An amusing moment I recall is when I was home from school once in high school, and had the TV on as stimulation in the background. It was running an episode of “Blue’s Clues”, and they were covering emotions. I actually got one of them wrong on the section ofContinue Reading
If you live in Bexar or Comal county in Texas, and have a child with a developmental disability, this is a must read from Alfred Chavira, the Director of Health and Wellness Programs for the Any Baby Can organization. Introducing “Any Body Can” health and wellness program, offering the entireContinue Reading
It’s not easy to hear that your child is going to struggle in certain ways. The fear of the future can be downright paralyzing and while all children are perfect in their own way, it’s not what you dream up when you first think about having a child. Nobody fanaticizesContinue Reading
An undiagnosed childhood, or the “unnamed beast”… That’s how I thought of it at first. That is, when I first realized it had been there all along, without my having realized what it was to begin with. I’m talking about Autism. Yes, you can define it through technical or psychologicalContinue Reading
You are probably familiar with the idea of intense interests. Whether it be weather or automobiles, your child with high-functioning autism/Asperger’s Syndrome has had an intense interest in some kind of subject. This behavior is natural because I too have had and still have intense interests in certain things. For example,Continue Reading
Forward: Many years after childbirth the memory of the pain subsides and the first embrace of your child remains strong. You don’t forget the pain…but the thrill of your child’s arrival occupies the majority of your feelings. The same has occurred with the maturing of my autistic son Sam. I foundContinue Reading
It’s easy to worry about whether the plan for your child is the right one. Will this be the right school, therapy, or path? The problem lies in the fact that as your child grows and life changes their needs are going to change as well. You will never trulyContinue Reading
The latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-V), published by American Psychiatric Association, was released in May 2013. As you probably already know, the DSM-V significantly revised the diagnostic category under which Aspergers and autistic disorder previously fell in the DSM-IV-TR. Specifically, in the DSM-IV-TR, Pervasive Developmental Disorders wasContinue Reading
My Autism experience began at the birth of my daughter. I was on my way to an OB/GYN appointment, an almost one hundred mile jaunt to the nearest city, when my water broke. They admitted me immediately and we had to be “Flight For Life’d” out to Denver where they hadContinue Reading
“The Impact of Autism/Asperger on the Siblings”. A look into the very challenging world of having a sibling with Aspergers syndrome or Autism. Guest(s) : Billy Edwardds, Francesca Gunn, Charlie Allen, Katelyn Tarwater yusufContinue Reading
A Message to Fathers In this special edition of Top of the Spectrum News, Samuel Allen (diagnosed with Aspergers) addresses the fathers who are having a difficult time accepting their child’s diagnosis. This hits home for many as Sam speaks from the heart (he spoke while we let the camerasContinue Reading
I will never forget the day that I picked up my very perceptive 3-year old daughter from preschool and she said a combination of words that stopped me dead in my tracks. “Mommy, why am I different than the other kids?” I looked back in the rear view mirror andContinue Reading
