Recently, I was reading this review of Toni Braxton’s new memoir, and the reviewer appeared shocked that Ms. Braxton attributed her son’s autism to God’s payback for a prior abortion. I don’t want to get into a discussion about God, and whether He would cause a child to suffer over a parent’s alleged mistake, but… Read More »
Posts Categorized: Special Needs Issues
Now Playing: Kings Park: Stories from an American Mental Institution
Description: A powerful and very personal documentary about the history and legacy of the Kings Park State Mental Hospital by Filmmaker and former patient Lucy Winer will be playing in Huntington at the Cinema Arts Theater, March 23rd, 2014 at 1PM.
There is a Special Place in Hell
Four employees of a Long Island group home have been fired and charged with endangerment for pitting two disabled individuals against each other, according to Newsday and News 12 Long Island. Cellphone video of the fight shows the four workers laughing. I think there is a special place in hell for those who are cruel… Read More »
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.
Sandy Hook and Mental Illness: No Easy Answers
The intense grief we feel for the victims and families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, has ignited, or re-ignited, two of our great national debates: the obvious one about gun control, and a less obvious one about the nature and treatment of mental illness. As yet we do not know the exact nature… Read More »
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 »
More Research Needed for Teen Autism Treatments
Most of the research in autism treatment and prevention is aimed at young children. Early intervention is best and most helpful, but as the autism population ages, so must treatment solutions be aimed at older children and young adults. As the Huffington Post points out, a new government report confirms that there is little scientific… Read More »
A Kardashian I'm Proud to Watch
At the risk of losing the respect of many of my readers, I have to admit I’m a closet reality show junkie. And not just any reality show. Last night I was watching “Khloe and Lamar,” when I stopped paying my usual half attention and took notice of the story line. Rob, , the lone… 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 »