My Teddy Bear

My professor asked us to do a reaction on this, and still I couldn't think of not including Dale in it.

THREE LETTERS FROM TEDDY

If ever a moral lesson was asked of me about this piece, they are compassion and perseverance -- two traits that any teacher should have to reach the ultimate potential of every student.

I wanted to become a teacher since I was young; however, I wasted my time when I grew up. I lost a clear goal and went on to a different path. I was not happy. I eventually became a teacher, a little too late, but still with perseverance, I have managed it.

Along the way, God gave me three wonderful children, one of whom he wrapped in special gold paper and labeled it with “handle with care.” When he turned two, I learned why. He was diagnosed as having autism. I dropped everything and concentrated on making him better. When he did get better, I returned my attention to teaching. There were obstacles along the way like getting sick, but eventually I also got well.

I had the chance to teach for a year in a classroom setting. There I learned compassion. I found out that no two children were alike and that some children need more attention than others. I am also not a hypocrite to say that I didn’t have favorites, because I did. =)

However, God gave me another trial and made me sick again. It did not stop me from continuing my education. I still am praying for healing so I can teach again; if not as a preschool teacher, then as a college professor. Now, even though I do not teach in a classroom setting, I get to teach my children still, especially my son.

So, here I am. Unlike Miss Thompson, I didn’t have a Teddy in my previous classroom, but I have a Teddy Bear forever in my heart. He is now sitting beside me, asking me how I can finish my “homework” if I keep on checking my tweets.

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.” -- Walter Elliott

A first

Dale attended his first Night Dance last night. He said he enjoyed himself, but he wanted to go home early because he used up all his "moves," which he also demonstrated to me. He also said, almost all the girls wanted to dance with him. Haha!

Here he is now, at 11 (going 12 on December 17)--

Anyway, he and Anton (his bro) was soaked with sweat when they got home. Anton told me to make them bring extra shirts next time. I told him as this was a first for me, I didn't know exactly what they needed to bring. =)

The second Night Dance will be on February. I'm hoping that Dale will enjoy it better than last night.

rethinkautism.com

Hi Reich,

How’s Dale doing? I see that you haven’t posted in a while, but I just came across your blog, and I wondered if you would like to post something about a short video series our company just produced for Autism Awareness Month as a part of our Weekly Tips Series.

In the first video, our therapists highlight some key early signs of autism that parents can look for while showing video examples. The next three videos feature a single mother, Trina Mcfield and her twin sons, one of which was diagnosed with autism.

The videos are contained within a popup on our website http:www.rethinkautism.com and I hope you take a look and help spread the word for Autism Awareness Month!

Thanks!

Kent Kincannon
Production Manger
Rethinkautism.com

Let’s Talk and Learn Therapy Center

Let's Talk and Learn Therapy Center

888 Aster St. Cerhill Subdivision, San Agustin City of San Fernando Pampanga
Contact numbers: 0916-2304619, 0922-8392474, (045) 8900085
email: letstalkandlearn@gmail.com

We provide Speech-Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, School Readiness, Reading and SPED Programs

Famous People on the Spectrum

CREDITS: http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/famous-people-with-autism.html

Below is a list of famous people with autism, some with unspecified forms, high-functioning, autistic savants and severe autism.

Famous people with unspecified forms of autism

The following people have been diagnosed as being somewhere on the autistic spectrum but the specific classification is unknown.

Daryl Hannah, an American actress best known for her roles in Splash, Blade Runner and Kill Bill was diagnosed as a child as being 'borderline autistic'
Christopher Knowles, American poet
Matthew Laborteaux, actor on Little House on the Prairie
Katherine McCarron, autistic child allegedly murdered at the age of three by her mother, Karen McCarron.
Jason McElwain, high school basketball player
Michael Moon, adopted son of author Elizabeth Moon
Jasmine O'Neill, author of Through the Eyes of Aliens
Sue Rubin, subject of documentary Autism Is a World. Sue Rubin has no oral speech but does communicate with facilitated communication.
Birger Sellin, author from Germany,
Robert Gagno, actor from Vancouver,

Famous people with Asperger syndrome

Dan Aykroyd, comedian and actor: Aykroyd stated he has Asperger's, but some feel he was joking.
Richard Borcherds, mathematician specializing in group theory and Lie algebras
William Cottrell, student who was sentenced to eight years in jail for fire-bombing SUV dealerships
Craig Nicholls, frontman of the band The Vines
Gary Numan, British singer and songwriter
Dawn Prince-Hughes, PhD, primate anthropologist, ethologist, and author of Songs for the Gorilla Nation
Judy Singer, Australian disability rights activist
Vernon L. Smith, Nobel Laureate in Economics
Satoshi Tajiri, creator of Pokémon
Daniel Tammet, British autistic savant, believed to have Asperger Syndrome
Liane Holliday Willey, author of Pretending to be Normal, Asperger Syndrome in the Family; Asperger syndrome advocate; education professor; and adult diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at age 35

