The night before Joe took the kids on their holiday, Richard and Nic watched Shaun of the Dead, a British zombie movie that is more comedy than scary. Emma insisted she be allowed to watch too, and while Richard was worried it was too gruesome and that even though it’s a comedy she might be frightened... Read more →
Research & Books on Autism
My mother sent me a fascinating article in Discover Magazine by Carl Zimmer, entitled The Brain. A neuroscientist who specializes in autism, Eric Courchesne, has detected a pattern in the MRI scans of individuals with autism. He found that within the first year of life the brains of children with... Read more →
Richard, Oxytocin, Literacy & Love – Not Necessarily in That Order
Today is Richard’s birthday. No, really, it is. That his birthday happens to fall on Valentine’s Day is, in Richard’s estimation, a boon. The way he sees it, he gets to give to others on his birthday, and that makes him very, very happy. Because that’s the kind of guy... Read more →
Autism: Emma Goes To A Birthday Party
Emma does not get invited to many birthday parties. In fact I can count on one hand the number of times she’s been invited to a birthday party in the last year. Okay, make that one finger. Don’t misunderstand me, there is no resentment here. The children with whom Emma goes to school... Read more →
Autism: In A Doll’s House With Emma
When Emma was a year old, in a moment of impatience we bought her a baby doll for Christmas. Despite the fact she showed no interest in dolls of any kind, despite the fact she showed little interest in any of the toys we tried to entice her with. Emma was much more of a doer than a child who sat... Read more →
Autism: Oxytocin And Other Remedies
Here we go. We began giving Emma a very small dose of Oxytocin (click here for an NPR article on oxytocin, not to be confused with oxycontin) Sunday morning. We know the drill. Find new “thing” (this can be a doctor, specialist, diet, hormone, supplement, type of therapy or something... Read more →
Autism: Supplements and Doctors
We are currently giving Emma eight different supplements recommended by the naturopathic physician I have been taking her to. I am not a big pill taker, in fact I must be in extreme pain before I’ll think to take an aspirin and even then, Richard usually has to remind me. ”Honey, why... Read more →
Autism: Pooh Bear and Emma
Often before bed Emma asks if she can watch one of two movies – Mary Poppins or Winnie the Pooh. She has been watching these same two movies for the past five years and in the case of Winnie the Pooh, going on eight years. Typically we tell her she can watch whichever movie she’s chosen... Read more →
Autism: Em’s New Shoes
A few weeks ago Emma’s teacher emailed me asking if we had a pair of sneakers we could send to school with Emma so she could participate in their gym class. First of all, Emma doesn’t like wearing shoes, or socks, for that matter. But when she must (which is most of the time) she wears... Read more →
Comment on Autism: Statistics By Kay
My autistic daughter is now 19, diagnosed at 3. Statistics then were 1:100,000. How on earth can it be a genetic pandemic? If you take all the people diagnosed with Aspberger’s and complex diagnoses that include autism, coupled with doctor’s getting more experienced at recognising then I’m... Read more →