5 mins read

Autism and Hotel Fire Alarms

Autism and Hotel Fire Alarms Pre-pandemic, my husband, son, and I had a visit to the bay area. We stayed at a fairly nice hotel in downtown Oakland. We had an unusual experience in this hotel, and I learned something about my son. What happened? The hotel has twenty-one floors. Our room was on the…

7 mins read

It’s Ok To Let Our Kids Settle For “Good Enough”

When it comes to my kids, one of the things that stresses me out is this whole idea of specializing.Since my daughter was four or five, I’ve watched as many of her friends have streamlined their focus on piano or guitar, on club soccer or volleyball teams, on ice skating or acting or singing or swimming or tennis or dance. The stakes seem to get really high really fast – weekend tournaments in Las …

6 mins read

What the Internet Thinks of Autism

My son recently said to me, “The Internet thinks of autism as stupid people. Stupid and autism go hand in hand, on the Internet.” What? I asked him to clarify that statement. And, he did. He said, “When I read things on the Internet about autism, it seems like autism is called things like stupid.…