In the season of giving thanks, I often think of a family I will call the Renfields. Their first child, Ray, was diagnosed early in life with moderate autism spectrum disorder. Some parents are overwhelmed by such a finding, but the Renfields stayed positive. “This is a child with real strengths,” the dad told me. […]
Nine years ago, while following my two and three year-old boys around the park, I was shocked by the complete lack of manners of a group of young children who just joined us on the slide. At least my children knew their please’s and thank you’s I thought, congratulating myself on a mothering job […]
When a child hurts, a parent will do anything to help him. Thus, when Rupert Isaacson found out his son Rowan was autistic in 2004, it was a momentous year. Not only because he discovered the source of his son’s tantrums and non-communication, but also because Rowan met Betsy. A horse. When child and horse […]
