Today's Fresh Blogs...

• Reading the News, Thinking about Charlie

  Published: July 26, 2007, 5:59 am

  Tags: Toys, Food And Diet, Charlisms, Living Arrangements, Health, Neuroscience, Animal Rights, Animals, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Children, Dora The Explorer, Education, Elmo, Family, House, New York Times, News, Newspaper, Obesity, Octagon, Parenting, Pdd Nos

  Once upon a time, when I sat down to read the newspaper, I just read it: Front page, arts, book reviews, world news, skip the sports. Now I sit down in front of my laptop to read, and get up mid-story if I hear Charlie calling—-and, inevitably, much of what I read is through the lens of Charlie, and of autism. For example: Eating

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• JP

  Published: August 1, 2007, 8:37 pm

  Tags: Adulthood, Living Arrangements, Siblings, Family, Arthur Miller, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Children, Developmental Disability, Down Syndrome, Education, Family, Father, Health, Institution, Mental Retardation, Parenting, Pdd Nos

  Among those 100,000 children living in institutions in 1967 was playwright Arthur Miller’s son, Daniel, who was born with Down Syndrome in 1962 and immediately placed in the Southbery Training School in Connecticut. Miller did not mention Daniel in his autobiography, nor did he publicly acknowledge him, and he visited his son “seldom

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• Arthur Miller, Daniel Miller, and Denial

  Published: August 17, 2007, 12:41 pm

  Tags: Literature, Living Arrangements, History, Arthur Miller, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Celebrities, Children, Denial, Down Syndrome, Health, Literature, Parenting, Pdd Nos, Play

  Charlie looking over at me as he sat eating watermelon and a hamburger at the table this evening, his eyes big, his face happy and all of him deeply tanned from ocean swimming and time on the beach: It’s the kind of moment that you hope you can always remember, Charlie enjoying the things he likes (and that I know he likes) and revelling in

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• The News Not Fit to Print

  Published: August 19, 2007, 12:40 am

  Tags: Safety, Living Arrangements, Legal Issues, Asd, Aspergers, Assault, Autism, Children, Crime, Education, Family, Group Home, Health, Pdd Nos

  I was watching the news with friends who are visiting us down here at the beach. Charlie was up in his room, listening to (per his request) Jimi Hendrix; I had forwarded the CD to one of his favorites, “Little Wing.” The TV had been turned on to the Mets playing the Nationals and our friend flipped the station to the news: a building

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• What About the Adults?

  Published: August 20, 2007, 2:42 am

  Tags: Adulthood, Living Arrangements, Music, Education, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Children, Family, Fountains Of Wayne, Friends, Health, Ipod, Jimi Hendrix, Music, Ocean, Pdd Nos, Ramones, Rock Roll, Water

  The mother of Clay, who is 23 years old and has autism, cerebral palsy, and hydrocephalus and is legally blind in both eyes, asked this very question—–”what about the adults”—–in a comment on If There's No Autism Epidemic, Where are all the Adults with Autism?. It is a questions that, I suspect, more parents of

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• It's Better With Charlie

  Published: August 28, 2007, 1:30 pm

  Tags: Travel, Adulthood, Living Arrangements, History, Arthur Miller, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Children, Developmental Disability, Down Syndrome, Education, Family, Health, Parenting, Pdd Nos, Vanity Fair

  45 years ago, playwright Arthur Miller institutionalized his infant son, Daniel Miller, at a state facility in Connecticut. Miller did not mention his son in his own autobiography and did not visit him. 40 years ago, Lena DeRose gave birth to her sixth child, Randy who, like Daniel Miller, has Down Syndrome. Notes the August 28th Daily Herald

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• What Is Best When There's Autism in the Family?

