In short, Autism is described as a severe developmental disorder that begins at birth or within the first 2.5 years of life. Most autistic children are perfectly normal in appearance, but spend their time engaged in puzzling and disturbing behaviors which are markedly different from those of typical children. Less severe cases may be diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) or with Asperger's Syndrome or High Functioning Autism, (these children typically have normal speech, but they have many "autistic" social and behavioral problems), at the same time, autistic children are also extremely intelligent and excessively talented in a variety of areas. The autistic spectrum is a very large one and no two diagnosis’ are the same. (Thank you Lauren for this nice introduction to Autism!)

Danny Rosengard, a 13 year old 8th grade student at Eisenhower Middle School who is interested in ice hockey, sports and current events wrote a book dedicated to his friend's brother, Matt who was diagnosed with autism. His parents are Sue and Andrew Young who moved from East Brunswick, NJ to San Antonio, Texas. He is also a member of the National Junior Honor Society and is assistant captain of the San Antonio Thunder, a youth ice hockey team. His book is called the ABCs of Autism. The book was written for Matt as his Bar Mitzvah project, a good deed for the community. Danny met his best friend Adam at 3 years old and soon found out that brother, Matt had severe autism. Danny spent a lot of time at Adam's house with him so getting to know Matt and the meaning of autism is what helped Danny to understand that everyone is different in their own way. Danny wanted to express his feelings to anyone, young or old the meaning of autism starting with the alphabet, letter by letter. The book includes autism facts and information. I even learned a lot from the book. A quote of Danny's was "I care about him, and I know it's hard for him." The book started when he began to ask questions like "Why didn't he talk?" says Susan Young, Danny's mother. Many people do not know what autism is and he wanted to share his thoughts of it and explain it all in a handy, convenient book. The book shows the feelings and emotions, effects/symptoms and causes of autism.  Young was able to publish the 36 page book through her public relations firm called Get in Front Communications. Danny wanted to unveil and release the book at the Bar Mitzvah ceremony and present it to the rabbi since his daughter is autistic.  The book is $12.95 or $7.95 for an electronic version and it is available at http://www.lulu.com/content/4385639.

A San Antonio graphic design studio, Foster Creative (www.fostercreative.com), donated their creative services when they heard about the project. Illustrations in the book were drawn by James Hogarth, a young man with autism who attended school with Matthew.

Kid Critic had an exclusive opportunity to have an interview together with Danny. Here are the questions and answers:

1. ■What inspired you to write the book? It was a requirement for my Bar-Mitzvah project, I had to do a good deed ("mitzvah") for the community. Most of my friends collected canned food for the needy, donate money to a pet shelter or send supplies for the troops overseas. I decided to write a book about autism so elementary school kids can understand it. I have seen how autism is an how it affects people and families because of my friend. A lot of kids haven't seen it up close so I wanted the book to help explain it to them. I have donated copies to local community groups, schools and people who have requested it. The book is dedicated to Matthew.
   

2. ■How does autism affect Matthew and in what ways? Matt is now 13 and doesn't talk much at all. His mom says he is low functioning and not really aware of what's going on around him. He has a lot of energy and runs around a lot. He does like to play with us sometimes, but not regular games. He rides his bike, swims, likes to go on rides at amusement parks and he likes bowling.
   

3. ■How long have you been friends with Matthew and when was he diagnosed with autism? I met Adam when we were 3 years old in our preschool class in New Jersey. matt is a year younger than Adam and I. When we first met and got to be friends, Matt had just been diagnosed. He was under the age of two.
   

4. ■What do you do to help Matthew? I have spent a lot of time with Adam, Matt and their family. I help him to calm down if he gets upset on rides or when we are out. He has a lot of tantrums and has trouble staying still and focused. I help him, and try to be nice to him whenever I can.
   

5. ■What are your favorite things to do together with Matthew? We like to play on the pogo sticks and jump around a lot. He's really fast! We like the rides at Six Flags and Great Adventure too. We eat meals together and Matt helps set the table so I help him with that too.
   

Color expert and environmental designer, Lauren Henry, President of With A Brush of Love Inc. works with children who have autism and special needs. She provides environmental re-design to benefit emotional and intellectual conditions, primarily for special

needs children. While she works with all children, she specializes in working with children who have autism. She meets with the child and the parents to transform the room that fits the needs of the child by utilizing color, pattern and design for the purposes of behavior management. The effect can be to stimular, pacify, improve focus, or a combination of goals. The children feel more grounded within their surroundings. Color, placement, pattern, lighting, sound and tactile textures all make an immense difference in the way each of use relate on an emotional and intellectual level. Henry notices the current room the child is living in and explores what it is doing to the child and why it does not work for the child and then creates a space for the child. She believes that every child is different like a fingerprint and their environment should be customized to their own individual needs. They have their own preferences, characteristics and personality traits that make them distinct.  Kids love to have input of what is important to them, but mostly they care about the look and feel of their rooms. She meets with the family and allows the child to participate in the decision-making process which creates more excitement and lets them know that their opinions are important. Check out Lauren’s website for more specific information, examples, news and testimonials!  www.brushoflove.com.

