My Son Conor Wore The Blue on World Autism Awareness Day I understand some of the criticisms of the day and of thinking that wearing a color in itself creates autism awareness but as long as people raise real autism awareness of the challenges of autism disorders and the related
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Facing Autism in New Brunswick: Joy of Conor 2014
I will not pretend, I will never pretend, that autism is just a different way of thinking. Heather and I love our son too much to lie to the world about the nature of his autism realities, his severe autism, intellectual disability and epileptic seizures. Like many parents of autistic
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: New Jersey Dad: "Reality Of Autism Is Often Very Grim"
I chose the name of my email account “AutismRealityNB@gmail.com” because, from my perspective, the harsh realities of autism disorders are usually ignored or worse, intentionally misrepresented, by the mainstream media, autism awareness organizations, some high functioning autism “self”advocates and even some parents and autism professionals. An online friend of mine
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: SUDEP Awareness Day and Autism Disorders
A much higher percentage of people with autism spectrum disorders suffer from epileptic seizures than among persons in the general population. At the severe end of the autism “spectrum” it has been estimated that as many as 39% also suffer from seizures. My severely autistic, intellectually challenged son Conor suffers
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Canada’s Autism Awareness Month? Not Much Awareness Going On … Once Again
October, for what its worth, is Autism Awareness Month in Canada. You will probably see performances by persons with Asperger’s or high functioning Autism. There will be wonderful success stories and accomplishments shared to give parents hope, in many cases false hope, about their child’s future. There will be little
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Time To Divide The Heterogeneous DSM-5 Autism Spectrum Disorder and Free the Invisible, Severely Autistic From Oppression
Associated Morbidity and Mortality Health care utilization and costs are substantially higher for children and adolescents with ASDs compared with children without ASDs,89–91 and available data suggest that mortality is increased as well (standardized mortality ratio: 2.4–2.6).92,93 The increased mortality in ASDs is thought to be largely, but not completely,
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: IDEA Disorder, Intellectual Disability-Epilepsy-Autism Disorder, On World Autism Awareness Day
Conor a year ago at the local ICU where he stayed for 6 days while the ICU professionals worked to save his life and return him to us in good health after a serious adverse reaction to his seizure medications. Other parents of children with severe autism disorders and intellectual
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism Reality Check: Autism Is Not A Person – It Is A Disorder, A Group of Disorders or A Group of Symptoms
Autism is not a person. Autism is defined by some authorities as a disorder, by others as “autisms” or a varied group of complex heterogeneous disorders and by still other authorities as a group of symptoms which together have come to be referred to as “autism”. Autism is not,
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: We Must Face Reality: Autism Disorders Can Be Harmful, Even Deadly
After discovering an arm, torso and legs Thursday, police continue the search for human remains along a rocky shoreline in Queens, Friday, Jan. 17, 2014. The remains belong to 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo, officials confirmed Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow) Neurodiversity cult members, including some autism professionals, academics and neuroscience students like
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism Parents Are Not Unbreakable
The allegedly UNBREAKABLE blade of my window ice scraper snapped off under the strain of several days of heavy ice scraping in this December’s cold and snowy Canadian winter weather. In fairness to the manufacturers and distributors of the “Unbreakable” ice scraper blade I have used it well past
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism Reality Check: Wandering and Tragedy
Some promote the view that autism disorders are “gifts” if only society could understand, change its ways and accept the gifts. The autism as a gift view, is irrational nonsense. It thrives by simply ignoring the evidence of challenges presented by autism disorders including those like wandering or elopement which
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: 50% Some WHO Autism Awareness: Autism and Intellectual Disability 50%
Questions and answers about autism spectrum disorders (ASD) Online Q&ASeptember 2013 Q: Do persons with autism always suffer from intellectual disability? A: The level of intellectual functioning is extremely variable in persons with ASD, ranging from profound impairment to superior non-verbal cognitive skills. It is estimated that around 50% of
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Wave of Attacks on Parents of Children with Severe Autism Disorders Is Reprehensible and Based in Pure Unadulterated Ignorance
I have never read or heard any parent of a severely autistic child excuse the murder of severely autistic children by a parent. The only people who make this allegation are those who themselves who object to parents speaking honestly about their children’s severe autism disorders. Those who use the
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Severe Autism: Autism in the Shadows – Thank You Amy Mackin
“My son’s story is one of hope, not unlike the stories regularly broadcast on television, printed in magazines or making the rounds on YouTube. Yet the autism spectrum is wide and diverse, and many who suffer from severe autism will never reach the level of functioning that my child has
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: DSM5 Autism Spectrum Disorder Has Arrived: Are Ari Ne’eman and John Elder Robison Still Autistic?
The DSM5 has been released and is now beginning to impact the world of autism. Most discussion of the DSM5’s New Autism Spectrum Disorder has ignored the effect of the language of mandatory criterion A which will act to exclude from autism diagnosis those with severe intellectual disability. Most of
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Mother Of An Autistic Son Asks Autism Speaks for Some Actual Autism Awareness
The following commentary is from the blog Muslimah Next Door written by Dishad Ali. It addresses an issue that I have raised several times – the lack of real autism awareness created by autism awareness events. The author’s comments at Muslimah Next Door under the title When an Autism Awareness
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism and Seizures: Conor’s Second Grand Mal Seizure (That We Know Of)
The pictures above were initially posted on this site on May 26, 2012, several months before Conor’s 1st known Grand Mal Seizure in November. As I posted then, external conditions were perfect and Conor was enjoying a favorite activity in a favorite location when he suddenly began hitting himself in
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: CNN’s Very High Functioning Autism Awareness Efforts Misrepresent Autism Disorders
CNN’s Portrayal of Autism In the Days Surrounding WAAD 2013 Middle – Jack and John Elder Robison – High Functioning Aspergers Bottom -Trevor Pacelli High Functioning PDD-NOS (Holli Dunn Photography) To no big surprise successful, very high functioning Asperger’s businsessman, author and family man John Elder Robison’s new book Bringing
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism Speaks Reluctantly Confesses: 40% Of Persons On Autism Spectrum Have Intellectual Disability
Intellectual Disability remains the Elephant in the Autism Living Room;no one wants to admit it’s there or to talk about it It is politically incorrect in today’s autism world to acknowledge the existence of the invisible autistics, the one’s unlike Ari Ne’eman, John Elder Robison, Alex Plank and Michelle Dawson all
Continue readingFacing Autism Symptoms in New Brunswick: World Autism Awareness Day 2014
If past is prologue very little awareness of the harsher realities of autism symptoms will be generated on this WAAD, April 2, 2013. Next year, in 2014, and for years thereafter, the streamlined DSM5 autism will also eliminate many on the very high functioning and low functioning ends of the
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