gdp's Comments

http://www.extremeparenthood.com/ : Coming clean.

Fri, 3 May 2013 13:47:21 +0000

There are so many of us trudging on this road that takes us places beyond our wildest dreams. Sending you love, support and strength one day at a time. My recent post Rethinking Unhappiness

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : What I Wish I’d Been Made Aware of When My Daughter Was Diagnosed With Autism

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:32:14 +0000

Thanks so much for reaching out. I I hear you. Your daughters have a different neurology than the majority of the population and that neurology will help them do some things far more easily than their non-autistic peers and it may also cause some things to be harder and to take longer. There are some terrific resources available, many I've listed. Keep reading, keep reaching out. Find a network of people you can relate to, who can provide you with the support you need, but do not ever believe people when they try to tell you how limited your daughters are. The limitations are in the way we think about autism, not in the autism itself. If you'd like to email me (emmashopeblog@gmail.com) please do not hesitate to.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : What Reading Self-Advocate Blogs Does

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:22:24 +0000

Thank you so much Alyssa. As one of those parents whose life was literally changed as a result of finding and reading blogs written by Autistic people, I have never looked back and only wish I'd found all of you sooner. The change in my thinking, in the way I interact with my daughter, the way I view the world, society, education, all of it, has changed.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : Privilege Is Not A Game, But We Can Win

Fri, 1 Mar 2013 21:38:03 +0000

Love this Ibby. Thank you so much for sharing it!

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : \"Self-Injurious Behaviors\" (SIBs): Let’s Discuss

Fri, 8 Feb 2013 16:16:38 +0000

Diana, I received a comment from a bus driver who had a child aboard their bus who wore a helmut and began banging her head. The driver eventually had to pull over and without touching the child created a barrier with his own arms around the child's head so that he received the blows. After a few minutes the child calmed and the driver was able to continue on his route. He reached out to me saying that he and his manager were trying to understand and find better ways to help the kids on his route. I had nothing to offer him other than thanks and gratitude for his obvious love, concern and caring. Perhaps others reading this will have good suggestions, but what you describe is tough. In my child's case there is no danger of broken glass, concussions etc. I have seen a huge decrease in her biting herself since we've stopped focusing on it and focused more on cause.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : No You Don\'t

Wed, 6 Feb 2013 20:03:08 +0000

Thank you for writing this Sparrow!

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : Interview: Amy Sequenzia on Facilitated Communication

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:42:44 +0000

I just loved this interview, Amy. Thank you for so generously sharing about how you communicate. To those who are skeptical of FC, I have had the pleasure and honor of interviewing Amy ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ariane-zurcher/auti... ) and have physically sat with Amy (and her facilitator) as we talked one on one together. Had I not seen Amy and many, many other non-speaking individuals communicate using FC I too would be skeptical, the idea of someone who cannot speak, but who is perfectly capable of expressing themselves through other forms of communication is something that is foreign to most speaking neurotypical people. However, just because it challenges our beliefs, does not mean, therefore it cannot be a legitimate form of communicating. Amy is the first to say skepticism is healthy and a good thing. I completely understand how many are weary of FC and it's unfortunate that a few bad facilitators have done so much damage to a way of communicating for those who would otherwise have no ability to communicate at all. I cannot recommend the documentary Wretches and Jabberers more highly where Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette use FC to communicate. I also highly recommend attending a conference such as the Autcom Conference where a great many autistic individuals use FC to communicate. It is almost impossible to describe how mind blowing it is as a neurotypical to watch someone who appears so profoundly challenged by autism and yet is able to communicate their thoughts and ideas. Many who learn to communicate through FC do go on to type independently. My daughter is such a person. Two years ago we began teaching her to type and handwrite, but she needed hand over hand support, eventually that was tapered off and now she types and writes without any support. She is still learning to communicate her own thoughts and ideas however, it feels like an incredibly slow process, but compared to where she was just two years ago, it has been incredible. But some people, like Amy, have physical challenges that are too great to be able to communicate without assistance, however if you saw her, you would see that it is virtually impossible for her facilitator to write for her as she is not directing Amy's hands or pushing keys for her. Those at the AutCom Conference this year (and there were a great many) were often "facilitated" with a light hand on the shoulder or elbow. I do hope more documentaries and studies are done showing the numerous examples of people who are changing their own lives and giving hope to so many others who would otherwise not be able to communicate at all. FC is still in its infancy, there are many, many terrific facilitators who are honoring those they work with and help so that those who are non-speaking might express themselves.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : Understanding Autism Acceptance: A Parent\'s Perspective

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:45:12 +0000

Such a great piece, Shan. A follower of my blog wrote this today, "Parents have this strange task where they need to protect their children (all children) and somehow prepare them for adulthood without any clear notion of what that adulthood might entail for any of them. Realistically we all know on some level life doesn’t work that way at all for any human." I just loved reading it and thought of your piece here. Whoever our child is, whatever their neurology, we need to understand them as best we can, not the idea of them, but the very real, wonderful child they are, only then can we really help them flourish to be all that they can be.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : Autism and Self-Injurious Behaviors

