Greta Thunberg: Making the Most of Your Differences
In 2003, a girl named Greta Thunberg was born in Sweden. When that girl was eight years old, she first learned about the very real threat of global warming; a threat humans had caused with their own hands. At the same time, she was assured those hands could work to fix it. If we just […]
Continue readingA Conversation With the Next Special Needs Caregiver
I just had an eye-opening conversation with the brother of an individual with autism and his father. The Dad is in not only going through the process of creating a special needs plan designed to care for his son with autism but also prepare his eldest son to take over as caregiver someday. I wanted to […]
Continue readingMulti-Talented Man with Autism Spreads Hope and Awareness
Autism Warrior: Russell Lehmann Award-winning motivational speaker, poet, author, and advocate, who continues to overcome his personal struggles with autism to travel the world and share his knowledge, compassion, and hope. In 2003, eleven-year-old Russell was admitted to the psychiatric ward at his local city hospital and stayed for five weeks. Later that fall, he […]
Continue readingLove Needs No Words
Big, blue eyes smile at me And little arms extend up, fingers outstretched Reaching for me, like I encompass the whole world – These things say more than a conversation ever could. You come to me, take my hand, and guide me To sit beside you And enjoy your favorite show Or just sit, holding […]
Continue readingDon’t Give Up On Me
Don’t give up on me, I’m right here. I get upset Because I can’t communicate clear, I’m doing my best I hope somebody can see And notice more than An autistic kid When they look at me. Everyone around me Doesn’t always understand That I can’t always control myself Not my voice or my feet […]
Continue readingDifferences
The story starts with a young boy. He thought he was the same as me and you, except he was a little different than everybody else. He had autism, and didn’t know until his parents told him before he moved to middle school. He still had no concept of how it made him different, until […]
Continue readingA Look at My Autistic Brother’s New World: Life Without Mam
It was the week after Mam had passed away and Codge was still in emergency respite at Beeston while the social services tried to find him somewhere permanent. It was the first time my wife, Julie, and I had visited. I decided that not going to see him too much and Codge having to get […]
Continue readingLife in My Son’s World of Autism
I live in two different worlds. One, let’s call this my “home planet,” is the neurotypical, familiar, and comfortable world in which I was raised and conditioned. The other is “planet Ari,” which is the world of autism. I entered this world as an alien to autism, and have slowly been adapting to the strange […]
Continue readingThe Social Life or Lack Thereof With Autism
In the summer of 2003, I had finished high school and was getting ready to start college. My best friend of more than two years was about to leave for the Marines. After I hung out with him one last time before he left, his parents dropped me off at my house. I said goodbye […]
Continue readingSpecial Needs: Grandparents Can Be in Your Corner
There is a well-known parable floating around the special needs community which describes how it feels when you are first told you are to be the parent of a child with special needs. The story describes how a family is preparing to go to Italy. They have researched all the best activities and adventures to […]
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