As a Chicken Soup co-author I’m always looking for your stories to share with everyone else.  Not too long ago I did a “call out” to my members asking for heartwarming stories and was overwhelmed with over 2500 submissions.  I know you will enjoy hearing from others so I am going to be sharing them with you on a weekly basis.  Here is one from Dan Coulter!

Dad the Hero
(by Dan Coulter)

Dads, did you ever imagine yourself as a superhero?  Sure you did. I have a mental picture of you as a little kid, in your underwear, with a towel tied around your neck for a cape. You’re jumping off the bed and running through the house pretending you’re superman. In your mind, you can fly. You save the day.

The circumstances change, but we all hold onto a bit of that hero dream.

We dads have another dream that starts when a child is born. What he’ll be like?  How she’ll grow.  What we’ll do together.

But when a child has Asperger Syndrome, that dream can veer off course.

It can be frustrating when he or she doesn’t follow the script in our heads, when he continues to do things after we tell him not to or when she can’t seem to understand things that seem obvious.

And let’s face it. Most moms are better at the unconditional acceptance thing than most dads.

Even if we love a child with Asperger Syndrome, we’re more likely to hang onto our expectations and occasionally be impatient as he grows older – sometimes more than occasionally.

That’s where the hero part comes back in.

On the real-world hero scale, being patient with a child is not the same as running into a burning building to save a life, but it’s still a challenge.  It’s everyday heroism.

Everyday heroism strives to understand how a child with Asperger Syndrome feels when he tries his hardest and still gets teased or rejected by kids and criticized by adults. To accept that he can be doing the best he can –and still misunderstands what you want. To not just correct her when she’s wrong, but to help her practice doing things right, and praise her when she succeeds. To let go of old expectations, and help him live up to his capabilities.

The earlier we start the better, but it’s never too late to make a difference. To be the father he knows he can turn to. The father she knows she can trust.

Some dads are natural everyday heroes. The rest of us have to work at it.  But natural or self-made, everyday hero dads often find their children succeeding in surprising ways. Sometimes in ways they never imagined possible.

If you’re not there yet, your family story is casting for a hero. And the part has your name written all over it. You can save the day.

Save the child.

Your child.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dan Coulter is the producer of the DVD, “Asperger Syndrome for Dad: Becoming an Even Better Father to Your Child with Asperger Syndrome.” You can find more articles on his website at www.coultervideo.com.

Copyright 2010 Dan Coulter     All Rights Reserved.    Used by Permission.

As a Chicken Soup co-author I’m always looking for your stories to share with everyone else.  Not too long ago I did a “call out” to my members asking for heartwarming stories and was overwhelmed with over 2500 submissions.  I know you will enjoy hearing from others so I am going to be sharing them with you on a weekly basis.  Here is one from Jennifer Pedde!

Parenthood Brings Autism into the Open
(by Jennifer Pedde)

One of the main story lines in Parenthood, NBC’s popular television series about a large extended family, focuses on the issues facing parents Adam and Kristina Braverman. In addition to the usual problems experienced by parents of a teenage daughter, Adam and Kristina have had to adjust to their 8-year-old son Max being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. 

Jason Katims, executive producer of the show, is the father of a teenage son with Asperger’s. Thanks to the involvement of Katim, as well as series consultants Sheila Wagner and Roy Q. Sanders, who are experts in autism spectrum disorder and Asperger’s syndrome, Parenthood is helping to educate viewers about what life is like for families who are affected by Asperger’s. Child actor Max Burkholder, who does not have Asperger’s, should also be credited for his sensitive portrayal of Max Braverman. 

In early episodes of Parenthood, Max is depicted as being gifted in many areas but with limited social skills, few friends and a tendency to become obsessed with subjects that interest him. A teacher recommends that he be tested for autism following a classroom disruption, and he is subsequently diagnosed with Asperger’s. Adam and Kristina then begin a quest to find the best solutions for both Max and their family.

Kristina in particular, becomes frustrated when there are no easy answers for the problems Max encounters in school and at home. Emotionally, she feels the need to protect her son; intellectually, she knows that she must help him learn to be independent and survive on his own. Adam, on the other hand, must cope with feelings of loss that Max will never be the exact son he imagined.

Following Max’s diagnosis, the approaches tried by the Bravermans reflect approaches tried by many real families in the same situation: They move Max to a private school, receive funding to help with his care, set up an in-home therapy program, find and lose a caring in-home therapist, and then send Max back to a mainstream school so that he will be academically challenged. This is television, so Kristina and Adam are probably able to try new approaches much more fluidly than they would in the real world, but their journey effectively serves to illustrate the various strategies that can be employed to manage Asperger’s.

