by Lynne Pearson When Leila was four years old she must have decided that one younger brother simply was not enough and so she confidently asked me to provide her with a set of twin siblings, a boy and a girl. I smiled at my young daughter in the knowledge that Nick and I were hoping to have a third child and said, “I’ll see what I can do.”. A few short weeks later I […]
by Colleen Berlingieri I was in a bookstore the other day when I saw the title of a book that almost made me snort latte out of my nose. It was called Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl To The Mall? by Dr. Anthony E. Wolf PhD. This title is a perfect description of my current reality with my son. Skills vs. Swagger Geordi has a developmental disability. He […]
By Mary Ellen Bogucki I believe friendship can be a difficult concept to maneuver for anyone, but in the special needs and Autism community there are times it may seem impossible. From the moment my daughter, Bree, was born, she had an instant friend in that of her sister, Kailey. Kailey was 2 ½ years older than Bree and was already a “little mother” in the body of a toddler. Kailey loved dolls, she loved […]
by Patty Shukla In my more than 20 years as a children’s educational music professional, I have found that one question gets asked over and over again. “Miss Patty, do autistic children love music as much as your other students do?” Yes. The fact is that nearly all children have an inherent love of learning about and making music. From singing to dancing to playing musical instruments, kids of every description and from every walk of […]
by Colleen Berlingieri I first met Rachael at a bowling alley. She is a support worker for people with disabilities and she was there with a client. At the time, I was looking for someone to work with my son and Rachael was highly recommended. Acquaintances told me that she was a safe driver, filled out paperwork on time and was very engaged with her clients. She sounded perfect, so I walked over to meet her. I waited […]
