Love Will Keep Us Together

A newlywed couple who had been forced to live in separate group homes have been offered an apartment in a group home so that they can finally live together, according to Newsday. It is always a good day when love triumphs over disability.

Refrigerator Mothers or Aging Fathers?

  Back in the 1950’s, scientists were certain that autism and schizophrenia were caused by mothers who were emotionally frigid.  Scientists coined the phrase “refrigerator mothers” to describe how the lack of warmth  by mothers affected their children.  There were even movies made about this symptom:  a PBS Point of View, the trailer which is… Read More »

Self -Determination Through the Eyes of a Client

I recently had the pleasure, on my radio show Special Needs Long Island, to meet Mandy Shenkman, an individual with developmental disabilities who works with The Center for Family Support, an organization that, in part, helps people with developmental disabilities work within self-determination. According to the Self Advocacy Association of New York State (SAANYS) (another… Read More »

Will New Autism Definition Affect Your Child's Services?

Although the American Psychiatric Association has been working on its revision of the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) for several years, a new study by world-renowned expert on childhood mental disorders, Dr. Fred Volkmar, has brought the concerns expressed by the autism community back to the forefront of discussion. At issue… Read More »