Cuts Threaten Illinois Autism Services

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Hundreds of families in the Springfield area and thousands across the state face the possibility of abruptly losing services for their autistic children after an immediate $1 million budget cut by Gov. Bruce Rauner.

“It was totally unexpected,” Russell Bonanno, director of The Autism Program’s statewide network, said Monday at a news conference at TAP’s Springfield headquarters.

Opinion: Why I Despise Autism Awareness Month

Thoughtful opinion piece by Kim Stagliano has authored a novel and two books on parenting daughters with autism. She is managing editor of Age of Autism. Anyone else feel this way? 

Today, you’ll be seeing a lot of blue: World monuments will be cast in blue lights, your co-workers will be wearing blue clothes, and companies will be hawking blue products. Why? April 2 is World

Autism Awareness Day, when advocacy group Autism Speaks “celebrates” its international Light It Up Blue Campaign. But while you’ll be seeing blue everywhere, I’ll be seeing RED. The feel-good frippery of Light It Up Blue cloaks an often debilitating disorder in an air of festivity, with balloons, sparkling lights and pep rallies. The campaign implies autism is a party, rather than a crisis. For families living with autism, reality is far more sober, and their needs extend far beyond “awareness.”

Maybe There Is No 'Autism Recovery'

I have been hearing the words "autism recovery" for over 13 years now. Truth be told, when my son was initially diagnosed 11 years ago, I too latched on to these words and held on for dear life. I mean, who wouldn't? If your child received a diagnosis of autism and you later hear the possibility of recovering from it, wouldn't you grab this thin strand of hope and at least try? I did. If autism recovery was possible, then we would achieve it.

My Son Had Autism; Then He Didn't

From Huffington Post Parents' Shawn Bean, Executive Editor, Parenting Early Years.

I'm trying to hold him, but he's squirming. The airport lounge is packed with people, and I can feel all eyes on me: the dad who cannot appease his toddler. Brandy sees me struggling, and comes up with a quick fix. She flips over the stroller. She places Jackson next to it. He begins to spin one of the wheels with his hand. He keeps spinning it. Over and over and over. He's completely absorbed. I look at Brandy quizzically. She shrugs.
Jackson was 3 years old at the time, and by all accounts -- from mother's intuition to the experts' definition -- he was on the spectrum. The behavioral psychologists saw what we saw, but were hesistant to make an official diagnosis. His brain is still developing. So much can change in six months. So time passed. His clothes went from 4T to 5T. Birthday candles were lit, blown out, and saved in the kitchen drawer. By age 6, the appointments with the behavioral psychologists were over. The autism books came off my wife's nightstand. Our tears were redirected to other things like kindergarten graduations.

That Annoying Autism Question

From SFGate.com blogger Laura Shumaker.

I believe that there is no such thing as a stupid question, but there are questions that rub people the wrong way, and in an informal poll on Facebook, I have uncovered  one that might irritate individuals and families living with autism most.

Frustrated By Autism, Father Turns to Photos

SAN FRANCISCO -- "I don't care about autism," says San Francisco-based photographer Timothy Archibald, who has a way of being refreshingly candid about kids who have it.
"They can frustrate you to no end," he says.
Archibald's son, Eli, is autistic. And really, he clarifies on the phone, he doesn't care about the diagnosis. What matters, he says, is his relationship to Eli, however complicated it may be.