A Difficult Autism Experience I recently spoke with an AutMom who had this experience… Her nine-year-old son with autism attends a local elementary school. For about a year or two, her son was having difficulty with an obsession—a peer. A girl peer. Her son was convinced that this girl was his girlfriend. He was in…

A Special Birthday for My Son with Autism My son recently turned sixteen! A milestone birthday. I wanted this birthday to feel special to my son. It was a milestone after all. How did we celebrate this milestone birthday with our son? First, in lieu of having a big party, we had three close friends…

Returning to the Diamond for an Autistic Teenager The last time my son played baseball was in 2017. What team does he play on? It’s a special needs VIP Little League team. He’s played on this team for several years now. When he last played, he was really enjoying it. He has always liked to…

A High School Open House with My Child with Autism Open house. Every school has them, at some point during the year. It’s a chance for the student and parents to visit their classrooms, see some work, and talk to the teacher. What about my son’s open house? This year open house, my son’s second…

My son likes to try new things, a quality I admire. Sometimes, he says “I want to try this or that,” and it turns out he doesn’t like it. This happened a few years ago with a place called IFly, a sky diving simulator experience. He really wanted to try it, but when he got…

How an AutParent Handles Event Complaints My son attends gaming tournaments. He plays one game in particular, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. Honestly, I don’t really know much about the game, nor do I have much interest in any video games. I can (sort of) watch one and (sort of) know what’s going on. I can…

I was speaking with a relative recently who mentioned that her child, who is one year older than mine, has had trouble with standardized tests. This typical sixteen-year-old struggled with the “practice” PSAT and then again on the SAT. She was planning on retaking the SAT or taking the ACT later in the year. Her…

The Autism Community Has Two Success Stories   Here are two names you may want to memorize… Kalin Bennett and Tarik El-Abour. Who is Kalin Bennett? He’s an eighteen-year-old with autism from Little Rock, Arkansas who just signed a Division One Letter of Intent to play basketball at Kent State University. Kalin didn’t walk until…

I was listening to a #MeToo movement story the other day on NPR. I began to think about my son and how it relates. My son is a teenager quickly (too quickly for me) becoming a young male adult. A young male adult with autism. How does his background apply here? I remember one of…

Autism and Respect Fifteen is such a tough age. There’s so much going on at this age. So many pressures and changes. Even your body doesn’t feel right half the time. On top of all of this, some fifteen-year-olds, naming ours, struggle with some basics. Autism presents challenges in communication and social situations. How to…