Kid Critic collected stories from the public who submitted them...:

Sandra Sanchez has an adult friend who's daughter has autism. The two non-autistic kids in the family were highly impacted. The family is trying to afford the best treatment for their special needs child. To find a more affordable treatment the family moved cross-country to get treatment for their daughter because the schools in their area did not know how to deal with it. Many families with special needs child need to sacrifice things in order to get what their child needs to be helped.

Derrick Howle shares a story about his son (age 10) with autism and a neuro-typical daughter (age 8) is a challenge in so many different ways. At the moment, my daughter is really having a hard time coping with her brother’s issues. Trying to strike a balance between doing what is necessary for our son that requires more attention due to his autism and also giving our daughter as close to a normal life as possible in between the tantrums and stress…well…it is not easy. The details of our daily life in the eyes of those not living it, will appear completely chaotic or unbearable or, well, I don’t know the right words to describe it but for us, it is our normal. All I can say is that we love both of our children more than life itself equally and we do what we can and have to do to make it from one day to the next and that we have the support of not only our family and friends but also from other families all across South Carolina that are experiencing the same yet slightly different experiences as us and we have sought out these other families that have siblings of a child with autism so that my daughter can have  play dates with others her age that understand what she is experiencing.

Kim Sanders, Executive Director at Grafton Homes and Schools talks about what she does. Families send their kids with special needs to Grafton where all expenses are taken care of by the local government who pays for the child to go to Grafton. Sanders usually has an interview with the family and gets to know the child, understands his/her needs and creates a room for the child and a good learning experience for the child. Some kids come during the day for school and others stay throughout the year. There are 21 group homes in Winchester, Virginia the Grafton facility, Kim works at. They provide a home and give food to them, with extra support. She explains that this can be a challenge for the family who regrets or feels guilty sending the child away. It is a nice opportunity for them and part of the reason as Sandra Sanchez above explained, all the family is doing is the best for their child and if that means finding affordable care where at Grafton it is at cost for the locality. At Grafton they strive to help the child reach their hopes and dreams. Everybody's plan is different and because it is just one person they have to meet with each child to assist them. She says that everyone is different and don't forget the person.

Carol Ann Greenburg sends in her story of her son who was diagnosed with autism at 3 1/2 years old, he didn't even recognize that other children were in the room with him. Two years later, he was fully engaged in all kinds of play with all kinds of children. At six he still has severe language delays, but has both typically developing friends whose social skills he imitates and autistic friends for whom he is a role model. Find out how he manages a full social calendar, playdates, birthday parties, and other adventures, even though he STILL cannot yet hold a conversation.

Sabrina Sumsion shares a fascinating story: The one thing I found most distressing about trying to work with my son Spencer (diagnosed with autism at 22 months) was that I could not communicate with him.  I babysat and was a nanny for many years before having him so I felt I had a lot of experience relating to children and speaking to them on their level.  Enter my son who at 2 years old, when most children are at least gibbering many different words if not in sentences, merely shrieked and kicked.  Days and weeks went by spending hours working with him trying to teach sign language, get him to use pictures to communicate and encourage phonics.  We had a teacher come into our home once a week for almost a year trying to help us create systems that would increase his interactions with me, with his teacher, with his father, with anyone!  As months passed, I felt that he was slipping further and further away from me. As Spencer turned three, he had the opportunity to attend preschool through our local school district.  He was placed into a classroom with Teresa Schultz, a local autism expert.  I learned after a month that miracles do happen.  Under Teresa’s guidance, he went from a vocabulary of sporadically saying 10 words to over 100 words in a single month.  Tears flowed on the day when he combined two words and made the simple request of “baby, please.”  Every day he learned something new and at almost 7 years old he is attending classes with his peers and has several friends.  Armed with knowledge, several different educational techniques and the passion to reach unreachable children, Teresa has engrained herself solidly in my thankful heart.

David Geslak, Recreation Coordinator for Giant Fit sees children for capabilities not disabilities. “We all have something to offer”. “When you meet with children you have to love what you do and be true to others”. “We all need to work together, communicate and educate each other. “I try to do as much as I can for these kids”. “Physical education is important to help the body”. “A child who can skip can read better than a child who can't, shown with proven studies because both hemispheres of the brain are involved and working in harmony”.

