“Simply gazing at the uniqueness of my son brings about so many differing emotions.” My name is Kapil Sharma and I am an employment specialist for people with disabilities. More importantly I am a father to a child with autism.   My oldest son, Lukah, has autism and is therefore neurodiverse.  I entered vocationally the disability world in order to try to make sense of the journey my son may go on in his life. I wanted to taste future programs and realities he may face. The hope would be that he will some some how be better helped by my current choices. Natural fatherly th ..read more

“Nothing ever deterred me from the conviction of that dream…” Like many little girls, I dreamed of the day when I would get married and have children of my own. The dreams would change slightly over time, but one thing remained constant. Images of a towheaded, smiling little boy named “Arthur” haunted my dreams and I just knew that one day this child would be my son. Nothing ever deterred me from the conviction of that dream, not even the day I learned that bearing a blonde-haired child would be genetically impossible for a Filipino girl like me. I just knew. So you can imagine how my heart ..read more

I can huddle behind my old hurts, burrow in my self-pity, or I can engage. I can teach. I can learn. I’ve become accustomed to stares. Strange looks because of the strange sounds my son makes. Jerky movements and high-pitched squeals draw looks of curiosity, sometimes censure, and worst of all, pity. Yes, autism tutored me well in the ways of self-consciousness, and then thought me to ignore it all. Public places have been difficult minefields for my family to negotiate ever since Myles was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. He had quickly deteriorated from a bright, vibrant, ever-l ..read more

“Her achievements and those of children like her deserve to be celebrated…” It’s that time of year again, graduation.  As I scroll through Facebook, I see post after post of adoring parents boasting the accomplishments of their children: Grade Point Average, college pursuits, athletic achievements, class rankings, and more.  These parents are excited and proud!  They and their children have worked very hard and this is their time to celebrate the achievements of their children. This year, I am among them.  My third child is graduating from high school.  So it’s my ..read more

The Invisible Gifts of COVID-19 & Autism When the pandemic began in March 2020, it seemed like our lives were put on hold. Schools and businesses closed, cities and states issued stay-at-home orders, and we stopped seeing friends and family to prevent the virus from spreading. For parents and caregivers living with children and adults with autism and other disabilities, critical services, therapies and education were abruptly halted. For those with loved ones in residential care, it meant the end to in-person visits and family time. This past year has been extremely challenging for all ..read more

“Autism does not define Aiden, nor our family. Autism guides us.” I felt so appalled the first time someone suggested that Aiden “maybe” had Autism. He was only 2-years-old at that time and he was going for speech therapy because of language delay. I remember being so angry. How could she say such a thing! My husband was equally angry. How dare she! It couldn’t be true! After all, his paediatrician said that boys naturally developed slower than girls. Not being verbal at age two was not really a cause for much concern. We just needed to go to speech therapy to help him get there sooner. “He ..read more

The life we live with Anna is nothing like the life I see in my dreams, but I’ve come to learn that not everything is the way we imagine. Sometimes it hits me when I least expect it.  I was sitting in front of my computer reading my son’s high school athletic face book group post.  “Any parent of a boy or girl in grades 3-6 interested in volunteering as a water boy/girl for the varsity football team, please respond.”  So I went to that imaginary place in my mind. I pictured my daughter on the sidelines holding the rack of water bottles proudly watching her brother and his tea ..read more

“Once you fully get to know me, you’ll see that I can be a very good friend.” Stephanie Friedman <stephiefriedman@gmail.com> 9:43 AM (1 minute ago) to me Hi, I’m Ryan. I was diagnosed when I was 3-years-old. Even before I was diagnosed, I always knew I was different, always wondering why I couldn’t be accepted or why I couldn’t fit in. Some still don’t get that us autistics are human too. For some reason we give off some unknown vibe to people and they decide to ditch us without us knowing the reason. Our brains just work differentl ..read more

Beating the odds, Autism and Golf Meet Daniel Steele(Danny), our 22-year-old Autistic son. Danny was born in Puerto Rico, and moved to the USA as a baby. At age 2 he was diagnosed with Autism. As parents, we fully accepted his situation, he became our #1 priority. He has been fortunate enough to have been in Autism friendly schooling since pre kindergarten. Danny was non-verbal until age 7.  He went through all the trials and tribulations of elementary school, middle school and high school graduating in 2017. Most recently, Daniel completed a 3-year transition program and recently atta ..read more

Ms. P and Mr. K Kenden met Ms. P two years ago. Her entrance into his life was a total game changer. I have read many stories about special bonds and the positive impacts teachers have with their students and I am so blessed I am able to share my son’s story about him and his teacher’s journey together. Kenden started school at the age of three. He has always been in a special education program due to his disabilities and needs. A special education learning environment gives him the support and one-on-one time needed to ensure his success in school. In the beginning of each school year I th ..read more