The Next Thing You Know

"What's the 11th Thing?" If you're one of the many people who've asked me this question over the years, your answer is at hand. For the first time since publication in 2005, Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew will soon be available in hardcover. The special edition commemorates its 20th anniversary and celebrates the worldwide connections it's forged in [...]

My interview with journalist Monika Szubrycht for HelloZdrowie (HelloHealth) coincides with the release of the newest Polish language edition of Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew. Szubrycht's work includes a series of reports and interviews collected in book form, titled Autism: A Close Distant World. "I have known your book since the first Polish edition," she told [...]

Here's a portion of a rejection letter I got for the earliest version of Ten Things in 2004: "Your story idea on autism does not meet our needs. We look for pitches that offer, at the very least 1) a compelling story that educators will find informative and enlightening, and 2) a story that relates in some way to a [...]

From the archive, 2016. Reprinted by request.   The following letter is one of the most remarkable I’ll ever receive—an adult child discovering that a parent might be on the spectrum and using that possibility as a springboard to previously unimagined empathy, admiration, love and connection.  It overflows with the kind of hope I nurture for every autistic individual throughout [...]

That could be the opening line of a manual on how to anger and frustrate parents of autistic kids, right? But the flip side is just as exasperating: "We won't do anything that isn't evidence-based." I call that evidence-biased, and it can be just as stubborn an obstacle, because it's the same thing—refusing to listen to new ideas that may [...]

Fresh perspective for a new generation of educators and learners "Exceptionally well written, organized and presented . . . must be considered an essential, core addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Autism collections and supplemental curriculum studies list." ~ Midwest Book Review     I'm happy to share with you the news that the new second edition of [...]

“What kind of toys do autistic children like?” “What should I buy for my ______ who has autism?” Questions like these come my way not just at holiday time, but in every month, in daily life and for special occasions. To the first question, I call out the generalization; it makes no more sense than asking what kind of toys [...]

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” ~Albert Einstein In many ways, the pandemic has felt to me like the rest of the world being forced to live with questions and restrictions many autistic individuals and families of autistic children have always borne. Vaccine debates are nothing new to the autism world. [...]

When a long-time editor of mine asked for a column on “return to normalcy,” I knew my readers would offer far broader answers than I could give. As another school year approaches, where would their thoughts go, about school schedules, loss of support for this past year, other things on their minds as parents, teachers, or community members, both autistic [...]

May 2021  The Line Between Autistic Obsession and Expertise -and- An Autism Mom’s Put-the-phone-down Moment This month I turn the newsletter over to readers like you for Words Matter: fresh perspective on the words we use to describe the hobbies and interests of others What it means to truly “be social” with an autistic child Two toddler’s-choice books on diversity [...]