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Remember the Kayak
Carrie Cariello and her husband, Joe, live in New Hampshire. The have five children; four boys and one girl. Their second son, Jack, has autism. (No, their daughter, Rose, is not the youngest. The youngest is Henry, a child born nine months after the urologist canceled Joe’s...
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What is Normal?
Nearly every day someone asks me something like, “When did you know that Jack wasn’t normal?” And then they stop themselves, stammer a bit, and apologize for saying normal. Their faces turn all red and they look away and stare at their feet. “I mean, you know, what’s normal, there is no...
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What Color is Monday?
“What color do you see for Monday?” my son Jack asked as I heaved a chicken into the oven. “What?” I said distractedly, turning from the oven to slice some potatoes at the counter. It was late afternoon one day last fall, and I was preparing dinner and managing the demands of homework...
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Setting the Stage for School: A Guide for Parents
It is an extraordinary milestone when any child enters school for the first time. This event is often marked with excitement, anxiety, ambivalence and tears of fear and joy for both the child and his or her family. Entrusting the care of your child into the hands of another can be anxiety...
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The Lighter Side of the Spectrum – A Mother’s View Dear President
Dear Mr. President, My name is Jack and I am eight years old. I love cars, license plates, and radios. My mother says I’m obsessed with these things. All I know is I like to ask every single person I meet what kind of car they drive and how many radios they have. I hear my mother...
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Jack’s Birthday
Every year I write each of my children a letter on their birthday and keep it in a small journal. These letters describe the person they are at that particular age; their likes and dislikes, favorite activities, and overall temperament. This letter is to my autistic son, Jack, as he celebrates his...
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Vital Services to Promote Child and Family Resilience
It is common knowledge that having a child with ASD has an impact on the family, and the family has a profound impact on the developing child. Why then are there so few services to support families as they deal with the cumulative challenges they face managing child behavior, family relationships,...
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Changing the Mindset of Autistic Children and Adolescents
A major focus of our collaboration has been to elaborate upon the concepts of both mindsets and resilience (Brooks and Goldstein, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012; Goldstein and Brooks, 2005, 2007). We propose that all people possess a set of assumptions about themselves and others that influence their...
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The Lighter Side of the Spectrum: A Mom’s View – Our Story
People often ask me how I knew something was wrong with Jack, and how old he was when we noticed warning signs. Obviously autism unfolds differently for each individual; some demonstrate symptoms very early on, while others grow and interact normally until a particular age and then they seemingly...
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Welcome to My World – A Mother’s Annual Letter to New School Teachers
After seven years of parenting a child enrolled in the local public school system, I’ve come to understand that, at least in our neck of the woods, each new grade begins with an automatic and inherent “do-over” mechanism in place. Regardless of how many copies of reports, summaries of...