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 22:11:36 +0000

I love this post, Bridget and I feel tremendous gratitude to you. I really appreciate your tackling such a loaded issue and one that makes those witnessing it feel helpless.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : Colin Meloy in Defense of Not Reading the Huffington Post

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 12:03:55 +0000

Hi Shan, actually I didn't see it until after I left this comment. Thank you for that and I am honored to be included with Seth and Todd, whose work I admire.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : Colin Meloy in Defense of Not Reading the Huffington Post

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:23:03 +0000

As one of the hundreds of writers whose work is published on Huffington Post, I would like to reiterate that there are a number of us working hard to write pieces expressing a different point of view from the unfortunate piece you site above. I never know how many hits any piece I submit will get as I am not given any information beyond the fact that they've published and I'm sent a link. What I DO know is the more hits a piece gets the more prominently it is displayed. Many of my pieces are buried almost immediately and unless I work hard to "sell" it and get people over there it is pushed off the site quickly. The pieces that go viral are the ones that get a better position on HuffPo and the writers that get more hits are given better placement than those who get very few. So if there are writers whose message you do like or feel are sending a message you agree with Fan them and make sure to share their work so they'll get more hits. HuffPo (in my opinion) takes little if any position on the stuff they're publishing other than a desire to get more traffic, controversy sells, Jenny McCarthy has a big following, so they publish her stuff. It's all about how many hits a piece gets, regardless of content. Just thought I'd mention this to anyone who's interested. By the way, I'm not paid for my writing, very few people are and if they are HuffPo staff writers their pieces clearly state that. It is a mosh pit, as the previous commenter stated. But for those of us who are trying to change the negative perception and message associated with Autism, giving us some support for the pieces you like and do agree with, will ensure we get the message out to a wider audience. So if you want to make a difference in what's being more prominently pushed by HuffPo, support the writer's who are writing what you DO like.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : My Path to Autism Acceptance

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:49:40 +0000

Rebecca, while I have no doubt you firmly believe what you are saying as evidenced by your comments here, what you are saying with such conviction is extremely dangerous to those parents of newly diagnosed children who will read your comments as though they were scientific fact, as though this were not one anecdotal story of one child. The problem with non scientific, anecdotal stories such as yours is when it is suggested (as you have) that it is more than that. But it's not. If it were, your story would be on the cover of every scientific periodical and journal available. If what you are saying could be replicated with not just one child but with Autistic children in general, scientists, researchers and journalists would be clamoring to publicize it. To say - "You accepted autism, I fought it" implying that acceptance is "giving up" or a sign of weakness is not only incorrect and insensitive, it is cruel.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : Healing

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 23:16:47 +0000

Kate, I love this (as you know)! Keep writing!!

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : A Letter To The Staff at My Daughter’s School

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:18:57 +0000

Thanks to all who commented. Really appreciate the support and kind words. Update: Emma is doing great at her new school! We are off to a good start.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : A Letter To The Staff at My Daughter’s School

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:17:44 +0000

Thank you so much Danielle.. As an update her teachers have been terrific so far and very appreciative!

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : A Letter To The Staff at My Daughter’s School

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:16:50 +0000

It's terrific you've found TPGA. It wasn't around when Em was diagnosed, had it been I think our lives would have been quite different.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : A Letter To The Staff at My Daughter’s School

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:14:11 +0000

Hi zbreeze, I can't speak for other children (can't even speak for my own!) but having myself been a self injurer for many many years, I can say that focusing on the self injurious behavior is almost always a bad idea and will only lead to shameful feelings on the part of the person self harming. Obviously if a child is wielding a pair of scissors with the intent to hurt themselves, this is pretty extreme and would suggest they are trying desperately to communicate how very upset they are, even so, if it were me I would do my best to focus on the feelings and not the self harm. When Emma punches herself in the face it's extremely hard to witness. It *feels* dreadful. It brings up a great many emotions, but it's important to keep in mind those emotions are yours. Emma becomes frustrated. So much so that she feels unable to contain the intense feelings and so hurts herself. By validating the feelings, expressing nonjudgemental compassion and love will go a long way in helping a self injurious person calm down. A great documentary (that should be required viewing for every human being on this planet) is Wretches and Jabberers. In it Larry Bissonnette hits himself in the head when he becomes frustrated. Seeing him do that and seeing how no one responded helped me tremendously in accepting this behavior in Emma. Whenever possible I try to validate her feelings, whatever they may be.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : Scarred

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 23:23:48 +0000

This is beautiful. I want to reprint this and send it to every parent who contacts me about their child. Every "Autism" organization should have this, every school should see this, every "specialist," researcher, anyone who has ever come into contact with an Autistic should read this, the world needs to see this message. This is what needs to be known. Just this.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : Busting Myths About Autistic Girls and Women

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 23:30:01 +0000

Thank you Carol for writing such a terrific piece. It was a fabulous presentation and my only criticism was that it didn't go on longer. And when you and Ibby get together to discuss SBC's information-gathering techniques, I want to come too!

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ : Emma Zurcher-Long and Autism Acceptance Month

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:48:25 +0000

Hi Lesly, How wonderful to see you here. Thanks for reaching out. I'll read this to Emma. I'm sure she remembers Jaden as she has a phenomenal memory!