Tag Archives: asperger’s syndrome

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A Poem For Parents With Special Needs Children by Mari Nosal

A Poem For Parents With Special Needs Children by Mari Nosal

I was referred to this Poem By Mari Nosal, an amazing advocate for autism and an author as well.

It comes from–>link

This Poem Is For My Son Who Has Aspergers – I could not be prouder of the young man he has become – even if I tried. :-0)

My Flesh and Blood

God sent you here to teach me

Some things I did not know

Through different eyes I now see

Individual paths that we all go

You’re not what I had dreamed of

The young man I thought you’d be

But you no question I love

God chose you just for me

The struggles they are worth it

We climb mountains every day

Together a fire we have lit

We’re a team in every way

On the mountain we slip and slide

Sometimes I get morose

Although it is a rocky ride

A life I never chose

I couldn’t imagine my life

With out you by my side

We do experience much strife

It floats in and out like the tide

In the end it’s worth the work

A special young man you are

Special awe of you does lurk

You have come so far

I know that you will continue to grow

I never have a doubt

Whatever paths you eventually go

May be a different route

I’ll love you for whoever you’ll be

Though different from my view

For you a great life I foresee

It will be up to you

As you go through life and become a man

And challenges confront your life

Please always remember the words I CAN

They’ll help with your strife

Remember that I love you

I always will be there

If you ever feel blue

Remember that I care

The struggles they’ll continue

Of this I’m very sure

I know I cannot change you

I know there is no cure

God sent you here to teach me

Some things I need to learn

Through your eyes I see differently

The world that I discern

All though it pains me greatly

To see you struggle as you learn

The world you venture into

Must be achieved in your own way

I can not do it for you

Your own path you’ll have to lay

You’ll fall and falter make mistakes

In God you’ll have to trust

For you my heart does sometimes ache

But let you go I must

I’ll always be behind you to help you when you fall

But you must venture out now

Your talents you must use all

You will make it on your own

I’ll be your cheering crew

Through your life much strength you’ve shown

Remember I believe in you

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Temple Grandin cautions not to give up on autistic kids according to our friends at The Autism News!!

Temple Grandin cautions not to give up on autistic kids according to our friends at The Autism News!!

CHICO — When a young child is diagnosed as autistic, parents must move into high gear, Temple Grandin said in Chico Wednesday.

“The worst thing you can do is nothing,” she said.

Grandin, who is autistic herself, is famous as an animal-behavior expert and as an advocate for people with autism.

An author and professor of animal science at Colorado State University, Grandin spoke twice, to large audiences, in Chico State University’s Bell Memorial Union Auditorium Wednesday morning. She also was to be the keynote speaker at the Butte County Farm Bureau’s annual banquet Wednesday evening.

In her talk on autism, Grandin said young autistic children who are non-verbal should have a teacher working with them intensely from an early age.

They need “at least 20 hours weekly of one-to-one teaching,” she said. “Get them engaged. Build on their strengths.”

Autism is “a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Grandin said autistic people have major abnormalities “in the circuits that connect different parts of the brain.”

She talked about some of the ways autistic people experience the world differently from how most people do.

In part, autism is “a sensory processing disorder,” she said. “Kids block their ears because certain sounds hurt.”

For more information and autism related news go to–> link

Temple Grandin will be in Las Vegas on the 9th of March for a speaking event sponsored by Future Horizons Publishing.

I wish Temple would help our autistic run autism tech blog and nonprofit get exposure to help us make a change for people with autism!!

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Super Bowl Sunday 2012, and an article from Autisable

Super Bowl Sunday 2012, and an article from Autisable

Though I would have liked a west coast team like the 49’ers to be in the game, in the end it is what it is. I am rooting for the underdog, can relate being a person on the autism spectrum. Go Giants. My kids and I will eat snacks and watch the game. My more autistic son will probably watch a few minutes, get bored and play video games.

Here is a nice article that I found on the amazing autisable.com site–>

http://www.autisable.com/758836588/superbowl-sunday-poems-dsm-5-and-autism-speaks/

Time for one of my favorite days of the year…Superbowl Sunday! Obviously I am rooting for the Giants! On Friday I went to the Autism Speaks Awards Reception in Princeton, it was such a fun night! They honored the top teams, individual fundraisers and shared some new studies with us. I am honored and thrilled to be the 2012 Publicity Chair for Autism Speaks (Central NJ) and hope this year’s walk is the biggest yet! I will be blogging a lot about Autism Speaks, since I have been volunteering with them for a few years now, and I think they are wonderful. I wanted to talk about a few things that some of you have asked me to blog about! Feel free to send me ideas

more–>

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An interesting article from Autisable–>What does the future hold for my autistic child?

An interesting article from Autisable–>What does the future hold for my autistic child?

When you mention that your child has Aspergers Syndrome, most that have some understanding of the syndrome, just think the characteristics are a lacking in social interaction skills, literal understanding, or an intense special interest. There is so much more to Aspergers then this! One of the main difficulties for Little man is learning independence skills, the most basic everyday things that a “typical” child masters in the early years of life, such as tying their own shoe laces, Little man is only just beginning to do at the age of 11 years.

The article comes from http://aboywithaspergers.autisable.com
For the rest of the story click here–>link

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Do you reside somewhere on the autism spectrum? In the near future, you may not.(Theautismnewswire) and The New York Times

Do you reside somewhere on the autism spectrum? In the near future, you may not.(Theautismnewswire) and The New York Times

http://www.theautismnewswire.com/NewsITems.aspx?newsID=954

Benedict Cary Autism Article NY Times
Mary Meyer, right, of Ramsey, N.J., said that a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome was crucial for her daughter, Susan, 37.

