My dad will be visiting me for the weekend. I’ll meet him shortly after his plane lands at Bob Hope Airport. With a sharp smile and silver hair at 61, this year is destined to be a very happy and exciting period in his life. Just announcing his retirement last summer, he’ll resign from his dental practice partnership based in downtown Duluth, sell his house and move to southward, along with my stepmom, to the very place I was born and raised; Alexandria, Minnesota. (more…)

Recently, my friend Doreen Granpeesheh asked me about a documentary I watched titled The World According to Monsanto/Controlling Our Food, which gives extensive information on the dangers of genetically modified (GM) foods and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). She thought there may be a link to autism; I didn’t even think about it until she mentioned it. (more…)

Raul Parikh, a pediatrician from San Francisco recently wrote an article for CNN in response to the MMR and autism debacle that has come to light following Deers revelation that Wakefield’s study was a fraud. (more…)

Autism expert Michelle Dawson isn’t a fan of ABA therapy as a treatment, claiming it neglects the overall well-being of people with autism. She’s not alone: as more government funding is allotted to ABA, its efficacy—and even ethics—are being called into question by naysayers. (more…)

One of my best friends told me about the famous animal scientist, Temple Grandin way before the HBO movie about her life with autism came out. He knew that I enjoyed learning about subjects that pertain to the brain, more specifically, to perception—how we perceive the world, what influences and shapes that, and in return, how that shapes us. (more…)

Excessive amounts of garbage have made a tremendous impact on our lives. Most of it is loaded to the brim with hazardous materials that cause serious health problems. Oil spills, air pollution and the tobacco industry are popular targets for ecological protest, but it’s not common to criticize the everyday household commodities we take for granted. Long term exposure to the chemicals found in plastic containers, Styrofoam, rubber cement, and detergent are so foreign to our biological makeup that they may result in deadly health issues later in life. Food has also fell victim to toxicity. (more…)

Recently, I’ve begun working for an autism treatment provider, but I’m no stranger to autism. As an adolescent in Chicago, I attended a high school that offered special education classes and I volunteered on weekends for a local organization dedicated to those with special needs. This exposure to special needs teens seemed effortless, the normal backdrop of community life where I lived. Volunteering wasn’t laudable or exceptional—it was just what many us did—go to concerts with our friends late on Saturday nights, and sing Good Morning songs, our arms slung around the shoulders of autistic and mentally-disabled peers the next morning at Keshet (Hebrew for rainbow). (more…)

I recently read a letter penned to ‘the future’ by the father of an autistic child. In this letter, the father expressed profound anxiety about his son’s future despite his considerable efforts to prepare him for it: “We’re waiting for you… the future. I’m sending you my child whether you like it or not… for better or worse. My name will be called soon and my child will be needing you. So I’m needing you right now. Please be ready.” Worrying is counterproductive–it drains our energy, kills motivation, and it drags our children down with us. I know how difficult it is to simply “turn off” an emotion however, so in this posting, my goal is to gift you with a new mindset in the aim of preventing any worrying in the first place. (more…)

Ever had writer’s block? As we all know, it’s that extra-annoying symptom in which not even the most seasoned novelist can place a single thought or word on paper. We’ve all had it at one time or another, regardless of our profession, unless one of us happens to be Stephen King. Becoming a fluent writer was one of the resolutions I unknowingly skipped on New Year’s Day a few weeks ago. (more…)

What if someone came to you and told you that the sky was green or that up was down—that everything you believed in was based off of a lie, that what you believed in was wrong?

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