Musings and What-not

You are probably wondering about the meaning of the title. I am an autism warrior. I am a mother to a handsome, smart, funny, charming, affectionate young man... who has autism. I am part of an amazing community who sees as part of its mission the promotion of tolerance, compassion, empathy, and understanding for a generation of people who are oftentimes, misunderstood and persecuted by ignorant, misinformed, ill-educated folks like Michael Savage , Amanda Peet , and Denis Leary . (click their names to read their remarks against the autism community) I am an author who hopes that my work will inspire readers to learn more about the autism spectrum disorder. I am an author who hopes that my work will encourage readers to be more compassionate, empathetic, and tolerant of others who seem "different" than themselves. I am a blogger . I blog for peace (because I know now that my son's autism was not my fault). I blog for answers (to questions I have on regarding how I can b...

There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can't compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks . . . to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons. I don't give a [bleep] what these crackerjack whack jobs tell you - yer kid is NOT autistic. He's just stupid. Or lazy. Or both." - Denis Leary The Autism Society of America responded: "For Mr. Leary to suggest that families or doctors conspire to falsely diagnose autism is ridiculous . . . [His] remarks reflect the same misconceptions of autism being caused by bad or unemotional parenting that were held over 50 years ago. I don't even know where to start. Prior to reading his remarks, I actually liked Denis.  Yes, I know he's crass and a bit hard on the ears, but his style was one I used to laugh at.  I think it was his New England accent and hard appr...

I don't read a lot of parenting magazines. Most of them don't represent my life. I don't recognize myself or my life in the pictures or stories which is why I missed a rather scathing stab by actress, Amanda Peet, at non-vaccinating parents in the July issue of Cookie. Peet stated, "Frankly, I feel that parents who don't vaccinate their children are parasites." Parasites? Let's take a deeper look at that word, shall we? Biology An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host. Wow! I contribute nothing ? I'll be honest. If autism hadn't come into my life, I'd be just like Peet. Misinformed, judgmental, biased. The list goes on. But I'm not like her. My life isn't privileged. I don't have celebrity status to stand behind and use to insult families who have been living with this disorder for decades. I'm sure if it were up to Peet, our children w...

Today, I read a very interesting article at one of my favorite online pit stops, Age of Autism .  It really got me thinking.  If this mother can recover her child from autism, naturally (through raw foods, energy healing, etc.), then why isn't this information widely available? I know of the supplements, the bio-chemical therapies, and the like that can benefit my son, but I'm more interested in sticking to the recovery path that is as natural as possible. Having fully transitioned into the holistic (green) lifestyle a little over a year ago, I'm done putting junk into my family's environment (internal and external). Lately, the media has been comparing one mother's choice (Jenny McCarthy) over another's (Amanda Peet). It is conflicts like this that keep the "judging" eyes on holistic parents and our decisions. Parents choosing to not vaccinate their children is nothing new. We've all heard of the 60s! We're just the new generation of informed...