Shane, this was absolutely beautifully written - you have a gift. Love Auntie Debra

I have a 16-year old "Michael" with autism. He is a very good child and a very happy one. When he is happy, he stems, when he is angry (which is rare) he stems, when he is excited, he stems. I know what you mean... we love this child to death, but the stemming can drive us nuts. It really takes a LOT of patience for us not to react to the stemming that would only provoke more stemming.

My seven year old (90 lb) daughter is still climbing up on counters and getting into things. It's like having to baby proof the house all over again on a totally unprecedented level. I feel your pain.

Good luck!

Thank you for sharing this! My sentiments exactly with our seven year old daughter. I feel your joy and your pain.

I enjoyed reading this article, you pointed out some interesting points. I agree, that until you actually live with someone that has autism. Don't be so fast to judge them or their care givers...
Your article was well written. Keep up the good work on keeping us all informed.

wonderful post shane. being a parent of an autistic child, i understand everything you are saying. it is hard to find the words, at times, to express the overwhelming feelings that take place everyday; from the hopes to the heartaches.

Thank you so much for this helpful and comprehensive review of current apps. I'm overwhelmed as I try to decide what apps to put on my autistic daughter's new Ipad. If you had no restrictions on cost, but could only have one of each type of app (communication, picture schedule, etc...), what would you choose? My daughter is 16 and I think she's going to love this, but I'm about to shut down from info overload! :)

i am all for medical use of weed. my sister passed away in 1994, and her last few years...well the pot helped her a lot. she was in less pain, ate more, and had a better outlook on life.

Shane and Anne,
Bless you guys for being the great parents you are. We too love to go go go. But Taking Terin was such a chore when he was smaller. The good news is as Terin has aged he now enjoys going to the "hotel" swimming and adventureing out in a new place is fun. he has to have many reminders of where we are and where we are going even weeks before we even leave, but in the end it all works out. When it comes to outdoors, this is not his favorite adventure. He has no trouble with sleep due to meds but he is afraid to hike. He is afraid of most things and this slows us all down. A great example is Disneyland. Our first trip was a mess, crying in each line, which is gifted through the handicap slip we recieve to be much shorter than normal line, still caused anxiety. The second trip a year older and being that he has been there once before no crying and ready to go back to the hotel by 7pm tired of walking. No fits in the car on the long drive and actuall fun. The third trip flawless. Now I am not sharing this to brag on our trips but hopefully u can see the possibility of light at the end of the autism tunnel. Each year brings new trials and new maturity. U guys are amazing!!!

you're not a bad dad! we all need that time away to try to unwind a little. there are many days i just have to walk away.

as far as the camping, maybe try a state park that has a hotel?

Just to clarify about the MyTalk set of tools.
MyTalk Mobile is a fully functional AAC device for $40, a device that never needs the web application (subscription component) to continue working as long as you own the device. We chose to provide a very inexpensive, fully functional solution, MyTalk Mobile.

And there's a free version, just to make sure that if your child does not have the fine motor skills to use our app, you don't waste your money on a 'non refundable' App store purchase. Test our solution for free. Purchase only if it works in your situation.

We provide another complimentary web application for customers, MyTalk Workspace. Again, a completely optional service, but a service that we believe will revolutionize AAC because of the features we have built in and will continue to add.

If you opt out of the optional MyTalk Workspace after 30 days, no images are lost. They reside on your handheld device and are fully accessible with MyTalk Mobile.
For details: www.mytalktools.com
For product specifics:
http://www.mytalktools.com/dnn/Products.aspx

I have a Golden Retriever (2 years old +) but I never buy him any dog shoes, because I think they will feel uncomfortable with it, not sure about it, perhaps I should get one for my GR for a try ;)

My daughter is 10 and has autism. I wonder about these same things sometimes. Then I sort of catch myself wondering and I refocus on the present. Nothing I can do about her future. But I may be able to affect her future here in the present.

Wonderful blog! Thank you for sharing, Sherry!

aww..little dog booties sound cute!!

:)

I've developed a version of pure picture exchange on an app and am using it with my daughter Grace. I would be very interested to hear from parents using iTouch or iPhone and iPad even; What covers and lanyards are you using.
I am on about my 16th cover and have just returned from Andalusia where my daughter was using what I thought was the "alpha" version of a hard plastic iPhone cover that holds a shoulder strap type lanyard securely - which she flung onto the hard tiled floor in the villa and smashed the screen.
What I need is impact protection AND a secure way of attaching a shoulder lanyard as I like her to wear it.
She had to use our back-up iTouch for the rest of the holiday which had less functionality (no Youtube entertainment as we had no wifi in the villa)
- and a not very protective cover so I was tethering it to me for the whole time - and I feel she lost independence and language.

Grace uses the "Grace App" that I named after her very competently and I want her to have the freedom to independently access and "own" the device.

So- links please if you do have suggestions - I'm looking to buy for both the iTouch and iPhones!

xx

Took our son to the doctor recently and discussed his poop (thanks to Libra for the personal message that prompted us to talk to the doc). The doctor said that she wasn't really concerned about the size of the stool, but rather how dense and hard it is. Well, Braden's #2 isn't dense. Soooooo, she suggested Metamucil. And now our boy is pretty much going daily again.

@ Paul...

Yes to your question...

What helps if you have one itouch for communication and one for gaming. Use two different colored cases so your son can visually see the difference. My son isn't interested in gaming, but for a friend that son is this did the trick.

Not cheap...but, might save your mind ;0)

I have found the cases from ihome work the best. Speaker control is on the outside and is more durable than the imaingo.(I think that is how it is spelled). You can buy them on Amazon.

@ Shane...thanks again for your wonderful website. You are a wealth of information and a real blessing to the ASD community. Thanks for taking the time to provide these resources to our families!!!!!!!!!!

This story WARMS my heart !!! That is such an awesome story. Give my Grandson a big hug from me please. Oh! It's a 2006...hahahaha. Love ya son...

That was soooo Kool of your friend. You are funny , Lucy would look silly in "boy" hunting boots. I think red is just right, doesn't matter the color. You are protecting her precious paws from everything. If you happen to find some in a size small, please let me know. As Tank could also use a pair...turns out he is a good walker ( in training). I ( or maybe I should say Daphne) had a black pair. But when she passed, I donated them to another who could use them. Wish Tank had them now. He is going to become a GREAT walker. Love ya son...

The strength of our iTouch was recently put to the test. While my 6-year-old nephew was playing a game on it, he dropped it on the concrete... from about 3 feet up. Also, while my son was walking with it, and swinging his arms, it slipped out of his grasp and flew about 6 feet in front of him... on the concrete. But the iTouch is still working fine!

Hi Jo - Thanks for stopping by. You have a nice blog too!