By Kimberly Gerry-TuckerEver hear a voice and it reminds you of someone else’s voice? Someone long departed or otherwise gone from your life? You don’t realize it, it’s an involuntary thing, but when people speak… And in particular when that voice is familiar and heard often- their voice imprints on…

By Wendi E. Powers My parents, brothers, and nieces live where I was born and raised in Florida. I left Florida in 1988 after an extremely abusive (and thankfully short) marriage. My new home in Tennessee offered the distance needed for healing to begin. For several years, I was unable to step foot…

By Kaelynn Partlow Often those of us on the autism spectrum do things that neurotypical people have difficulty understanding. To outsiders, autistic behavior can look “odd” or seem “not to make sense.” Sometimes a person’s behavior can even be frightening. It’s not uncommon for autistic…

Since autism has no physical manifestation it’s hard to know that this child in the middle of a meltdown is autistic. By Tulika Prasad A few days back while I was browsing the aisles of a store my nine-year-old son brushed against another customer. I was hoping it wouldn’t be a big deal but sh…

Wendy describes the challenges for someone on the autism spectrum for what many would call a simple outing. By Wendi E. Powers Going out in public is always an adventure for those of us on the autism spectrum.  While I can’t speak for the others, I can share a personal example.  Just…

Austin shares what it is like to have a panic attack and wants others to share their experiences. By Austin John Jones What I am about to talk about I think is a very personal experience for me. However, I want to tell you about it because I know I can’t be the only person on earth who has felt this…

“…if you want to LIVE TO YOUR FULLEST POTENTIAL, and live a good life that you can die being happy with, you need to put yourself out there. You need to interact.” By Austin John Jones Socializing can be difficult for people on the spectrum. Ever had those moments where you want to…

How does it make you feel to know you are different from others? By Austin John Jones You ever feel like a black sheep in a flock of regular sheep? You ever feel like a zebra in a group of horses? You ever feel like you know you are the same as everyone else, but you just still feel different from e…

By Austin John Jones Last time I talked about an “Over-Fascination with Certain Subjects That Everyone Else Thinks Are Dumb Or Pointless.” Another thing like that is when you do things over and over again. A lot. Getting up in the morning, taking your medication, listening to the same song over and…

By Austin John Jones Austin: “Alright everybody, time to feel excited! And I mean, REALLY EXCITED!” Audience: “About what Austin?!” Austin: “About WHAAAALES!!! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAALES!!!!!” Audience: “Uh…what?” Have you ever been in this situation? Have you ever felt like you were talking an alien lang…

The Art of Autism has curated an exhibit at Sophie’s Kensington gallery. Sophie’s Gallery is a division of St. Madeline’s in El Cajon. Yesterday Allie Wagner of KUSI interviewed Art of Autism President and co-founder Keri Bowers and others who were part of the exhibit including art…

By Linish Balan When my father died, I was so sad … no different than any other son in the world. Yet while taking the traditional bath after the funeral (in India people bathe after funerals), I started to laugh out loud very loudly. Fortunately, only one of my cousins was there with me at that ti…

Statistically, siblings share the longest lasting relationships one will experience in a lifetime. Several decades of research on siblings has provided important information about the effects of being a brother or sister of an individual with a disability. Generally, sibs across the lifespan regard …

Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t seen the movie you may not want to read this review. By Tom Iland If you have not yet seen the Ben Affleck movie, The Accountant, I suggest you see it or research it in order to better understand the context and the lessons being conveyed in this blog. As a certif…