  Published: September 2, 2007, 2:45 pm

  Tags: Drama, Living Arrangements, Disability Rights, Family, Arthur Miller, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Beach, Children, Developmental Disability, Down Syndrome, Drama, Education, Family, Health, Intelligence, Ocean, Parenting, Pdd Nos, Science, Surfing, Theater, Vanity Fair

  is quoted as saying: “Living with Colin was like living with an abusive spouse……You never knew what was going to set him off.” You try to protect your kids from things, but the violence they have seen is not something any child should ever see. He was our burden; he was not our kid’s burden.” Jim Abernethy

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• Just A Little Noise Music

  Published: September 5, 2007, 1:04 am

  Tags: Charlisms, Living Arrangements, Language, Apartment, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Children, Condo, Education, Family, Health, Noise, Parenting, Pdd Nos, Retirees, Sign Language

  I love the sound of Charlie’s voice. Expressing himself using the spoken word continues to be one of his biggest struggles: Charlie still has traces of apraxia and has to try hard to articulate each word and syllable. I suspect that he is overly familiar with people saying “what did he say?” after he has spoken. Charlie could not

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• Roller Coaster Week

  Published: September 8, 2007, 1:25 am

  Tags: Living Arrangements, Parenting, Language, Education, Amusement Parks, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Back To School, Children, Family, Health, Parenting, Pdd Nos, Roller Coasters

  This week completely confirmed my general theory about the roller coaster nature of life with Charlie in that one thing after another kept happening pell-mell, and just as I was registering the effect of one thing on Charlie and on us, something else happened. We went sailing. We moved. Charlie had his first day of school. Jim and I went to a

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• How Do You Know You're Lost?

  Published: September 23, 2007, 12:01 pm

  Tags: Safety, Living Arrangements, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Children, Family, Health, Lost, Missing Children, Missing Persons, Parenting, Pdd Nos

  are now living in a second-story condo. It’s only two short flights of stairs up but—the real concern—we have no view of the parking lot below from the front door landing. If Charlie runs out on his own, he is most likely going to the car and he gets in if the door is open—-but “most likely” does not mean

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• Worry Worry

  Published: October 8, 2007, 12:38 pm

  Tags: Adulthood, Crime, Safety, Living Arrangements, Abuse, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Children, Crime, Education, Family, Health, Pdd Nos, Washington

  19-year-old Max Hollen, who has autism and epilepsy, has been missing from his group home since yesterday afternoon. Update: Hollen was found by Monday morning, Oct. 8. Two employees of the Rainer School at Buckley, Washingston, have been arrested after videos shot by undercover KIRO 7 Eyewitness News shows that disabled students at a school run

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• An Apartment of His Own

  Published: October 21, 2007, 5:32 pm

  Tags: Adulthood, Living Arrangements, Work, Apartment, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Autistic, Children, Developmental Disability, Education, Family, Health, Job, Pdd Nos, Work

  is a “supported living” residence, in which individuals like Carmans can live with the help of a service provider of their own choosing. On weekdays, an East Bay Paratransit van takes Carmans from his home to the school, which enrolls 45 students across the street from a former produce center where the foundation has its

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• Finding Jean and Molly

  Published: October 22, 2007, 4:23 am

  Tags: Adulthood, Living Arrangements, Siblings, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Autistic, Brothers, Children, Education, Family, Feeble Minded, Film, Health, Institutionalization, Pdd Nos, Sisters

  Alan and David after living for 60 years in an institution and being considered a “feeble-minded person.” An October 21st story in The Times notes that today, she may instead have instead been diagnosed with autism, Asperger Syndrome or dyslexia. What’s especially saddening about this story is that her brothers only

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• The Key of G: new PBS documentary

  Published: November 5, 2007, 6:35 am

  Tags: Adulthood, Living Arrangements, Movies, Music, Asd, Aspergers, Autism, Autistic, Children, Developmental Disability, Education, Family, Health, Movie, Musicians, Pbs, Pdd Nos

  apartment and into a new living arrangement: ……he leaves his mother’s home to share an apartment with a close-knit group of artists and musicians who support him, not only as paid caregivers, but also as friends. Together they create a uniquely successful model of supported living, and a compelling alternative to

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• More Good Thanks

  Published: November 23, 2007, 12:03 am

  Tags: Holidays, Food And Diet, Living Arrangements, Health, Sports, Family, Asd, Aspergers, Athletes, Autism, Autistic, Children, Education, Extreme Makeover, Family, Health, Home, House, Marathon, Pdd Nos, Running

  On our table, there was plenty of turkey, nah mai fan (sticky rice) with lop cheung (Chinese sausage), shrimp, and Chinese mushrooms, and mashed potatoes, and roasted vegetables, and cranberry sauce, and gravy, and soy ice cream, two kinds of pie……. It was very warm for November and, as planned, Charlie and Jim went on a long bike

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