In 1988 Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise brought us Rainman and brought Autism to the Big Screen. Since the 1980's the autism rate has increased dramatically, partly because of changes in diagnostic practice and partly because of prevalence. Today the autism rate is said to be 1 in 50, averaging a 4.3.1 male to female ratio.<!--more-->

The increase in a…[more]

When I first started to learn about Sensory Integration (almost 3 years ago...gosh it seems like a lifetime ago) I was so confused with all of the terminology, mostly because AJ didn't fit any of the categories...he fit them all.

<!--more-->AJ is one of those kids who is both Hyper and Hyposensitive and would be classified as Mixed Type Sensory …[more]

<!--more-->Parents of special needs children, whether it be autism, down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, ADHD, or seizure disorders need respite. We need some time away from our children to regain our own selves because we can't be expected to be super parents all of the time.

Children with special needs often act poorly, acting negatively most often to parents b…[more]

Definition: Extended School Year (ESY)is a program which may provide a disabled child with services during the summer months. ESY programming should be offered to a student who regresses significantly in academic, social and/or related skills that are outlined in that child's Individualized Educational Program when the child is out of school for an exten…[more]

This weekend I received a bi-monthly update from my <a href="http://achildchosen.com">b5media managers</a> that included information on how to effectively search out your blog status, name, and how people link back to your blog. You would think that after over a year of blogging that I would know how to do this but unfortunately, I didn't.

Tha…[more]

The Vaccine Court<!--more--> has been in session for more than a decade debating whether or not Vaccines actually cause autism. A total of 4,900 families have signed on to participate in the Vaccine Court. However, in March of 2008, a case was settled that determined that Mitochondrial Disease contributed to the child's …[more]

It is not widely publicized but did you know that there are tax benefits for children with special needs? There are two types of tax benefits; one is a tax deduction and one is a tax credit. A deduction is based upon the marginal tax rate of the tax payer and a tax credit is a dollar for dollar tax reduction.

Medical Expense Deduction: Taxpayers may claim m…[more]

We had a meeting yesterday to discuss AJ's current BIP, or Behavior Intervention Plan. After a rough start to the year (and I am sure some of you remember my rantings and ravings about his Occupational Therapy) AJ is finally starting to make some really GOOD progress.

In the last few weeks we have seen tremendous gains not only at home, but also at school. We starte…[more]

April is Autism Awareness Month and by now EVERYONE knows that. It is only April 4th but it is ALL over the news, all over the blogs, all over the world. Autism is being celebrated. Children with autism are being thrown in front of cameras and microphones. Reporters are taking advantage of the autism news at their fingertips, autism bloggers not…[more]

I am not a doctor, nor am I any sort of medical professional, but it is my personal opinion that many children are mislabeled as ADD, ADHD, and even Autism. Yes, Autism.

I have always very clearly stated that AJ has never had a diagnosis of Autism but that we believe that he may be on the spectrum because of his symptoms. However, he may very well simp…[more]