Now in its second season, Parenthood has expanded on the situations related to Max’s behavior and involved more members of the extended Braverman family. In one episode, 11-year-old Max gets into a fight at school with his younger cousin Jabbar and is told he must write a letter of apology. Max feels his actions were justified since Jabbar hit him first and refuses to comply. Kristina, who is learning to let go, asks Max’s older cousin Amber to help out. We see how Amber gets Max to write the letter and then coaches him on how to behave when he delivers it to Jabbar. Knowing that he needs to look someone in the eye when apologizing is not instinctive to Max, but he is beginning to learn how to behave in ways that are socially acceptable to everyone else.

For more insight into the issues faced by the Braverman family related to Max’s condition, you can read an analysis of each Parenthood episode by Sheila Wagner and Roy Sander in “The Experts Speak” section of the official Parenthood website.

Jenn Pedde is the community manager for the Online Masters Degree in Social Work program at the University of Southern California in the Virtual Academic Center, which offers a variety of classes in their mental health social work concentration. She’s also an avid traveler, and enjoys photography.

All My Readers,

As a Chicken Soup co-author I’m always looking for your stories to share with everyone else.  Not too long ago I did a “call out” to my members asking for heartwarming stories and was overwhelmed with over 2500 submissions.  I know you will enjoy hearing from others so I am going to be sharing them with you on a weekly basis.  Here is the eleventh one from Dr. Steven Richfield!

Tips for Coaching Kids with Aspergers Syndrome
(By Dr. Steven Richfield)

A parent writes: Our 11 year old son is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of high functioning Autism. He is bright and inquisitive, but has great difficulty picking up on social cues and understanding many aspects of friendship. We struggle to coach him in these areas but our explanations often don’t make sense to him. What are your suggestions?

Aspergers Syndrome presents children with a variety of social and emotional stumbling blocks. Due to difficulties understanding implied meaning, humour, and other inferential reasoning skills, children are often confused by the rapidly changing landscape of social interaction. Their tendency toward quick and literal interpretation of words can produce significant problems with establishing and maintaining friendships. Preoccupations with narrow, solitary interests can impede their capacity to converse on the range of topics that typically interest peers.

Parents of children with Aspergers Syndrome often help them make sense of their social world, but success can be fleeting and isolated to certain circumstances.  Here are some coaching tips that may increase the success rate:

Think of the social world as a variety of “relationship road maps” that your child needs to perceive accurately and use talking tools to be able to follow. On various pieces of paper, draw “roads” of how conversations flow depending upon environmental cues. Cues include who your child is with, where it takes place, what the other child says and the degree of familiarity your child has with a peer. For instance, if your son bumps into an acquaintance at a movie theatre, depict how the initial greeting may lead to a short period of questioning about the movie, and finally to a closing remark about the next time he might see the peer again. Be sure to emphasize that what is said is just as important as perceiving the available cues in order to keep comments on target and within the boundaries of the environment.      

Refer to boundaries as the lines that keep people within the relationship road they are supposed to be on. Boundaries are a critical piece of the social puzzle but are often ignored by children with Aspergers Syndrome since they are subtle and hard to distinguish. Make boundaries visual by depicting the kinds of statements and behaviours that are appropriate to the particular “road” (write them within the road) and examples of responses that are not (write them outside of the road). Explain how behaving within the boundaries protect the feelings of others and tells people that we are aware of what is going on around us. Depict how boundaries are more narrow when first meeting people but gradually widen as they become more familiar. Likewise, display how boundaries are narrow or wide depending upon the people present, situation and other circumstances.

Offer ways of understanding humour or typical childhood banter that uses available environmental cues.  Children with Aspergers Syndrome can easily get caught in the throes of strong emotional reactions to common antagonistic statements made by peers. The intention of such comments may be to entertain bystanders, self-inflate, or trigger over-reactions by the child in question. Yet, no matter the intention, if your child reacts with verbal or physical aggression, they are going to pay severe penalties. This makes it especially critical to coach anticipation skills that normalize typical peer baiting. Draw another relationship road that depicts some of the standard comments that kids say to each other in various circumstances. Add a thinking bubble that contains a self-instruction to help you child keep their cool.

Dr. Steven Richfield is a child psychologist in Plymouth Meeting, PA.  He has developed a child-friendly self-control/social skills building program called Parent Coaching Cards.  His new book, The Parent Coach: A New Approach To Parenting In Today’s Society  is available through Sopris West (sopriswest.com or 1-800-547-6747) He can be contacted at www.parentcoachcards.com or 610-238-4450

All My Readers,

As a Chicken Soup co-author I’m always looking for your stories to share with everyone else.  Not too long ago I did a “call out” to my members asking for heartwarming stories and was overwhelmed with over 2500 submissions.  I know you will enjoy hearing from others so I am going to be sharing them with you on a weekly basis.  Here is the ninth one from Dr. Steven Richfield!