I found this interesting and troubling article recently from Theautismnewswire–>

One of the mental conditions facing major emendations in its D.S.M. definition is autism. If the changes go through, a recent analysis suggests that the rate of official diagnosis for autism, and related disorders like Asperger syndrome, could plummet. And that, some people worry, could be bad news for those marginalized by the new diagnostic criteria.

The revision of the D.S.M. puts the APA in the unenviable position of having to draw what the New York Times calls “the line between unusual and abnormal” in relation to mental disorders; in the case of autism, the fact that symptoms are widely believed to manifest themselves along a “spectrum” of class and severity makes the situation even more difficult to navigate. According to the Times:

At least a million children and adults have a diagnosis of autism or a related disorder, like Asperger syndrome or “pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified,” also known as P.D.D.-N.O.S. People with Asperger’s or P.D.D.-N.O.S. endure some of the same social struggles as those with autism but do not meet the definition for the full-blown version. The proposed change would consolidate all three diagnoses under one category, autism spectrum disorder, eliminating Asperger syndrome and P.D.D.-N.O.S. from the manual. Under the current criteria, a person can qualify for the diagnosis by exhibiting 6 or more of 12 behaviors; under the proposed definition, the person would have to exhibit 3 deficits in social interaction and communication and at least 2 repetitive behaviors, a much narrower menu.

If the proposed changes come into effect, an analysis conducted by Yale researchers Fred Volkmar, Brian Reichow and James McPartland indicates they could have a dramatic impact on everything from diagnosis rates (some estimates indicate that autism diagnoses have mushroomed to one child in 100 in recent years), to the ability for many people — people who presently reside somewhere on the autism spectrum of disorders — to access health, educational and social services.

“Our fear is that we are going to take a big step backward,” said Lori Shery, president of the Asperger Syndrome Education Network. “If clinicians say, ‘These kids don’t fit the criteria for an autism spectrum diagnosis,’ they are not going to get the supports and services they need, and they’re going to experience failure.”

For more information on this article click here for the original story from The New York Times By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: January 19, 2012
–>
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/health/research/new-autism-definition-would-exclude-many-study-suggests.html?_r=3&src=tp

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A thanks to http://www.theautismnewswire.com/ for an article on us!!

A thanks to http://www.theautismnewswire.com/ for an article on us!!

http://www.theautismnewswire.com/NewsITems.aspx?newsID=944&utm_source=Autism&utm_campaign=5000e5c66b-20120121&utm_medium=email

I appreciate that The Autism News Wire did a recent article on us.

We are trying to make a difference for autism and can not do it alone.

Please check them out, their nice content.

Here is a summary:–>

I dream of establishing a national organization like the American Heart Association or American Cancer Society to make living on the spectrum better for those with autism related disorders. Utilizing my knowledge and passion for technology with my personal experience and interest in autism, I launched https://technewszone.com, on January 11, 2011 .

We are a tech-focused state nonprofit. As we get funded we intend to help those on the autism spectrum by using technology-tablets and related computer technology plus the gift of music and the arts, to make the lives of people with autism better, and to support their families and the educational facilities that serve them.

We have a unique approach, view point and ideas.

Our Plan:

Our intent is to give the gift of technology through donated tablets and along with proper training to children and young adults with autism, their families, and the educational programs and schools that could make use of them. We also plan to fund applications to use with the technology.

Tablets are a very kinesthetic device which seems to make learning easier for many people with autism. Tablets like Apple iPads aid in education and improve the level of involvement in many aspects of their lives. However, a decent tablet runs $400-$800 which is very expensive for most families of people with autism.

Our second intent is to give the gift of music and the arts. Schools are very short on funding especially for the arts and music. Most parents of kids with autism cannot afford instruments, band trips, choir events and other arts materials. We want to help.

We will donate musical instruments to people with autism and education to improve quality of life. In addition, we will give the resources to provide help to theatre programs in both private and in public schools, as well as other arts that accept people with autism in their programs. We strive to promote inclusion and acceptance.

In order to further the quality of life for people with autism we want to expose them to cultural events. We will donate tickets, to musical events, theater, and other arts to enrich their lives.

I feel that many people with autism are talented in the arts and music. Even if not talented in the arts, I feel they can definitely benefit from the exposure to arts, music and technology.

A version of this article was originally published on The Autism Spot, an excellent resource for autism related topics.

http://www.autismspot.com/blog/Guest-Piece-%E2%80%93-Autism-Advocacy-and-Technology-News-Zone

It is in our genes, Autism..
It is in our genes, Autism..
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Video: Autism from a child’s point of view–> A nice article from our friends at Autisable about Carly Fleischmann

I found this nice article and video on Autisable that is worth looking at and is quite nice.I am on the spectrum and have 3 kids on the spectrum as well, that is why it caught my eye.

http://www.autisable.com/758437387/video-autism-from-a-childs-point-of-view/

Some of you who know me, know a little about me. Most of you know, although I don’t talk much on here anymore, that I have a 3 year old son on the spectrum. As we work for a sound diagnosis, I often find myself weeding through books, blogs, articles, videos, and everything else I can possible get my hands on just so that I can understand my son’s quirks, behaviors, and his own frustrations he experiences every day.

The video is about Carly Fleischmann from a Canada and her amazing story

I came across a video that a friend of mine posted on face book about the world of Autism much from the Autistic child’s point of view. It was different than anything I have ever seen, and I was amazed with the clarity, the intelligence (no I don’t doubt an autistic child’s intelligence, I simply mean the fluency,) and the emotion (both from the child and family, and emotion that arose in myself.)

Please take a look. I promise you will enjoy. 🙂

Watch this video on YouTube.

I watched the video and it is very thought provoking, and compelling.