The Joy of Autism

A New Beginning

And so we moved again. It has been lots of hard work to prepare Adam for another (and final) move to our now permanent home in downtown Toronto. I decided to put everything aside to prepare him (and our new home) for the transition. This involved many...

Published Mon, Sep 15 2014 7:48 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Adam, Estee, Family, Single Parenthood, Transitions, Love, Friendship

Upcoming Events

I will be on the panel with the De Veber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research on autism this Thursday, July 10th at 5:30 p.m. at 280 Bloor Street West in Toronto. I hope autistic self-advocates will register early as well as those involved in Critical...

Published Sat, Jul 05 2014 7:46 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: EVENTS

The Hunt for Humanity? Some words for Ivan Semeniuk, Dr. Stephen Scherer and Dr. Mohammed Uddin

I came by your article in Canada’s The Globe and Mail, The Hunt for Humanity, printed on June 21st, 2014, a little late. To recap for readers, you suggest that your project, Brainspan Atlas research at Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital (Dr. Sherer...

Published Sun, Jun 29 2014 7:19 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Discrimination, Eugenics

A Better Autism Awareness Month?

I’ve been sitting back and watching. While not all things are perfect, I have to recall what it was like in Ontario 12 years ago when I was first introduced to this social phenomenon called autism. CNN had numerous reports on the “epidemic”...

Published Tue, Apr 08 2014 7:48 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Activism, Critical Disability Studies, Uncategorized, Autism and The Media, Inclusion, Autism and Intelligence, Acceptance, Autism and Employment, Contributions to Society, Advocacy, Behaviours, Institutions, Ableism, Accessibility, Diversity

Beyond Mall Therapy

I think many parents will agree that one of the most challenging things for families with autistic children are outings. Adam’s anxiety and repetitive activities increase over his perceived threats and fear of change; he will need to check out the...

Published Fri, Mar 21 2014 9:02 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Anxiety, Inclusion, communication, Obsessions, Autistic Self Advocacy, Travel, Sensory Differences, Transitions, Safety, Parenting, Autism Theories, Behaviours, Wandering, ABA, Language, Community, Living, seizures, Intelligence, Aides and Assistants, Accessibility

Moving along…

There are times when you have to just stop everything. Adam has required it…his school has required it. A focus on Adam’s typing and adaptations in school have alas been paying him dividends. Despite his want for escape, screaming and bolting...

Published Mon, Mar 17 2014 5:49 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Adam, Anxiety, Inclusion, communication, Obsessions, Sensory Differences, Advocacy, Transitions, Wandering, Movement Disturbance, Community, Living, Intelligence

Parent/Teacher

We begin 2014 anew. I have applied for a leave of absence from my PhD study to focus entirely on Adam’s program. In so doing, I recognize I need time to energize myself and have some free time; this is not possible as a single parent of an autistic...

Published Tue, Jan 07 2014 9:55 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Adam, Anxiety, Estee, Single Parenthood, communication, Obsessions, Parenting, Behaviours, school, Language

2014

There are days when I feel so grateful for the support Adam and I receive from the team, friends and family. My university is so supportive of our needs as well, allowing me a leave so I can lesson-plan for Adam and train him more in language and typing...

Published Wed, Dec 18 2013 7:28 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Anxiety, Critical Disability Studies, Inclusion, Acceptance, Joy, communication, Inspiration, Behaviours, school, Language, Community, Intelligence, Academia

Emerging Tensions: Puberty, Autonomy and Safety

It’s the end of the term…I need a long break and so does Adam. His anxiety went up as soon as the clocks turned back. The darkness brought about a new mood, Adam’s ticking went off the charts and he started a new tick – a screaming tick. He wasn’t happy...

Published Fri, Dec 13 2013 7:33 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Anxiety, Autism and Learning, Development, Inclusion, Family, Single Parenthood, communication, Obsessions, Travel, Sensory Differences, Transitions, Safety, Behaviours, school, Movement Disturbance, Love, Identity, Living, Intelligence, Aides and Assistants

Breathing Life into Words

Adam has been reading words since he’s been 11 months old. When he reads aloud, it sounds as if Adam has weaker reading skills, but his typing is always better than reading out loud. Yet there is a difference in how we come to language, and I suppose...

Published Tue, Dec 03 2013 10:02 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: communication, Language

Weeds or Herbs?: Eugenics Rhetoric Reinvoked

I am end of term, writing papers on technology and autism using critical theory and my interest is how we invoke these to obtain work, to socialize, but also in how these shape our existence. While technology is said to open up avenues for communication...

Published Tue, Nov 26 2013 10:10 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Uncategorized

Autistic Teenager Tipped for Nobel Prize

It is important to remember what autistic people can do in light of my previous post this morning of autistic people being confined to the isolation rooms and separate schools. Imagine the emotional and intellectual starvation of most autistic children...

Published Fri, Nov 22 2013 6:43 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Autism and Learning

What’s Going on In Canada? Autistic Children in Isolation Rooms

The CBC news story on an autistic child being sent regularly to an isolation in a B.C. school was aired this morning. The student, who is “mildly autistic” (she can speak), is sent regularly to a windowless room. In polling the other young...

Published Fri, Nov 22 2013 4:29 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Activism, Law, Human Rights

Why is Seeing, Believing?

I learned another lesson tonight. Adam has had a few difficult days. He was complaining last week that his ear hurt, and I thought maybe he had an ear infection. I took him to the doctor who suggested it could be his 12-year-old molars coming in. I was...

Published Thu, Nov 21 2013 6:52 PM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Adam, Anxiety, communication, Behaviours

What Might Derrida Say About Autism and Language?

Adam types, mostly independently, and also with various modes of assistance. Of late, he has developed his grammatically perfect sentences and I have to wonder about teaching the system of language. To most, this should be a heralded moment when Adam...

Published Sat, Nov 16 2013 10:22 AM by Estée Klar

Filed under: Activism, communication, autism, Community

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