Ryan has never been able to fully explain to us why certain shots-on-goal totals in NHL games trigger for him bouts of extreme anxiety. Maybe if I understood why it bothered him so much, I could better help him through these episodes, but the explanation doesn’t really matter. What matters is the anxiety is real. […]
Read more "A Safe Space"Ryan is going through a rough stretch with one school subject, which has ramped up his anxiety to a very high level. Homework and study sessions have become an exercise in frustration. Ryan becomes a hive of frenetic activity, focused solely on trying to finish the work as quickly as possible. The problem with that […]
Read more "This Moment, Brought to You by Technology"There has been much debate in the autism community whether “awareness” is still a worthwhile goal. I very much believe that, no matter how tiresome, frustrating, or potentially divisive, these debates are important. They do a lot to help shape my ever-changing feelings about autism, help guide my parenting decisions, offer me new resources for […]
Read more "Awareness: Still Needed"My son has a remarkable memory. When applied to the subjects that interest him, its power can be breathtaking. His ability to recall the dates and scores of thousands of NHL games is so stunning that it has left us with mixed feelings. Of course I love to see the full abilities of his remarkable […]
Read more "Memory, In Microcosm"If Las Vegas had odds on Ryan’s most successful Christmas gift being a book, they would have been in the thousands-to-one range. But among his Sharks gear (a new Joe Pavelski jersey!) and Jets gear (these!) and a really cool table hockey game, the present he loved the most was, improbably, inconceivably … a book. […]
Read more "Reading for Pleasure"
Pucks and Puzzle Pieces 