Category: Autism and developmental disabilities

Sometimes I want to quit society and go live in Tristan da Cunha. Why? Because it’s the remotest island in the world, the farthest one from any continent. There, I wouldn’t be assaulted with paperwork...Read More →

As I work on my memoir about raising Diego, my 31-year-old autistic and bipolar son, I’ve spent many hours reading the stack of records about him gathered over his educational years, reliving how it...Read More →

There’s surely nothing objectionable about a mother posting photos and videos of her adult son with his consent. But what if, like Diego, the son has an intellectual disability?  When I created my...Read More →

“Did you hear the news about Ben Affleck?” Diego, my 30-year-old autistic son, asked me this past summer.  “No, Diego. What happened?” I replied, wondering if Affleck had died or something.  “He split...Read More →

“What’s the funniest thing that has happened to you lately?” my sister Gabi asked a group of family members one evening this past June. We had gathered at the big old porch of the Lillagaard, a bed and...Read More →

One thing I hate about my son Diego’s autism label is that it suggests he’s not social. The implication is to be expected, of course, seeing as the diagnosis requires “Persistent deficits in social...Read More →

My son Diego (autistic and intellectually disabled) turned 30 on 13 January 2024. Just a week prior, my friend Liz came to visit from California and we went to the Whitney Museum, where the ticket person...Read More →

When my son Diego was little, his autism label memorably got us a disability pass at Disney World with magical line-skipping powers. Currently, labels give him access to Department of Developmental...Read More →