Revelations

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When I was dragged into the world of disability by my eldest son, I was forced to confront a lot of new and uncomfortable truths – truths about people, about society, and about myself. I couldn’t stay who I was … Continue reading →

Is it harder to raise a severely or mildly autistic child? …Yes.

There are a lot of counterintuitive claims that you’ll encounter in the autism community. Claims that will throw you and think the people making the claims are in denial, running some sort of hidden agenda, lacking perspective, or all of … Continue reading →

From Fight to Flight; How I lost a school discrimination battle, and almost lost myself

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I’m going to share with you the story of how I lost a battle I never thought someone like me could lose, and how it almost ruined me in the process. It’s hard to share because I’m still living the … Continue reading →

The Ever-Battling Narratives of “The Autism Parent.”

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Today I was contacted by a woman here in New Zealand, who wanted to share her research project with me – specifically she wanted to hear my thoughts on what she had written. The project written by Catherine Rivera-Puddle, is entitled … Continue reading →

Isolation

One of the most enduring experiences for me as the mother of an autistic child, is a deep and growing sense of isolation. No, not just a sense, a reality of isolation. There was a time when the reality was … Continue reading →

Medicating a Child for Autism. Part Two: People’s Reactions.

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The reactions that people have had to my eight year-old son starting on medication, have been mixed and surprising. I want to start though with the reactions I had expected, based on what I hear very regularly on national radio talk-back … Continue reading →

Guest Post on the Deeper Meaning of Exclusion

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Today I am honoured to share a guest post by a friend and fellow mother of a child with a disability. Antonia is mother to three children, including Max who has Down syndrome. Antonia’s experience of rejection in non-inclusive school … Continue reading →

Blow Blow, Ear Ear, Hair.

Blow blow, ear ear, hair. Everyday, many times an hour, my son will blow on his left forearm, his right forearm, wipe the top of his left ear, his right ear, then run his hand across his hair. Again, again. … Continue reading →

The Non-Murdering Parent

There is an ugly, nasty, and logically incoherent view-point that I prefer not to dwell on, because I like to think it is so extreme that no one would provide a public or reputable forum for this view to be … Continue reading →

Parenting the Autism Away…

I’m going to start with a deceptively simple statement: Good parenting can lessen the severity of autism. If I just stop now, I’ll have left you with the groundwork for a huge number of the misconceptions I see almost everyday … Continue reading →