The Joy of Autism

The “Severely Autistic” Go To College

Ralph James Savarese, Professor of English at Grinnell College and author of Reasonable People: A Memoir of Autism and Adoption, writes The Silver Trumpet of Freedom in The Huffington Post. It’s about his autistic son D.J. and how he communicates...

Published Fri, Feb 25 2011 11:38 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Activism, Autism and Learning, Inclusion, Acceptance

Parenting An Autistic Child

We’ve been peaceful around here. This morning Adam picked up my guitar that I’m learning (really slowly), and he played it himself, strumming and enjoying the reverberating sound. I guess watching me and other people has inspired him. He already...

Published Tue, Feb 08 2011 6:06 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Autism and Learning, Acceptance, Parenting, Inspiration

The State of Education for Autistic Children (as I see it)

Big snowstorm’s coming. It starts tonight in Toronto and is supposed to continue into tomorrow. Adam will be at home. He’ll work on his computer, I on mine. We’ll play piano and a few games. I still haven’t had time to complete...

Published Tue, Feb 01 2011 6:59 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Activism, Autism and Learning, Acceptance

The Inferno

I haven’t written because I’m having nightmares. Last Sunday, the house I built with Adam’s dad (it took us from start to finish maybe three years and a bit) went ablaze. It’s completely ruined. The outer structure looks fine but...

Published Fri, Mar 04 2011 12:49 PM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Safety

The Long Corridor Ahead

Adam jumped up and down in the airport waiting area, furiously flapping his hands. “Go ahead, Adam,” I said with people looking but trying not to stare. You know what I mean. People are generally pretty good about it. Human beings are wired...

Published Sun, Mar 11 2012 7:09 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Anxiety, Acceptance, autism, Travel, Transitions, Parenting

Normally Autistic

Adam had dental surgery this week and I’ve caught a cold. As we’ve both been recuperating on opposite ends of the couch — me with my copy of Betty , The Fountain of Age, and Adam with his iPad — I’ve been thinking what I...

Published Thu, May 24 2012 3:26 PM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Autism and Learning, Development, Parenting, Play, Computing/iPad

Losing Adam

I’m going to write this raw and unedited. Have you ever been so scared that you literally wet yourself? I did today. I lost Adam. I took him to Sportball. It takes place in a church — they don’t lock the doors. All the kids are special...

Published Sat, May 14 2011 9:17 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Activism, Wandering

Never Too Late To Sign

You can sign the Declarataion for the Support of Community Living Here: http://www.institutionwatch.ca/petition-app This from the Canadian Centre for Community Living 2010 Report Card: Improvement still needed… • Among children with intellectual disabilities...

Published Sun, May 15 2011 8:01 PM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Activism, Inclusion, Acceptance

This requires few words

It helps to look at the face of the Laughing Buddha or the Dalai Lama, who I understand has a great laugh. Yeah, so there’s a lot of change in our lives. We just have to learn that this is a part of it and smile. So this post needs few words. I’ve...

Published Fri, Jun 03 2011 9:20 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Advocacy, school

The Adam “Rating Scale”

I’m in the process of completing forms. Adam was diagnosed with autism at eighteen months of age. Now that he’s ten, I’ve been re-reading files and reports from clinicians and teachers over the years. We’ve never had a formal IEP...

Published Mon, Apr 16 2012 3:27 PM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Autism and Learning, Uncategorized, Development, Autism and Intelligence, communication, Autism Spectrum and Diagnosis, Behaviours

Needless to Say?

There’s not much more to add to this. As Adam talks a bit more every year, he has become an independent typist and needs lots of help in order to tap into his potential here. It began with prompting and facilitating at a time when no one truly understood...

Published Wed, Jun 27 2012 10:56 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Autism and Learning, Development, Acceptance, communication

Bosch Junior

Adam brought home a large scale drawing he made with his teacher — about 3×3 feet. He loves animals and started drawing them. Then he starting adding features. He shared the coloured pens, asking his teacher to draw things, using all his own...

Published Sat, Feb 26 2011 8:02 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Adam, Autism and Learning, Art

Autism and Sleep (again)

This picture is of Adam covering his ears while I’m doing a song and dance trying to keep him awake! Say what, you might ask? Doesn’t Adam have problems staying asleep? Well yes, sometimes, which is why I found this evening so ironic that...

Published Thu, Sep 09 2010 5:35 PM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Transitions, Sleep

I Have A Few Dreams

Watching me these days and I think you will find me deep in thought. I’m dreaming, thinking. Not the kind of dreaming where I’m floating (well, okay, sometimes), but the kind that I think is important for all parents of autistic children....

Published Mon, Aug 23 2010 2:24 PM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Joy

Oops they did it again… on CNN

Every time I watch a new episode on autism from CNN, I’m ready to turn off all phones. For certain, I’ll get a call about ABA, and that maybe Adam “should have had more of it,” and then there is all that dark talk about autism...

Published Wed, Dec 09 2009 10:42 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Autism and The Media

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