I had my first telephone conversation with Dr. Temple Grandin two years ago. In exploring names for keynote speakers for a local autism event, and she was my obvious first choice. She has been lecturing to autism parents for decades, providing lessons that parents might find valuable, and this parent had heard her speak in the 1990s. Many know Temple from the HBO movie that depicts her remarkable life. To those of us personally touched by autism, she literally wrote the book; diagnosed with "infant schizophrenia" in the 1940s, today she is a … [Read more...]
Meet One Person with Autism
** UPDATED April 6, 2018 As the saying appropriately goes, "if you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism." Meet my son Devin. If you read my blog you know him well. He is the reason this blog exists. Born in 1993, he is a child of the pre-Autism Speaks age. Before we were fluent in internet searches for resources, research and direction, families like mine were on our own. Pediatricians who discounted boys as "slow" and persnickety learners were aplenty. Early intervention programs were scarce and … [Read more...]