What We Can Most Hope for: The Future For Individuals with Autism

I believe there is Much We Can Hope for The Future of Individuals with Autism   As parents we worry about where are adult children will live and be cared for after we die or get ill. For Trent, my autistic son, I want him to be physically and psychologically safe, live in his house Read More

Autism, Transition, Rebuilding Life: Do you relate with me?

It seems that I can’t keep up with my work. I have been away from my writing/work for the past 10 days. My focus has been in all the details and tasks of finally bringing together all the new parts of Trent’s new life. The past 6 months hasn’t been easy living in the uncertainty. Read More

Want More than Autism Awareness?: 12 Actions into Acceptance

I see the community both welcoming and friendly, as well as indifferent and unsafe. As parents and caregivers, we deeply desire our teens and adults with autism have acceptance and freedom. Examples include: to have safe community access, be supported by safe people, to participate in activities they enjoy, to have their needs met, and to Read More

Autism + Strengths = EFFECTIVENESS

Today’s employment situation for individuals with autism is in a state of emergency. For a short time, I am offering for FREE my strengths tool to help individuals with autism facing transition. Do you know a student or an adult with autism seeking transition possibilities? With this online tool, the individual or his teacher/parent advocate will identify strengths Read More

Why We Should Stop Promoting Independence: Autism and Disability

These two great women have influenced my perceptions about many things, including the concept of ‘independence’ surrounding individuals with disabilities. “The myth of the lone individual is a trope, a rhetorical device. In real life no one is self-made; few are truly alone.” Linda Kerber “We are an Interdependent People. Dependence is not bad–indeed, it Read More

Three Harmful Words We Should Stop Using About Individuals with Autism

Many of us are in roles of providing caregiving, daily living support, community assistance, on-the-job training, or teaching in educational settings to individuals with autism or disabilities. I found three words that are harmful that we should stop using. We often use these words when describing the individual to other people involved, such as, when talking about Read More

Two Harmful Perceptions About Autism We Must Change

Many people toss around labels to describe capabilities of individuals with autism and other disabilities. We should avoid using such terms that place people in boxes. Labels are harmful and lead to excluding people based upon others’ beliefs about labels. Both High functioning (HF) and low functioning (LF) are two damaging labels. Why? Individuals labelled Read More