Nets' Guard Blindsided by Son's Diagnosis

Brooklyn Nets Deron Williams with
his son Deron Jr. aka DJ, 3, and
wife Amy at a celebration at
Brooklyn Borough Hall.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Sitting at a SoHo restaurant, expressing a mood seemingly solar systems removed from the Nets’ struggles on the court, Deron Williams is smiling while covered with orange face paint — “festive colors,” he calls it. A little girl comes up to Williams decorated like a tiger. He growls, prompting the child to growl back more ferociously.
Some other kids are opening gifts donated by Williams, with basketballs and X-Box games among the favorites. Every year the star point guard and his wife, Amy, put together this kind of charitable holiday party with their Point of Hope Foundation.
But on Saturday the theme is different: autism awareness. The inspiration is 3-year-old D.J. Williams, the energetic young boy walking around the restaurant with a pretzel stick and a toy.

Tommy Hilfiger Opens Up on Daughter's Autism

Designer Tommy Hilfiger is featured
in a public service announcement
for Autism Speaks.

Tommy Hilfiger and his wife Dee have more in common than just design success -- they both have children affected with autism.
Hilfiger said that one of the reasons he chose to appear in a public service announcement for the philanthropy Autism Speaks was to honor his16 year-old daughter, Kathleen.
He said that she when was five years old, she was given the diagnosis of being “developmentally delayed.”

Autism and the Hypothetical Child

From Huffingtonn Post's Todd Drezner.

Given how many autistic people there are in the world, it's odd how much of the conversation about autism revolves around children who don't exist. The most common such child is the one who is "indistinguishable from his peers." This is the child who will supposedly emerge after successful therapies or treatments for autism leave the child essentially "normal."
This hypothetical normal child is closely related to another, younger one--the 1- or 2-year-old who was typically developing before the signs of autism became apparent. These two types of hypothetical children are linked by the assumption that their autism obscures their "real" selves. The hope for parents is that if the autism can somehow be removed, the real child will re-emerge.

It Takes a Village to Raise Child with Autism

From Michele Somerville on Huffington Post.

We're three years apart, my brother and me. I'm a city mouse. He's a suburb mouse. He drives a big suburban truck. I ride the subway. He works in finance and subsists on Diet Pepsi and cheeseburgers. I'm a latte-sipping, teacher and poet. There's a major cultural divide. On Sundays, his kids go to mass and play soccer. On Sundays my kids set up for the Hope Dinner at my church and study art at the museum. But one thing he and I have always had in common is robust imagination. People with imagination tend to have an easier time valuing and enjoying diversity. I have come to recognize that it is his imaginative powers, as much as his love for a sister, that have moved my brother to "throw down" with truly knowing and loving his nephew (my son) who has Aspergers (a disorder on the Autism Spectrum)

Accepting a Child's Autism

Found this heartfelt piece by Jean Winegardner, who writes a personal blog at Stimeyland and an autism-events website for Montgomery County, Maryland, at AutMont. You can find her on Twitter as @Stimey. Read more of Jean's work at Autism Unexpected in the Communities at the Washington Times.


SILVER SPRING, Md. — Those of us in the autism community speak often of autism acceptance. While there is much emphasis on autism awareness, many of us feel that awareness matters little without the acceptance that hopefully follows.
We strive for acceptance in our children's schools, playgrounds, families and in society in general. But what about the place where it can be hardest to create acceptance — in our own hearts and minds?

Park Trains Staff on Autism Sensitivity

BRISTOL, Conn. — A day at a theme park offers a day of thrills and fun for families. But for someone with autism, the sights and sounds of such a fast-paced environment can become highly stressful, possibly leading to anxious behavior.
Lake Compounce theme park became aware of the challenges and special needs of people with autism about five years ago and has since been teaming up with the New England chapter of the Autism Speaks organization to help autistic children and adults feel welcome and comfortable at the park.

17 Wishes from an Adult with Autism

Another illuminating blog entry by the San Fransisco Chrnoicle City Brights' Laura Shumaker with recent Seton Hall graduate and adult with autism Kerry Magro.

SAN FRANSISCO- A thought provoking list from my friend Kerry Magro:

***

1. I wish that acceptance was easier to come by

2. I wish that loving one another was always on our mind

3. I wish that an "early diagnosis" remains a high priority

4. I wish that people would stop calling autism a disease

5. I wish that communication becomes easier for everyone with autism. We are trying.

6. I wish that we find more treatments to enhance the lives of people with autism

7. I wish that insurance for autism gets passed in all 50 states

8. I wish that the government would understand the need for services for the autistic in schools

9. I wish that autistic individuals can one day live their lives independently

Mom Raises Awareness and Shares Support with Facebook Group

MAYBROOK, N.Y. -- From day one, Shari Heter of Maybrook wanted to reach out to others.
"I felt like I had a story to tell — even though I didn't know the whole story," she says. "But to be shut down and shut down before finally being validated, I was ready to yell from a mountaintop."
About six months or so ago, Facebook became the platform from which Heter's voice — and now more than 200 other voices — is heard.