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Autism and Hospitals: A Difficult Match
As a resident, you always have that one patient who sticks out in your mind—the one who had some profound impact on your practice of medicine and your life outside of medicine. For me, though, it wasn’t just one patient. It was one patient after another with the same challenge: autism. Having...
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Dear World, From Someone with Autism
Editor’s Note: I wrote this from my son Jack’s perspective, based on conversations and observations of him in Disney and in life. Dear World, Last week my family went to Disney. We went to the one in Florida, not California. The one in California is called Disney...
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The Ultimate Question: Would I Change Him?
My kids went back to school this week, and in preparation for my son Jack’s move to 6th grade, I took out the folder. You know, the folder. The one that holds every single piece of paper and prescription and description, dating back to the day he was officially diagnosed in November of 2006....
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Who Should Take the Blame for Autism?
Last week, I saw yet another article that claimed to solve the mystery of autism. This time, it was gestational diabetes in the mother. It’s always something, isn’t it? Either autism is because of advanced paternal or maternal age, or the dot-com era, or people who eat gluten. the article...
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Should Parents Tell Their Children They Have Asperger’s?
A diagnosis of Asperger’s can be an overwhelming experience for parents and children. Some parents may feel an initial sense of relief at finally finding an answer to their child’s difficulties; at the same time, it also can foreshadow a long and trying road ahead full of therapies, academic...
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Why I Wasn’t Afraid to Label My Son
Dear Jack, When you were about year old, we saw a bunch of doctors and specialists to try and figure out why you didn’t talk or point or look at us. And at that time, many people told us not to rush to give you a label. “Be careful with a label, because it will be on all of his forms and...
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Bitten by the Truth
Three years ago, at 4 am in the morning, my life began to unravel when my daughter sank her teeth into the fleshy part of my inner thigh. “Mommy, please help me!” she begged as she fell to her knees and grabbed my legs. Then she clamped down hard and held on tight like a pit-bull. I screamed,...
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A Boy and His Dog
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wolfie. I am half Bichon and half Shih-Tzu, also known as a Teddy Bear Dog or a Zuchon. I am sixteen and a half pounds and I barely stand a foot off the floor, but do not let my size fool you. I may be small, but I am mighty. I’ve been with my family...
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Just Friends: A Father’s View of His Son’s Relationships
Social service agencies have a good read on my 16-year-old son Alex. Somewhere in the photocopied, crooked lines of one of his service plans, for instance, is the line, “Alex Stimpson doesn’t have a best friend.” Alex does make connections. He does ask for his little brother Ned, for his...
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Someone I’m With Has Autism
“Hey Carrie, it’s me, Sandy. Listen, I had an idea for you—” Sandy is a dog trainer. We started to work with her after we got our puppy, Wolfie, because we have no idea what we’re doing. “Oh, I’m so glad you called! I’m kind of worried he doesn’t like his food. He isn’t...
