Welcome! I am the single parent to two boys on the autism spectrum. I have been writing at this site since June of 2005. My youngest son, Matthew is twelve with severe autism and behavior issues, as well as being non-verbal. Matthew has been on anti-psychotic medication for over five years now. We have been attending feeding therapy for six years and had floortime therapy for one year.Matthew can be seen skipping around the playground, a skill he mastered before age three. He won a race at his Early Intervention class during a competition with another school. I see him as being the next Carl Lewis - Special Olympics could be in his future. Matthew is attending MiddleSchool in September of 2008. Many transitions will occur - riding the school bus with his new male aide, wearing a uniform and taking PE daily with a uniform and dealing with a locker room.

My older son, Nicholas is thirteen and considered higher functioning on the autism spectrum. He was fully included from first through fifth grade. He is entering seventh grade September of 2008 with California Virtual Academy, utilizing k12 curriculum at home. We are happy with the homeschooling experience and hope that Nicholas will be accepted into the Los Angeles Zoo High School Magnet. He wants to be a zookeeper like Jack Hanna. He was thrilled with the visit to Sea World over spring break on his tenth birthday. Nick used to participate in weekly social skills´ classes with other children in his age group. His favorite television stations are Animal Planet, National Geographic Channel and Discovery Channel.

Both boys were retained in the first grade. They attend a special autism day camp every summer. I will be sharing tips, ideas, suggestions and resources for a variety of subjects. These will range from books for children, preparing for field trips, terminology, government programs, behavior issues and strategies, supervised visitation, assessments, social skills, communication systems and IEP goals. There are reviews on books, toys, CDs, DVDs and food related items.

Here is a listing of the Future Article Topics as of April, 2008.

I have been writing Reviews on Epinions for over eight years. You will also come across my reviews on Amazon. I sell books on ebay under the id of "autismfamily". I have a group known as Autism Families at gather.com and my Profile there as well.

Whether you are new to the autism world or have been living with it everyday for many years - I hope you find something of interest here and check back often for new articles. Parents´ helping other families is what support is all about. For many of us our own families are not in the picture and we gain insight and strength from those who have lived with autism on a daily basis.

Visit the Forum and learn about our CHATS so you can participate. See you Sundays at 1pm (PST), which is 4 pm EST.

Feel free to subscribe to the Autism Newsletter

I created a yahoo group in January 2004 that shares PECS cards and resources.





Click to join MakingPECSCards


Educational Autism Tips for Families 71 page resourceful ebook for families entering the school system with a recent autism diagnosis. Find out what issues take place over the course of a school day and meet these challenges head on.

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