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Cole and a message from a dad's heart

James Cunningham


Cole Cunningham may be on the autism spectrum -- and not a star athlete in his high school -- but he is involved in nearly every sport the school has: as the team's videographer. Logging hundreds of hours, Cole films and edits highlights of nearly every game for the benefit of the students and their parents. His commitment and involvement has made him a welcome member of all the school's teams.

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Traveling with autism: one strategy

Brian Field


A few years ago our family of four made its annual pilgrimage across country from Connecticut to San Francisco to visit family for Christmas. Our boys at that point were 2 and a half and 4; our younger son had been diagnosed with autism earlier that year. What ..

depressed_woman

Sharing autism and those awkward social moments

Brian Field


Our son has autism. When people we know discover this there are wide ranges of reaction, most frequently, one of pity "Oh, I'm so sorry!"   I’ll admit that when we first received his diagnosis some years ago, and searched for suppor ..

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Full-spectrum marriage: married to an Aspie

Kristi Sakai


Having a successful marriage requires effort, but when one partner has Asperger Syndrome it poses additional challenges. My husband, Nobuo, who is on the spectrum, and I have been married for nearly 17 years and refer to our relationship as a “full-spectrum ..

fathers

What's a dad worth?

Dan Coulter


I heard a discussion about a dad's worth the other day as I was radio channel surfing in my car. Two talk show hosts were hotly debating some comments made by actress Nicole Kidman. The topic: does a rich single mom have anything to complain about? The female ..

Kaede

Love the gift of who you are and love yourself

Kristi Sakai


My 8-year-old daughter, Kaede, is warm, friendly, caring, empathetic, has a wonderful sense of humor … and she has Asperger Syndrome. We’ve often heard, “She’s too social to have autism.” Her personality and delight in pleasing adults has sometimes o ..

tom

They still need us

Kristi Sakai


My son Tom is 15 now, and his hormones are predictably flowing. Almost before I even open my mouth, he frequently snaps at me, already assuming I’m about to say something “ANNOYING.” I’ve been working at renewing our mother-son bond. I try not to n ..

fatherhood

The cement mixer

Eric Blackwell


As a dad, when your child is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, you go through many different thoughts and emotions. Most are heavy and deep. Much like cement in a mixer. One by one, they come to the surface as your mind evaluates what is ahead for yo ..

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Talking about "it"

Kristi Sakai


As the experts recommend, I’ve kept an age-appropriate ongoing dialogue with my children about their bodies and sex since they were very young. Plus, we live on a farm (imagine my pride when I was informed my son had drawn a picture of where eggs come from, ..

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Holiday meal suggestions

Kristi Sakai


Holidays are supposed to be Norman Rockwell picture-perfect moments: The extended family gathered ‘round the heavily laden table with an enormous turkey, everyone happy and thankful. The only mischief involves children peeking through their fingers during th ..

falling_star

Falling stars

Kristi Sakai


All parents have those moments they hope their children forget! And, of course, we have those we hope they remember too. We hold on to them in our hearts and we hope they do as well. Our family has many such memories and, for whatever, reason, they often s ..

Articles from other News Areas

He couldn’t speak as a child. Now this autistic student is giving a commencement address

When Bruno Youn was 3 years old, his mother noticed something was off about her firstborn son. He could parrot ..

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For those with autism, encounters with police can turn dangerous

Being stopped and questioned by a police officer can be a stressful encounter for anyone, but it is especially ..

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Social anxiety, face-to-face communication, digital devices, and the art of saying "hi"

There is no bigger compliment than giving our attention to another person (when desired, of course). Whether t ..

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Events

9th World Rett Syndrome Congress
Surfers Paradise, QLD - Australia
Sep-30-2020 - 09:00 am
The Rett Syndrome Association of Australia (RSAA)email rettaust@bigpond.comwishes to draw attention to the fact that it is staging the 9th World Rett Syndrome Congress i ..
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