Preparing The Aspergers Young Adult for the Social Challenges of College
(By Dr. Steven Richfield)

As older adolescents with Aspergers Syndrome prepare for college, many challenges await. The familiarity of high school and the routines of daily life have provided a secure structure for them to accomplish tasks and manage interactions with others.  College presents a drastically different set of circumstances requiring skill sets that are unique to this environment. The autonomy and fragmentation of college life places a greater burden upon the student to be able to use interpersonal skills to build a successful academic and social foundation.

Although parents’ roles will change from those held when their child was in high school, thoughtful preparation can ensure that the young adult continues to build an effective interpersonal repertoire. Here are some coaching tips to get the process underway:

Expand the dialogue to include the “interpersonal requirements of college.” Most parents have already addressed the impact of Aspergers upon life, but now is the time to link it to college.  For ease of discussion, explain how college entails more complex interactions that can be roughly divided into input and output. Interpersonal input includes comments made by and observations made of roommates, as well as conversations overheard in class or announcements made by professors.  In contrast, output entails an individual’s behaviours and comments that are received by others, setting the stage for all types of first impressions and final interpretations to be arrived at.  Emphasize that their ability to accurately interpret input and adjust their output to send the messages they want is critical to their happiness and success in college.

Begin to share stories of how both of you received input and offered output to others in your lives.  Such stories provide the Aspergers young adult with a variety of ways to enhance their repertoire.  Parents might explain how, despite their discomfort, they asked for clarification when confused by someone’s reply.  Since Aspergers is marked by social ambiguities and a reluctance to pursue help this can facilitate initiative.  Similarly, if your soon-to-be college student describes social snapshots of their life you can help them consider likely interpretations of input as well as the output that would flow well with those comments or behaviours.  Most importantly, by respectfully exchanging these ideas and stories with one another you build a trusted dialogue where your young adult with Aspergers can continue to gain vital interpersonal skills.

Preempt the typical anxiety and withdrawal that are triggered by new social settings.  Aspergers tends to make people seem stiff and aloof when deep down they really want to feel attached and involved.  A barrier of anxiety stands in the way but there are ways to overcome it.  One way is to ask your incoming freshman to write lists of their interests, views, recent experiences, character strengths, and goals.  Such lists help them relate more spontaneously when there are opportunities to interact around such themes. Point out how news items, music and interesting classes tend to stimulate discussions so it’s a good idea to be ready to meaningfully contribute to the conversations that follow.  Periodically reviewing their lists gives them an “interpersonal head start” when these opportunities are presented.

Offer strategies to build interpersonal fluency and confidence. Since social life appears so amorphous to the Aspergers young adult it is best to keep strategies simple and easy to remember. One approach is to coach them in ways to “drop seeds of interest” during the opening phase of conversations. This entails briefly mentioning topics that tend to have “high interest value” to peers such as concerts, movies, technology, or members of the opposite sex.  Another strategy is to practice “good lead-ins with good timing,” or using past information that has been revealed provided that the timing is right.  Coach them in how information revealed during a one-on-one discussion may be inappropriate to use as a lead-in during a group conversation.  Discuss how as information becomes more personal, timing becomes more critical.

Dr. Steven Richfield is an author and child psychologist in Plymouth Meeting, PA   He has developed a child-friendly, self-control/social skills building program called Parent Coaching Cards now in use in thousands of homes and schools throughout the world.  His book, “The Parent Coach:  A New Approach to Parenting In Today’s Society,” is available through Sopris West (sopriswest.com or 1-800-547-6747) He can be contacted at director@parentcoachcards.com or 610-238-4450. To learn more, visit www.parentcoachcards.com

All My Readers,

As a Chicken Soup co-author I’m always looking for your stories to share with everyone else.  Not too long ago I did a “call out” to my members asking for heartwarming stories and was overwhelmed with over 2500 submissions.  I know you will enjoy hearing from others so I am going to be sharing them with you on a weekly basis.  Here is the sixth one from Monica Johns!

The Lack of Fairness in Life is a Good Lesson to Learn but a Tough One to Understand
(By Monica Johns)

The soccer ball is coming fast down the grassy field.  The boys are all trying to defend it by kicking the ball away.  My 11 yr old HFA and asperger son is on this defensive team.  He is ready and kicks the ball out from between the offensive players’ legs.  What a save right? 

My autistic sons’ stories don’t generally end that simple.  For some reason a “but” appears after each moment in time and in this case there is no disappointment.

But – then the offensive boy calls my son a name.  It doesn’t matter what the name is.  My son no longer cares about the soccer ball. He heads straight for the player and pushes him to the ground.  Of course this is not permitted in a soccer game and he gets carded and sent out.  His frustration level is high now and he can’t calm down. He runs away to get all of the emotion out of his body/head and later calmly returns. 

Everyone is wondering what happened. 

