Most professionals in the field of psychology have a full understanding of how important it is to assess children with autism as early as they demonstrate the symptoms, but the majority of families affected by the spectrum don’t realize the urgency of this until it’s too late; usually until their child reaches the age of four or older. (more…)

The guidelines to love are thought to be too complex to be simplified in eight steps, especially if presented by someone once deficient in the social curriculum of behavioral development. Yet somehow, I’ve managed to pull off this incredible feat. As mentioned in the previous segment of this extended article, the second half of my eight rules to dating success has been posted separately due to the site’s limited word capacity. Thanks for reading. I wish the best of luck and faith to everyone in their romantic pursuits. (more…)

If you’re a parent of a child with autism living in the state of California that is battling an insurance company for coverage of applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapies, there is good news happening right now in Sacramento to the tune of “Assembly Bill 171.” The autism community is well aware of the behemoth tidal wave of costs involved in the treatment of autism without health insurance coverage, and for a very long time insurance companies have been dragging their feet to cover effective autism treatments, arguing semantics. This bill will finally mandate coverage for ABA therapies that before this bill was drafted, were not required for insurance companies to cover in terms of autism therapy for the state of California. The big problem for parents has been that even though the California State Assembly Bill 88 passed in the year 2000, Behavior therapies for treating autism (such as ABA) were not included. (more…)

Temple Grandin was born during a time when “Refrigerator Mothers” were blamed for the onset of autism in their children. From the 1950s until the 1970s autism was considered to be symptomatic of an uncaring and distant mother. This way of thinking stemmed from Freud, a psychoanalyst who believed that behaviors stemmed from the repression of early childhood memories. (more…)

The turbulent years of ignorance from social etiquette, which ultimately prevented me from getting into a relationship, are long gone and past. I’ve diminished my awkward behavior responsible for driving away those that I could have been with for possibly a long time. I never blame myself for something that could have happened but didn’t. It’s mainly because some of the girls I once found attractive are better off forgotten, since they’ve ended up making far more irrational decisions than I have or ever will, and they’re still enduring the consequences. The choices they made in the years to follow high school weren’t exactly the right building blocks for a healthy love-life, or life in general. The powers that be have a funny way of giving strong advice to keep people on the straight and narrow. (more…)

It may come to some surprise to those not familiar with my unique history that I haven’t had much experience with the opposite sex. For such an eligible bachelor like myself, I’ve witnessed the fine art of romance as an intriguing yet perplexing enigma. Boy meets girl. Boy dates girl. Boy and girl make love, fall in love and the rest is history, right? If only it were that simple, like I thought it was during my teens. In those days, not at one instant did I consider acknowledging the necessary steps and guidelines for successful courtship. (more…)

I’ve seen and heard my share of children’s tantrums in the autism clinic over the years, but I’ve never thought about the obstacles that families traveling with an autistic child have to deal with. What happens if a child with autism starts a tantrum at airport security or in the confines of a long flight? I imagine that’s not much of a vacation for anyone, especially the family. (more…)

With Valentine’s Day approaching, a lot of guys my age are planning special occasions for their wives or girlfriends, and I sure hope for their sake that they put a little more effort into this special day by avoiding the usual flowers and chocolates. Fortunately, for the many that come to this site on a regular basis to read thought-provoking material, I did not write this article to give romantic advice— at least not the kind from the latest issue of Seventeen. (more…)

Since early 2010 I’ve not seen any additional articles about marijuana and autism. I remember reading my first article in 2009 on the subject from Slate and then later on watching videos about Joey’s and Sam’s story. At the end of the segments, like a cautionary tale, they would say, “More research must be done to understand the effect of marijuana on children with autism.” (more…)

“I’ll call a kid a zebra if it will get him the educational services I think he needs.”
Judith Rapoport, National Institute of Mental Health Psychiatrist (more…)