Something Was Different

Repeating the same activities year after year stands as a convenient way to measure Ryan’s progress. Ryan has played in our town’s summer street-hockey league for five seasons, and he has come a remarkably long way in that time. His coördination, his social skills, his understanding of how to be a good teammate — all […]

The iPad Went Unused

A few weeks ago, we went to a friend’s house for a July 4 barbecue. Ryan didn’t want to go. The children at the party were mostly girls, and Ryan was quite certain he wanted nothing to do with them. As has become our custom, we told him to bring his iPad. We would prefer […]

Lessons in Obnoxiousness

My college football blogger and satirist cyber-friend Spencer Hall wrote a humorous post the other day about the saga of former Major League Pitcher Kris Benson and his ex-Playmate wife Anna and their legal troubles. He closed the piece with the following: You probably should have stopped reading at the first paragraph for the fun […]

For Him – Or for Me?

Ryan engages in some quirky behaviors. These range from slightly odd to completely inappropriate. The latter call for a different response from me than the former, but they don’t always get one, and I find this one of the most vexing aspects of parenting a child on the autism spectrum. Here’s what makes it challenging: […]

I Wish I Had a Different Brain

“I WISH I HAD A DIFFERENT BRAIN!” “I HATE MY BRAIN!” That was Ryan on Sunday afternoon, mid-meltdown. Something was wrong with the hockey standings he was typing. This is a regular occurrence. His carefully crafted document formatting gets messed up. He forgets to save a document. His numbers don’t add up. Whatever the reason, […]