 It is tough for our special needs children to be involved in team sports.  Team sports should be a rewarding and fun time.  I have spoken to many parents that don’t involve their special needs kids in team activities anymore.  It just became too difficult.  I am sad about this.  For one, it is such a good way to get the exercise and high level of physical activity our kids need.  Secondly, being part of a team typically enhances friendships because they have this sport in common and enjoy it together.  Generally our special needs kids are lacking in friendships due to the inability to understand the complex relationship in being and having a friend or at the other end of the spectrum because they are the ones being teased, taunted and bullied. 

As my son grows older in age, his maturity grows at a much slower rate than the other boys on his team.  He has asked that we not tell the others that he is autistic because most team players do not understand autism and don’t want to be educated on it.  Now at the soccer games, I am fearful that he will act out and/or say something inappropriate.  He will outcast himself as he has done so many times before unbeknownst to himself.  We attempt to explain to him these non-existent social rules.  He listens and says that he understands but as soon as he steps onto the field, they are forgotten or missed.  He loves this game and he is a good player. In the end all he wants from the game is a friend – but the playing field is not fair just like in life.  The lack of fairness in life is a good lesson to learn but a tough one to understand especially for those with special needs.

As a Chicken Soup co-author I’m always looking for your stories to share with everyone else.  Not too long ago I did a “call out” to my members asking for heartwarming stories and was overwhelmed with over 2500 submissions.  I know you will enjoy hearing from others so I am going to be sharing them with you on a weekly basis.  Here is the second one from Rebecca Heibein!

Puppy Paws for Colton

Colton was diagnosed last year with an autism Spectrum Disorder.  He falls on the mild side of the spectrum, and his symptoms seem to be more specific to Asperger’s Syndrome, which falls under the Autism Spectrum.

Colton experiences some degree of all Asperger’s symptoms.  In the owner’s quest to find new ways to support Colton, we looked into the use of an Autism Service Dog.  We contacted a not for profit agency, Autism Dog Services, and arranged for a home visit.  The director of this agency, Wade Beattie, came to our house with a 16 month old Golden Retriever, Aspen.  He stayed for over an hour with us, and answered all of our questions, and Colton got to know Aspen and feed her treats!  At the end of the visit, we decided that an Autism Service Dog would benefit Colton immensely!  The parents submitted on application and we were approved. The value of one of these dogs is - $18,000 – a quick breakdown on the $18,000 cost of a dog is as follows:

• 28% ($5,040) is the basic cost of the dog, food, veterinary costs and fostering a puppy
• 44% ($7,920) is for advanced training of the dog
• 11% ($1,980) is for team training (training the child, the family and the dog to work together)
• 17% ($3,060) is continued support for the dog by Autism Dog Services.  They support the family and the dog over its working lifetime.

 A service dog will help a child with autism by:

• Improving safety and security at home, in public, and at school.
• Prevent a child from bolting into traffic or other dangerous situations.
• Provide independence, allowing a child to walk holding the dog rather than a parent’s hand.
• Lend support and a calming influence to a child as he copes in highly stressful situations and changes in routine.
• Allow greater freedom for our family to participate in outings and activities.
• Help improve socialization skills by bridging the gap between a child and society
• Acts as a constant companion, offering unconditional love and friendship.
• Help with transitioning and behavior when out in public.

We’ve already been on several outings with the dog, and have been able to see how life with a dog will be.  We’ve been able to walk through the very busy Saturday morning market, which is a place we would avoid given the level of anxiety some children have had in places like this.

Cole was diagnosed with PDD-NOS around age 2- 3. He has an amazing family who embraced the challenge of learning this new path that life had offered them and navigated through the information, professional opinions and programs that were being recommended for their child.

We had the pleasure of meeting Cole and Chrissie in December of 2009. They had just moved from Texas and were looking for new, exciting treatments that could help Cole (now 9), find his way through the social nuances of “9 year old boy life”.  Cole still could not ride a bike, during swim team his strokes were awkward and uncoordinated and he struggled to play board games with other kids, because he just hated losing and would tantrum; leaving his peers baffled and not quite sure how to handle the situation. Cole couldn’t always express his feelings appropriately either.

After the comprehensive occupational, physical and speech therapy evaluations that CTW performed, we developed an intense treatment protocol, using our technology and wonderful team of therapists and off we went – on the therapy journey!

Fast forward 6 months. We have seen tiny little steps and leaps and bounds. The outcomes are:  One of the first Aha! Moment’s occurred on a Friday night at swim meet. Chrissie and her neighbor were sitting watching the kids swim when her neighbor turned to her and said something like “Chrissie, look at Cole, his stroke is even and smooth, wow what have you been doing?” This was 6 weeks after starting our programs. Each week we had mini revelations that we discussed. One week it was how much his handwriting had improved at school (we had not done any hand writing programs yet), the next time, Cole was more aware of his mom’s emotions. Then his tangential thought patterns were occurring less and less, he was staying on topic and everybody could follow his conversation without these random thoughts popping up.  During the second week of his intensive program, Cole zipped his pants up for the first time in his life – he could now go and buy jeans at the store like other kids his age.

We had many tear jerking moments during this time. But the most poignant time was when Cole rode his bike independently – all his therapists cheered as if he had just won his first marathon – and he had, he could now do what other kids his age did!

We are very proud of our children and in this particular case, very proud of our parents too. With the love, support and effort that Coles’ parents have put into him, it was an honor to be able to teach Cole how to reach his milestones and then go beyond that.

Way to go Cole!
by Rebecca Heibein

All My Readers,

As a Chicken Soup co-author I’m always looking for your stories to share with everyone else.  Not too long ago I did a “call out” to my members asking for heartwarming stories and was overwhelmed with over 2500 submissions.  I know you will enjoy hearing from others so I am going to be sharing them with you on a weekly basis.  Here is the first one from Kristie Tait!

ROAD TO RECOVERY – LOGAN’S STORY

I remember the first time Logan was really sick. He was nearly 6 weeks old and was so congested it was restricting his breathing. I took him to the doctor’s office and we were sent immediately to Regina where he was admitted with life threatening illnesses. I was very thankful for my dear friend Tina who slept on a cold hard hospital floor and stayed right by my side as I prayed for my baby to make it through. (I was told by the nurses he may not make it through the night if things didn’t improve). Logan started to improve and within a few days we were on our way home where we were to be followed up closely by our family doctor. It turns out that Logan had Influenza A and RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) what a nasty little virus that was!  In fact, it is often fatal in infants.  Logan was definitely on the mend but as I read his medical records I learned that it can take several months for it to completely run its course. We had no idea at the time what we were in for.

I remember the day I took Logan for his immunizations…I was very concerned that maybe he wasn’t quite over his RSV and wasn’t sure it was a good idea for him to get his shots until I knew he was over that and his weakened immune system had a chance to heal itself. The health nurses were not concerned at all and convinced me that it was fine and that I had nothing to worry about and that his immunizations were completely safe. NOTHING could have been further from the truth.

He had a low grade fever but other than that seemed ok, he would sit for hours in his swing and stare into space, and he became less and less interested in human contact and never cried. Logan also started doing this strange hand flapping thing that we thought was so cute at the time. We would say he was riding his dirt bike like papa and would laugh while he did this. But the worst part of it was…Logan was sick ALL of the time. He had respiratory illness after respiratory illness after respiratory illness. We were hospitalized on a regular basis and sent by ambulance to Regina on several occasions. I tried to go back to work after my year of maternity leave was up, but due to his health conditions (and the fact that the only licensed day home in our area had a cat) I had to have someone come into my home to babysit Logan. I was very lucky to have a good friend do this for me…but it didn’t take long before I could not afford what it was costing. Logan continued to be sick so I had to take an extended leave of absence from work to take care of him. We went to see some specialists in the city and ended up with a diagnosis of asthma (which I didn’t agree with at all.) We figured out that cats were not contributing to his respiratory illnesses because my mom had a cat and he was never sick from being over there so I decided to put him in the day home and attempt to go back to work. Things were going fairly well except that he was still getting respiratory illnesses a lot…croup…bronchitis etc.  Then one day his child care provider told me she was quite concerned about his speech, she felt he was considerably delayed and suggested I looked into things. I took him to the doctors and got him to a speech and language pathologist as soon as possible. We were told everything was fine, he was just a little slower to talk and that he would catch up.

By this time Logan was almost 3 and barely talked at all. His behaviours were odd and he had tantrums every day.  He would not go to bed, he would not respond to his name when we called him, he was obsessed with licking things and lined his toys up on the floor. He was obsessed with door knobs and hinges, was overly hyper and had no fear of things he should have been afraid of. He was clumsy and would often run into things and injure himself – going to the doctor’s office became a weekly occurrence for us. I found it strange there were never any concerns that something was seriously wrong. Whenever I expressed concerns I was told I was over reacting, offered parenting advice and sent on my way home. My son was clearly showing signs that something was wrong. Life was nothing but stress…illness after illness for Logan he was nothing short of nearly impossible to deal with and to top it off I was a single mom and my older son had just lost his father.

Logan continued to be sick. He had croup every winter, broke out in shingles at age 5 and was given a full time E.A. at school to help deal with the behaviours. The school Logan goes to made sure he was seen by psychologists and assessed PROPERLY! (Logan’s school has been amazing!) My Logan started getting the help and support he needed. I started being very pushy with doctors to get to the bottom of what was going on and I started researching day and night. The words AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER filled my computer screen time and time again and I knew without a doubt that was what was going on with my son. It was both a relief to finally have an answer and heartbreaking at the same time. Now came the hard part… finding the right doctor (not as easy as it sounds.) My opinion of the medical community is not exactly warm and fuzzy after all we have been through. But I was determined to get on the right path. I realized that all the hard work and research would be on my shoulders so I started staying up all night reading, ordering books, looking into natural treatments etc. I started researching day and night about what I could do. I pushed my doctor and got in his face to get tests done.  We discovered Logan had an immunoglobulin A deficiency, a lack (more like non-existence) of “good bacteria” found in his G.I. tract. Logan (after his H1N1 vaccine) developed food intolerances and sensitivities,   lost a frightening amount of weight and suffered several horrifying side effects that put his health in serious jeopardy. Our family doctor wanted to hear nothing of the H1N1 vaccine side effects and ignored us, changed the subject and eventually told us we needed to find a new family doctor. The devastating fact was that we live in a smaller city where there are NO doctors taking new patients, actually there is a severe doctor shortage

Well, I was not about to throw my hands up in the air and do nothing…my little boy deserved way better than that! I decided to take matters into my own hands and started learning and doing everything I could. Every day I am amazed at the results I am seeing….simply amazed! The first thing I did was eliminate wheat and dairy from his diet. It only took a few weeks to start seeing improvements, he no longer screamed in agony from the stomach pain and he stopped waking up in the night crying. We also noticed that he was a happier boy! I was filled with hope for my son!!I  Bought heavy metal screen tests and tested his urine at home, it was no surprise to find it was high in metal toxins.  We started chelation therapy using a detoxifying bentonite clay bath and gave gentle oral chelation supplements – FOLLOWING ALL DIRECTIONS VERY CAREFULLY! I also started heavy supplements, probiotics to correct his digestive issues and digestive enzymes to help him break down carbohydrates and proteins. I continued to read   and educate myself as much as possible.  One book I would highly recommend any parent of a child with autism invest in is The Kid Friendly ADHD & AUTISM Cookbook. It has been a wonderful resource and guide. It also has made me realize how vital it is to have a healthy digestive system in order to have a healthy brain. I also decided to give him grapefruit seed extract and oil of oregano to clear the yeast overgrowth from years of antibiotic use. I was shocked at the amounts of yeast that came out in his bowel movements and was disgusted with the periodic bouts of vomiting that smelled of rancid yeast.

My son has done remarkably better since this intervention and I believe that things will only get better for him. Logan has put on ALL the weight he lost and then some.  His complexion is healthy and his eyes sparkle with life again. Logan is still hyper but has many days with little or NO meltdowns! (this is a MAJOR miracle)

We still have a long road ahead of us, further testing and assessments, and will likely have to continue the VERY expensive diet and supplement regime for a long time. IT IS WORKING!!! I find myself angry from time to time that my son was not properly assessed and diagnosed when he was younger but it has inspired me to help other children like Logan and be an advocate for those who don’t have a strong voice. I hope to write a book about our journey through healing, our adventures in autism and everything in between. I hope that my story will provide much needed support and comfort to other mothers out there who have also been blamed, ignored and mistreated by doctors. These children are very sensitive and are here to teach us all a very important lesson about how toxic our world is and how deadly our medical “interventions” truly are. I will stand up and speak out…won’t you?

Kristie Tait

The Art of Autism is universal.  For so many of our kids, art is that first inspiration that lures them out, into a world of fulfilling social interactions, through their exceptional, autism-enhanced ability to connect to others through art.  That’s why Autism Today has teamed up with author Debbie Hosseini, to create Artism: The Art of Autism, a magnificent coffee table book, packed with beautiful art by artists who happen to have autism.  As you enjoy the book, Hosseini takes you on a journey into the lives of 54 artists from around the world, and how each has used art to overcome the challenges of living on the spectrum.  In the process, she dispatches, one by one, with common myths about people with autism, perceptions among neurotypicals for example that people on the spectrum lack emotion, creativity, sensitivity, and empathy.

But Artism: The Art of Autism is not just a book.  It’s a community!  Be sure to check out our website, ArtismToday.com.  Interact with Debbie Hosseini, who curates the site.  Follow Artism artists in the news.  Each artists continues to attract interest and media coverage now that Artism: The Art of Autism is now available.   Learn about Keri Bowers’ upcoming Art of Autism Tour dates and how to participate, www.normalfilms.com.  Share YOUR story or that of a friend whom art has helped to cope or to transcend the challenges of autism.  Best of all — have fun!  Our goal is for ArtismToday.com to be an online crossroads for everyone interested in art and, yes, autism too.

We look forward to seeing you, interacting with you and learning about you and your art soon, on ArtismToday.com!

I didn’t stop playing their music, not even while my kids were growing up so they got to jam out with me in the car to Supertramp all their lives.  My fifth son, Stephen was the one who alerted me to the fact that they were coming to Edmonton. The funny thing was, I didn’t even know the key musicians name until Stephen invited me. You see,  I always knew him as Supertramp and never even thought about what his  actual name was, didn’t really care, just I knew I loved loved loved Dreamer and Superstar!  Who knows, maybe in the back of my mind part of our Autism Today Star logo came from that song.

