We have more in common than not

As my son has grown, I’ve come to truly believe that we all have some of the traits of autism, just not to the degree they do. So when I read this article tonight, I came to the conclusion that we all need affection, perhaps just to varying degrees.

The article is entitled “How a parent’s affection shapes a child’s happiness for life” by Sandi Schwartz via Motherly Like I said in the title, we all have more in common than not. I believe that sometimes we just have a hard time seeing it. Just another form on inclusion.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian

Being all inclusive

I think tonight’s article is the definition that Webster’s Dictionary should use for inclusion. The article is entitled “Dog Show Judge Makes Little Girl With Autism’s Day By Letting Her Show Her Stuffed Animal Dog by Ben Acosta over at Comic Sands website. I don’t think I could have said it (or shown it) any better myself.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian

Inclusive shopping

To me, these are two words that I wouldn’t have necessarily put together but after reading the article entitled “Zappos Looks to Help Shoppers with Special Needs” by Shaun Heasley over at Disability Scoop, I now think otherwise.

Sincerely-

Autism Librarian

Inclusive

Okay, so today I have two articles to post because each of them in their own way, tell a story about society and how it’s changing for the better. The first one is entitled “Tribeca Win Goes To Film Starring Those On The Spectrum” by Michelle Diament over at Disability Scoop.

The second article is entitled “Beauty Pageant Contestant With Down Syndrome Set To Make History” by Aimee Blanchette and also over at Disability Scoop via the Star Tribune. It’s nice to see inclusion and diversity becoming more common.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian

Inclusion

Autism is an all inclusive club though unfortunately, not it every way. Watching the story “Children of color with autism face disparities of care” over at PBS tonight really brought that home. We’ve come so far and yet, we still have a long way to go.

Sincerely-

  

Autism Librarian

Tough to talk about

As they say in the world of the spectrum, if you know one person with autism, then you know one person with autism. Like many things in life, people come in all shapes and sizes and as I like to say, we all have our special abilities.

Now where my son ends up is anyone’s guess. I have a good friend whose son is autistic and high-functioning. My son is also high-functioning but not to that degree, so we’ll have to see how it plays out. For many however, the trip is much more difficult.

I will say that this article over at Huffington Post was a hard one for me to read. It’s entitled “My Son Has the Kind of Autism No One Talks About” by Bonnie Zampino. I think as she states near the end of the article, More education, more understanding, more inclusion and more involvement are all needed. By everyone.

She also points to the story coming out of California where several families in one neighborhood are suing another family because as they contend, their child (who is autistic) is a public nuisance because of his behaviors that his parents failed to fix.

At this point and with a little help from the judge, the education process has started. This according to the article over at Disability Scoop entitled “Neighbors Headed To Mediation In Autism Public Nuisance Suit ” by Tracy Seipel. Here’s hoping the understanding, inclusion and involvement will follow.

Sincerely-

  

Autism Librarian

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Autism as a job skill

I saw an article this afternoon that I thought was very interesting. Check out the article and video entitled “Companies Find Autism Can Be a Job Skill” by Shirley S. Wang at the Wall Street Journal.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian

Reverse inclusion, what a concept!

I have to say that it was tough when we had to pull my son back a bit the first quarter of the school year. He had done so well with his peers in some of his classes at middle school but at the High School it was just too much. I am hopeful however, that sometime down the road, we can try again.

It was just that the anxiety was just too much for him. He now even had some medication but again, I have hope. Which brings to this article that I found back earlier this year. This is something that I hope spreads across this country.

The article is entitled “Kenston Teacher’s ‘reverse inclusion’ club brings typical students into special needs classes” by Andy Attina at the Sun News. It’s an amazing idea.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian