I don't often print something in it's entirety, but received this in email this weekend and it so perfectly describes how I see my child's building frustration that leads to her behaviors. Thought it best to share the whole thing!

Balancing the Tray by Lenore Gerould (1996), Carbon-Lehigh Right to Education Task Force, Schnecksville, PA. Distributed by Autism Services Center, Huntington, WV by kind permission of the author.

Those of us who have daily contact with children with autism sometimes have trouble explaining to regular... more

For the last 9 weeks, LuLu has been using Interactive Metronome. Our occupational therapist comes two times a week to administer this brain-based intervention.

What is Interactive Metronome?

The Interactive Metronome is an intervention that focuses on rhythm and timing and helps to build a person’s motor planning and sequencing abilities. As defined by the Interactive Metronome website:

The IM program is an intervention where the patient is challenged to synchronize a range of hand and foot exercises to a precise computer-generated... more

I recently joined the coolest listserve about homeschooling children with special needs: Homeschool_SpecialNeedsKidz. The parents there have been kind, helpful, and compassionate as I've asked questions and explored my reluctancy about homeschooling LuLu.

This week one topic has been how to explain to others what it's like to live with Asperger's Syndrome or sensory integration problems (SPD). There have been lots of great answers, like turning up a radio very loud... more

Check out the latest issue of Readers' Digest (August 2006) for an article called Boy Wonder by Cammie McGovern. It is a heart-wrenching/heart-warming account of coming to grips with her son's PDD-NOS diagnosis (pervasive developmental delay - not otherwise specified, a variant of autism).

The article is brief, but does cover a variety of ground, mentioning the Thimerosal/CDC vaccine controversy, Gluten/Casein-free diets, and ABA therapy.... more

If your family is touched by autism, you may want to get to a newsstand and pick up the May 15, 2006 issue of Time Magazine. The cover article is "New Insights Into the Hidden World of Autism." It is actually a cluster of articles and gives an interesting and balanced introduction into the autistic spectrum.

The Anatomy of an Autistic Brain inset is fascinating to those of us who like learning the incredible things neurologists are finding out about various disorders that were once thought more psychological than physical.

Once a topic hits Time it is definitely... more

I never expected to draw a parallel between Anorexia, Autism and RAD, but then you never know where your thoughts will take you. All I know is that as a blogger, I'm constantly amazed to discover the similar plights of parenting children with all kinds of special needs.

Sitting in the waiting room during LuLu's latest evaluation, I picked up an old copy of Newsweek (December 5, 2005), where the cover article was on Fighting Anorexia. It was a fascinating overview of a mental illness I know little about. The author stated that anorexia has the highest mortality rate of... more

Now I'm not much of an activist -- or a cynic. But if I were, this whole CDC/Thimerosal/Autism controversy would surely be bugging me. I reported a couple weeks ago about the ad that Generation Rescue had placed in the USA Today newspaper, outlining their argument that not only does thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative in vaccines, "cause" autism, but that the CDC purposely did not remove thimerosal from vaccines for a long time after their own studies showed a definitive connection between... more

Yesterday's USA Today featured a full-page ad sponsored by Generation Rescue, a non-profit advocacy group that promotes the idea that developmental disorders, such as autism, have been caused by environmental factors. The main environmental factor that much of the controversy focuses on is mercury toxicity from childhood vaccines and this is the topic of Generation Rescue's website -- specifically the thimerosal in vaccines.

The full-page ad was pointed directly at the CDC and directed readers to a website: www.putchildrenfirst.org. There they explain their position on the CDC "covering up"... more

Today, I was made aware of yet another indicator that mercury toxicity may be at the center (or at least a MAJOR player) in the increased autism rates in recent years. This latest study, done by David Geier and Dr. Mark Geier is to be published in the Spring 2006 American Journal of Physicians and Surgeons. A pre-published copy of the report is here.

The researchers conclude that the significant decrease in the number of newly-diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders in children between mid-2002 and 2005 corresponds with the recommendation of removing thimerosal from vaccines. Thimerosal is a preservative found in many vaccines... more

Late Friday afternoon LuLu had another hyperbaric treatment. As we were leaving there were several moms and kids congregated at the counter, so we started chatting. In walked a mom and son (older than LuLu by a couple of years) carrying his reading and entertainment for his hour in the chamber. On top of his pile was a brightly colored turtle-shaped CD holder. When he laid it down, LuLu raced for it, grabbing it and exclaiming, "What is this?"

The boy (Dylan), quickly retrieved his possession, but then leaned over to me and in a loud whisper said, "Is she autistic?"

"Sort... more