People with high-functioning autism

Michelle Dawson, autism researcher and autism rights activist who has made ethical challenges to Applied Behavior Analysis
Temple Grandin, a designer of humane food animal handling systems.
Hikari Oe, Japanese composer
Bhumi Jensen, Thai prince, grandson of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand; killed by drowning in the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
Dylan Scott Pierce, wildlife illustrator
Jim Sinclair, autism rights activist
Donna Williams, Australian author of Nobody Nowhere and Somebody Somewhere; after testing for deafness in late childhood, and being labelled 'disturbed', Donna was formally diagnosed as autistic in her 20s
Stephen Wiltshire, British architectural artist
Axel Brauns, German author of the autobiographical bestseller Buntschatten und Fledermäuse and filmmaker

Famous autistic savants

Alonzo Clemons, American clay sculptor
Tony DeBlois, blind American musician
Leslie Lemke, blind American musician
Jonathan Lerman, American artist
Thristan Mendoza, Filipino marimba prodigy
Jerry Newport is an author, savant, and has Asperger's. His wife, Mary Newport, is also a savant on the autistic spectrum
Derek Paravicini, blind British musician
James Henry Pullen, gifted British carpenter
Matt Savage, U.S. autistic jazz prodigy
Henriett Seth-F., Hungarian autistic savant, poet, writer and artist

People with severe autism

Tito Mukhopadhyay, author, poet and philosopher

Diagnosis: Not a ‘spoiled brat’

Diagnosis: Not a ‘spoiled brat’

Help at last for the Aspergirls

Help at last for the Aspergirls

Parents of Boy With Autism Map Out His Future as an Adult

Parents of Boy With Autism Map Out His Future as an Adult

Parents Of Grown Offspring With Autism More Likely To Split Up

Parents Of Grown Offspring With Autism More Likely To Split Up

The parents of grown children with autism are more likely to divorce than couples with typically developing children, according to new data from a large longitudinal study of families of adolescents and adults with autism.

The study, published in the August issue of the Journal of Family Psychology by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Waisman Center, paints a new picture of the prospects of long-term marital success for parents raising a child with autism.

The study is the first to track marital history of parents of adult children with autism. It reveals that, in contrast to previous assumptions, parents do not have a greater risk of divorce when their son or daughter with autism is young. However, as the child with autism grows into adolescence and adulthood, parents are more likely to divorce than are parents of typically developing children. Although findings reveal diminished prospects for a lasting marriage for parents raising a child with autism, the majority of marriages in this study survived.

The study compared the marital fates of 391 couples - the parents of adolescent and adult children with autism - to a sample drawn from another large longitudinal study, the National Survey of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS). The goal of the study was to document the rate and timing of divorce of parents of children with autism, explains Sigan Hartley, a UW-Madison assistant professor of human development and family studies and lead author of the report.

The study revealed that the divorce rate for parents of children with autism mirrors the divorce rate of the parents of children without disabilities until the child reaches 8 years of age. After that, the divorce rate goes down for parents of children without disabilities but remains high for parents of children with autism.

"There seems to be a prolonged vulnerability for divorce in parents of children with autism," says Hartley. "Typically, if couples can survive the early child-rearing years, parenting demands decrease and there is often less strain on the marriage. However, parents of children with autism often continue to live with and experience high parenting demands into their child's adulthood, and thus marital strain may remain high in these later years."

Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder or ASD, has symptoms that vary considerably in severity between individuals, but core characteristics of the disorder include difficulty establishing and maintaining social relationships, delayed communication skills, and repetitive motions such as rocking back and forth and hand flapping. Children with autism frequently require high levels of care and continue to live with parents as adults.

"There is a lifelong profile of challenging behaviors and symptoms associated with autism," Hartley notes. "Few developmental disabilities appear to be more taxing on parents and there is a great need for support services for families when the child is an adolescent and adult. Providing support for couples to help them work on their marriages is an obvious step. If we can get information and support to these families, we hope to be able to support lasting marriages."

The new study compares data from two large longitudinal studies, the Adolescents and Adults with Autism Study, directed by Marsha Mailick Seltzer, a UW-Madison professor of social work and director of the Waisman Center, and MIDUS, directed by UW-Madison psychology professor Carol Ryff. Both studies are funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Lack Of Evidence To Support Use Of Antidepressants For Autism

Lack Of Evidence To Support Use Of Antidepressants For Autism

New Brain Scan Diagnoses Autism In Adults

New Brain Scan Diagnoses Autism In Adults

Robots To Help Children With Autism

Robots To Help Children With Autism

understanding death

Death is no laughing matter. It is only but normal for us to feel sad and cry when someone we know and love passes away.