Leticia shares a touching story: On February 9, 2008, life had given us a blow to the stomach that was almost unbearable. On that sunny winter day, a San Diego Regional Center psychologist diagnosed our twin 2-year old boys with an autism spectrum disorder.  Denial, anger, depression are a few of the gut-wrenching emotions that my husband and I dealt with privately for months thereafter.  When there were no more tears to be shed and when we were able to lift our heads out of the self-pity that had consumed us, we threw ourselves (and our boys) into therapies-galore: Speech Language Clinics, 3x weekly chiropractor visits! Our “free” time was spent researching new ways to get through to our boys, teaching them to relate to us and the world through engagement.  Thankfully, one and a half years later—and after hundreds of hours of dedication by family, therapists, and teachers, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I used to think of the irony, for twin boys of two Spanish language professors to have speech delays that are autism-related.  How frightening it was to look at typically developing 3-year olds and realize that one’s own children might not ever develop normally because of neurological impairments. Equally disappointing were the times we had to confront adults who didn’t “get it” when we explained that our boys aren’t lazy, but instead have autism.  For these reasons I created a play group for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ages 2-5)—and, subsequently, a support group for parents—that meets one weekend per month, hosted by the Autism Tree Project Foundation. Thanks to the generous contributions of community sponsors, we are able to hold these monthly play dates that bring solidarity to some and solace to others.

Amalia gives hope about her son, Brandon: My youngest son is thirty-six years old. He has a form of autism called Asperger Syndrome, plus untreatable epilepsy, and severe learning disorders - I wrote a book for him called Raising Brandon. The professionals that worked with him said he would never be able to live alone.  They were wrong.  Brandon has been living on his own for the past twelve years, enjoying his independence.

We don't have to listen to others when we are told that our children can't do something. We have to trust ourselves and listen to our hearts and forge ahead. Keep on believing and remember--There is Always Hope!  On The Web: www.AmaliaStarrSpeakerAutism.com

Stacey sends in her story: I created books used by parents, kids and teachers and never dreamed how they are helping autism families.  I received a call for an actress who said Jenny McCarthy held up my books at her Friday autism playgroup and told how they helped her son.  So she called me to purchase a set for her own son.  She called back a few months later to report how my books helped her son.  The school district was not interested in pushing the curriculum for her 9 year old autistic son.  She felt he was beyond a Kindergarten level and wanted him to be working on First Grade work.  They refused.  She set up another meeting, had her lawyer present and he tested her son using my Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten!  book.  The school district agreed and moved him up to a First Grade level.   WOO HOO!

         Kid Critic set up a special tour with the New England Center for Children in Southborough. They offer a home-based early intervention program and provides school day program as well as a residential home program. For schooling and learning, there is a choice of one to one, or group based intergration programs. They use a program called ACE (Academic Curriculum Encyclopedia) to track that status and use graphs to find the progress of each child, adding data such as test scores and information that is specific to each child. It provides instruction for the teacher and enables communication for the parents and teachers.

           The NECC receives compliments about the excellence of staff. Parents rave about the wonderful services that the staff provides to the children. One of the quotes from the video about the center said “Never rest on achievements, always move forward”. There is a global need for good quality services like the NECC provides. There are two locations that the NECC runs, in Southborough, Massachusetts and Abu Dhabi,where the program was needed. About 30 students participate in this program at the Abu Dhabi Center. The NECC strives to open doors for children with autism. For every family served, there are always more in need. The NECC provides services for children as young as 14 months with their in home early intervention program. A teacher spends 28 hours per week working with the child. The day school program is for children ages 5-22, same with the residential program. They have homes in Ashland, Framingham and Westborough for up to 9 children with supervision by a teacher. A normal school day at NECC is from 9 a.m. to 3:30 pm. The NECC has been open for 33 years. Each child has specific objectives or goals that they want to learn, that are customized to meet their needs. Sometimes the center brings in a special needs autism program to the public schools. The NECC has a very nice and modern facility with over 700 staff members, they have many fun activities such as morning meetings and gym/free time. The functioning levels for children vary from a wide range. The needs and goals for each child are measurable. A child’s schedule is very organized and specific and learn such things like matching, numbers, working on days of the week, colors, calendars, speaking and many hands-on activities. The center offers intergrated classrooms that have children with autism mixed with regular children. This way they can find out where they learn best while interacting with others. Some basic skills can be very hard and challenging for individuals like getting dressed, brush their teeth, eating, focusing, instructional activities, and listening skills. Some students work with one teacher all the time or multiple teachers throughout the day. Some work with 2-3 students and work on helping children work in groups with other children. There are 200 elementary students. Some students do academics like reading, writing, math, social studies, science and more who can learn better with more distractions. In the cafeteria there are some older students who have jobs in the cafeteria and get paid for it. There are many selections for students as they try to enforce healthy decisions. There is a department involved with local business partnerships/volunteering programs like paid jobs to start an early career which gives skills for future work and building a resume. For more information on the New England Center for Children, check out www.necc.org.

Cindy Ciccozzi sent in a very well written story about her two boys coping with each other.

Since her article is long, it is posted on another page. Click here to read Cindy’s story.

A good site that reader Debbie sent in is Blue Dominoes: http://www.bluedominoes.com/autism.

Kid Critic recently watched the movie, Son-Rise - A Miracle of Love, for the New York Times synopsis visit this link: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/129106/Son-Rise-A-Miracle-of-Love/overview. Little Raun was born with a severe case of autism. All he does is rock back and forth, pretend he is flying and spin a plate. The mother works with the child 24/7 acting like him to make him feel comfortable. This is an amazing, inspiring movie. Check your movie channel listings for more details.