My dream that came through was that my kids went with me and we got to enjoy the music together screaming, dancing and dreaming all in a state of exuberance.  I almost missed out because I didn’t connect the dots of Roger to Supertramp so when Stephen asked if I was going I almost didn’t go.  Sounds a little like autism eh?  I guess as a parent I’m probably a little spectral in nature too, you know, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

Another special thing that happened (this is unheard of!)  my teenage son Stephen came to the back of the venue where I was seated because I registered at the last minute and asked his friend to trade places with me because I was more fun!  Wow!!! I wouldn’t have been caught dead with my parents at that age.

Heres a picture of Jonny, Kim and I having a blast at the concert.  You can see by Jonny’s expression, I keep forgetting to call him Jon now that he’s older, he’s full of character!  We ended up talking about the label of autism and how ridiculous he thought it was that people didn’t like the word autistic.  He said its an incredible over use of words to have to say “person with autism” each and every time they talked about autism because some people thought it was bad to say autistic.  He said its not derogatory in his mind.  Hummmm interesting!  Straight from the horses mouth, not that he’s a horse of course.

My daughter Kim also in the picture shared a story of when she went into a printers office, the kid came over and was stimming on an apple computer.  He clearly had autism.  The woman kept making apologies for his behavior and Kim’s attitude was “get over it woman” its okay, lighten up!  You don’t need to be embarrassed about autism.  It is what it is and so what.  Look at the kid’s strengths and how intelligent he is and enjoy him for who he is.  Wow, this was my true dream come true.  Yes I want to change the world so that everyone has this message and “gets over it” that is, the embarrassment, the hiding in the closet, the covering up etc.  I was thrilled to hear my own children “get it” because as a parent, you must know, its sometimes easier to get the whole world to see your point before your kids even do and finally they are getting it too!!!

When asked ‘why Autism Today‘ Jonny replies “”Parents and Professionals need to know what their child has so they can understand what they’re going through and how they can help to improve the quality of their life and all those that support them”

Sincerely,  Kims, Matts, Christinas, Jonathans, Stephens and Alex’s crazy mom, Karen!

When I woke up, I couldn’t believe the pain shuddering through my entire body.  I wanted to die.  But wait, where was the baby?  I knew I was pregnant and that I had just delivered a beautiful baby boy, but he was nowhere in sight?  As I glanced out the window I noticed the grass was green, but just yesterday snow had covered every square inch of the landscape.  How could this be?  As my nurses came into focus, as well as the faces of my husband and mother, a story began to unfold as miraculous as those angels that surrounded me. They began to tell me what had happened during the past 57 days. I had almost died, was given a 1% chance to live, and was even read my last rites, but I had somehow managed to live again, against all odds.

Yes, I had survived, and so had my son.  But our real story was just beginning. My new baby, Alex, was soon to be diagnosed with ADHD.  His brother Jonathan, my two-and-a-half year-old, had just been diagnosed with autism.  It was a double-whammy!  Along with these two special boys and so many children like them, I had survived for a reason that would soon become very clear.

Where a life starts and why it starts again is the question every survivor faces. My story actually began fifty-three years ago when I was born in Oklahoma City.  Six years later our modest family of four packed up and moved to Florida where I grew up, from one hurricane season to the next.  This must be the reason for my attraction to high-energy people and my fearlessness, which both have served me well.
Dad had his own aeronautical engineering company, and mom worked for Pan Am Airlines, so my sister and I got to travel the world at an early age.  I loved the picturesque, quaint communities and the unique perspective others had in the many different cultures I visited.  I remember one woman in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka, being totally content sitting on top of a pile of rocks and breaking the big rocks into little rocks.  That’s what she did all day long and she had the biggest grin on her face I’d ever seen!  This is also where I fell in love with gemstones, which would become one of my callings in life.

After graduating from high school I attended college in north Florida and then decided to join the U.S. Air Force where I was stationed in Panama City, Florida. But four years was more than enough time for me to realize that the military life was not for me, so I received an honorable discharge and enrolled in the Gemological Institute of America in Santa Monica, California to become a Graduate Gemologist. Upon graduation I started a company in Bellevue Washington.  I later sold the company when, at age thirty-one, I met my current husband and moved to his home in Canada where I set up a jewelry store called The Gem Gallerie.

Jim and I had a wonderful life together. When I was younger, I would never have thought I wanted children, but at age thirty-four, Jim and I began our large, happy family.  We had our first three children in three consecutive years, one right after the other. I had my fourth child, Jonathan, when I was thirty-nine years old. He was rather quiet from the start, which was fine with me since I had three other kids in diapers.  I never noticed anything was different.  How could I?  Kim, Matt, and Christina consumed all of my energy, and I was still running the jewelry store.  Jonathan, I thought, was the perfect baby.  He would lie quietly in his crib, apparently perfectly content with the world.  In fact he didn’t really like to be held much.