My uncle died yesterday. Mom was out, and we couldn't find a way to tell her. We wanted her to know not when she's outside, but surrounded by us. I was the one who uttered the words that I knew would make her cry. I had nothing else to say. I cannot tell her to stop crying. I cannot say that everything will be alright. I cannot say that her brother's death was for the better. Selfish as I am, death is not something I can look and shrug at. I cannot think of anything positive about losing someone you care about.

All the time that Mom was crying, I was looking at Dale playing with my iPhone. He glanced back and forth at us. I knew he was a little confused. He does not like death, either. He cannot stand TV shows that shows cruelty, pain, and loss. He cries, shouts, hands on his ears, and runs to another room.

He then came to me and said "It's annoying. Make her stop. Why is she crying? He's just her brother!"

I had to hide my shock. My head was spinning with this new revelation.

Could it be that my son cannot feel remorse or sadness over this? Or did he just say that because he did not want his grandmother to feel this amount of pain?

During dinner, Mom told him about my uncle. Dale told her "Uh... let's stop. You might cry again."

This morning I asked him if he feels sad that my uncle died. He said "Uh... I really don't know him that well."

Then I asked, if ever I die, will he cry? He said "Of course, I will cry. But remember, Mama is still here." Meaning, he will still have someone else with him.

I asked him, what if we lose his brother or sister. He said "Um... I don't know. Sometimes, they are good to me, and sometimes they are not."

Death is plain and simple to Dale. There are no whos or whys. I do not know if it is good or bad. I do not know if I should be glad that he seems to be oblivious.

All I know is that I wish I'm still there for him when he suddenly understands death like the rest of us.

Teacher dad

Link

In celebrating Dale's freedom from the norm

Dale is turning 12 this December. He knows his condition, but does not dwell on it.

I, on the other hand, cannot take anything lightly. Not when it involves him. You might call me an over-reacting sensitive person. But, I am really, just a person. I have feelings, and I doubt that Dale does not have them as well.

So when a research paper on Genetic Abnormalities was asked of him. He submitted it to his teacher with one question. He asked, "Am I abnormal?"

I was shocked that according to him, his teacher "kinda said yes." I could see in his eyes that he was confused, that he was assessing my reaction. His eyes fleeted. His first answer was a definite "yes," but I asked him "what?" and he might have thought that I would get mad, and added "kinda."

I asked my eldest if it was right for the teacher to have said so. She shook her head.

I actually did not feel too much anger. I felt pity. For my son to have heard that. I would have wanted to be there, to actually hear what and how the teacher answered my son. I might have understood better.

Someone I shared a twitter conversation with said "When I hear "abnormal", I look at the world and think "if this is normal, I don't want any part of it!" Abnormal is to be celebrated."

It might be true, but not when you come from a country like mine. Abnormal here is like having a deadly disease that can be caught from a sneeze.

Sitting on the bus alone during the class field trip, for example. That was what Dale has gone through two days ago. Being dragged fiercely by the collar by his classmate while she was trying to talk to him was another scene I saw when I fetched him from school. Etc.

It's not enough that he gets bullied in school, his brother also makes fun of him and such, at home. He's "abnormal" and he's being bullied. He's "abnormal" and his brother is jealous of him.

What is there to celebrate about?

I am not celebrating the things that might eventually hurt Dale, if he actually.. finally understood the world he lives in.

A world where parents murder their children because they want normal kids. A country where persons with disabilities are shunned, and denied of their rights.

But then again... maybe, I do have to celebrate. I have to celebrate that until now, he doesn't have a clue. That it is a cruel world we live in... and he's lucky not to fully realize yet that he's part of it. A vicious cycle. A sick-cycle carousel.

As I've mentioned before when I watched an episode of House who handled a case of a child with autism, he said:

"See, skinny socially-privileged white people get to draw this neat little circle. Everyone inside this circle is normal. Anyone outside the circle should be beaten, broken, & reset, so they are brought in to the circle. Failing that you should be institutionalized, or worse, pitied."

"So, it's wrong to feel sorry for this little boy?"

"Why would you feel sorry for someone who gets opt-out of the inane courteous formalities which are utterly meaningless, insincere, and therefore degrading? This kid doesn't have to pretend to be interested in your back pain or your excretion or your grandmother's itchy place. Imagine how liberating to live a life free of all the mind-numbing social niceties. I don't pity this kid, I envy him."

You know what I think, though? Dale is not the one who's "abnormal."

We are.

(Hoozah! I'll go get the beers.)