How a Simple Visit to My Son’s Classroom Brought about a Series of Conflicting Emotions.

by Tulika Prasad I stood in the middle of my son’s classroom , watching all his classmates confident and excited, dressed as their favorite people from history. There were scientists, Presidents, Baseball players, Civil rights activists and many more. They waited at their seats until one of the parents “activated” them for them to start their speech. I then looked at my son – sitting in the farthest corner of the room, completely oblivious of what […]

Who would we be without our sisters and brothers?

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 […]

Mom, Get Out of My Life…

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 […]

Forgetting Milestones and Learning to Measure Progress…a New Way of Thinking! #Friendships

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 […]

Music Therapy and Autism: Does it Work? Yes! Here’s Why (and How)

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 […]