Serendipity: Our Family’s Special Journey Through Autism

My husband and I are both practicing physicians. We are blessed with two lovely children – Raphael and Ysabell. Sometime in 2001, I decided to lay low in my medical practice and devote more time for our family. It came as no surprise to people close to me for they had always known that my husband and I put our family first at all times. We moved to a home in a more quiet suburban metro, to allow more space for our growing children. We agreed that the arrangement was temporary, and that I would resume private practice after 5 years, when the kids would already be in school. Everything was just perfect.

The Symptoms

Both our children loved to sing and they did sing rather well even at an early age. Most days were filled with songs and lullabies. We hardly noticed at first that that was all that Ysa did all day – sing. Even before age 2, she memorized all Barney songs and rendered them heartily every waking moment. We barely noticed that she would not answer when her name was called; we thought she was just “suplada” like some older women in our family. She called me “Mama” but we failed to see that she was just mimicking a TV ad, and called every one else by the same name. Her brother would often bring her out to play, though she preferred parallel play as expected at her age. Often times, she refused to follow instructions and would throw temper tantrums when she couldn’t get her way. We thought it was her personality and more discipline would be the answer. She was at par, if not advanced, in her gross motor skills though we were very much surprised at... READ MORE >>

Services, supports help children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

May 27, 2012 8:33 PM
Part 2

One student, Ricky, was surprising his parents and teacher every day. Before first grade, Ricky never spoke and would become very aggressive at times. By first grade, things were changing. Ricky had finally discovered letters. In fact, he was tracing the ABC’s everywhere. The window was finally opening for Ricky.

Ricky was fortunate that his parents were deeply involved in their son’s education. They listened to the teacher and staff. His activities at school were reinforced at home. Little by little, Ricky was changing. He was starting to talk, not just by pictures but by his voice. The boy had recently begun taking medication which helped him focus and calm down. His medical care was expensive [ READ MORE ]

The Brownsville Herald | Pamela Gross Downing, a special education teacher can be reached at downpamg@aol.com.

Autistic students get support in EMU program

Ypsilanti— Tony Saylor arrives at his class at Eastern Michigan University, slips into a chair and waits for the professor to arrive.

Callie Boik plops down next to Saylor and starts taking notes for him. She's doing this because it's Saylor's turn to type up a summary of the class activities and post it for his classmates — within 24 hours.

Although Saylor gets A's in his classes, creates comic strips for EMU's student newspaper and recently published an e-book, he needs some support since he struggles with issues related to autism. [ READ MORE ]

From The Detroit News  |  Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net