It was my sister-in-law, Anna, who insisted that Jim and I get Jonathan evaluated for autism after she happened to listen to a radio talk show on the subject. How could I have known he was autistic?  I didn’t even know what autism was or what symptoms I should be looking for.  This was 1992 and autism was still relatively new territory, even for specialists.  It turned out that Jonathan did have autism and I was told to bring him back in a year, when he would be three-and-a-half years old.

For the next two years I met with special needs counselors and teachers who helped us work with Jonathan and I attended special needs conferences all across Canada.   We also went on to have our fifth child, Stephen, who was perfectly healthy. We thought we had faced our major hurdle in life and had come through it together as family.  We never guessed what lay ahead.

On April 18, 1994, I checked into the hospital for what I thought would be another routine childbirth like all the others. I was ready to deliver what would be our sixth and—though we didn’t know it at the time—last child. I had had a typical, healthy pregnancy.  I expected to go home in a couple of days and resume our busy, fun-filled life together.  But just minutes after Alex was born, I started to hemorrhage.  Nothing could be done to stop the bleeding.  What happened in the next 57 days was an unimaginable fight for my life. My family, friends, doctors, and nurses tried everything to pull me through—including a few “wild” schemes to get through to me in my comatose state.  It was ultimately just a few words from my husband that, unknown to him, gave me an ironclad will to live and to return to my family.  His words still ring in my ears.

“Don’t worry, honey.  I’ll take care of the kids”

After I woke up from my near-death experience, or “back-to-life experience” as I like to call it, one thing after another began to happen.  I had an internal drive and relentless passion first to write a book for my autistic son, Jonathan, called Little Rainman so he could understand his own autism as well as the people and the world around him.  I had six children at home at the time, so it’s not like I had extra time on my hands!  In fact every spare moment went into my urge to share my experiences with Jonathan with the world.

Shortly after the book was published I started a non-profit organization.  I would wake up in the middle of the night with visions of what this would be and the words “Key Enrichment for Exceptional Needs” would appear in my head.  In 1996 the KEEN Education Foundation was born as a driving force behind the effort to serve not only autism but also all types of special needs. Today, KEEN continues to support the educational goals of people with exceptionalities by providing them with the tools, research, and resources they need to thrive.
After this I started Autism Today, a small company that became the exclusive Canadian distributor for the worlds largest publisher of autism books and resources at the time.  I attended conferences and workshops to learn as much as I could about autism and special needs.  We’ve now grown from a simple one-computer, home-based business to an international organization that receives close to three million hits a month on our website, www.AutismToday.com.  Parents, educators, and more come to us for resources, coaching, and the latest news and articles from the top experts in the field. When baby Alex was diagnosed with ADHD, I expanded Autism Today to offer information and resources for the parents and educators of all special needs children.

Looking back now, I believe that breaking open my own rocks to see shining gems emerge from what look like only rough stones has always been part of what makes me smile as well–even today–only the stones have changed. What we experience when we are young and what we gravitate to as we grow is preparing us for everything life has in store for us.  Our new banner headline for Autism Today is “Shining New Light on Special Needs.”

As far as surviving, I suppose it is only in looking back at where we’ve been that those meaningful patterns start to emerge.  A new phase in my life is starting Healing Attitudes Seminars, which redefine perfection to share the secrets of the survivor’s story with others who have been there and for those who realize there will always be challenges in the road ahead.  In one way or another, we all are or at some point will be survivors. Here are just seven of the secrets I have learned and now develop and share with others through this program:
What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger–for a reason.

We all teach what we need to learn most, and by doing so everyone’s life is enhanced.
We all have special needs—some are just more obvious than others.  Do what you can to help others heal.
At any given moment, choose peace rather than conflict, love and acceptance rather than fear, and compassion and understanding rather than guilt and judgment.

Practice empathic listening and hearing your own inner, intuitive voices as well as  “true” voices of others.
Transcend all “types” of spirituality to embrace and teach the underlying message of love.
Bring others “up” to shine, acknowledging each person’s special gifts–the beauty and the hope.

I am certainly no angel, but I feel to the very depth of my being that I’m surrounded by miracles.

Karen Simmons is the parent of six children, ages 10 to 20, two of whom have special needs.  She is the founder and CEO of the internationally recognized Autism Today© non-profit organization, established in 1998, one of the world’s leading resources for all special needs, both online and at numerous conferences and events worldwide.

Karen is also the author of four celebrated books, including her soon to be re-released survivor’s story, Surrounded by Miracles.  Currently based in Alberta, Canada, Karen is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, which gives her and her organization a uniquely expansive network with the special needs community worldwide. For more information about Karen’s Healing Attitudes around Special Needs Seminars, her books, and other special needs resources, please visit www.AutismToday.com