me, and I realized there was no easy answer to her question. For the most part, though, their stories revolved around the kids’ inability to accurately read situations, to remember instructions and to multitask to make a deadline. Looking at that list, it sounds like business as usual on the job for most of us — which is why it is so very important that our kids start learning about the world of work as soon as they can.
That’s why the short answer to Toni’s question is this: do what you need to do.
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