Squidalicious

BELOW IS MY COMMENT AS SUBMITTED FOR THE JULY 2024 INTERAGENCY AUTISM COORDINATING COMMITTEE MEETING, WHICH IS CENTERED ON THE TOPIC OF CAREGIVING. (I HOPE IT IS SOMEWHAT COHERENT, AS WE ARE ALL ...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2024/06/my-comment-for-july-2024-iacc-meeting.html

I’m pleased that April has been reclaimed as Autism Acceptance Month, after years of superficial “awareness” campaigns. Even the White House made an autism acceptance proclamation this yea...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2024/05/ezra-movie-about-really-great-autistic.html

In Leo's new post-school life, Thursdays are Adventure Days. It's just the two of us, Leo and me, on purpose. We have infinite excursion options where we live, but often end up wandering around S...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2024/04/enjoying-our-adult-autistic-adventure.html

If you're frustrated about the state of government support for autistic people and their families in the United States, one of the most straightforward ways you can speak up about autism policy i...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2022/11/my-comment-to-october-2022-interagency.html

This page has been around longer than my youngest child—who is now in college and doing their own advocacy, for instance giving public talks with Listen For a Change on why gender-affirmin...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2022/10/nascendi-of-being-born-joe-on-trans.html

Hiking—Always Hiking I gave a live video public comment  (at 1:19:49) at yesterday's IACC meeting, about the need for autism research and resources to serve existing autistic people of a...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2021/10/my-public-comment-to-october-2021-iacc.html

A scene from today's hike at Skyline Ridge 2020 was, appropriately enough, the year in which my middle child turned 20. And despite the year's significant and unceasing horrors, which are be...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2020/12/a-scene-from-todays-hike-at-skyline.html

Baby Iz versus Pandemic Iz We're several months into mandatory pandemic face masking, and my son still can't wear a mask. It's not for lack of trying; he knows he's supposed to wear one, an...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2020/05/pandemic-fears-vs-face-masks.html

We are also Always, Always, Always Hiking. My partially–speaking autistic son recently learned to say "excuse me" after he farts.  This is important for many reasons. We are a gassy cre...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2020/07/on-always-always-always-learning.html

We are fortunate in that we can all learn and work from home during the pandemic lockdown, now on week…10?  Maybe? Time has lost any meaning without our usual school, work, and commute struct...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2020/05/pandemic-greetings-from-our-backyard.html

FOAM PIT! Someone turned nineteen very recently. Someone's mother remains in denial. We celebrated that someone's birthday according to their specific wishes for pancakes, a typically f...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2019/11/vanilla-cake-for-nineteen-year-old-dude.html

Let me wipe off my still-foggy glasses and explain why that title may not mean what you think it means. This past weekend, Leo participated in Ride A Wave —that glorious all-volunteer suppor...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2019/06/thanks-for-making-me-cry-ride-wave.html

A MOTHER'S DAY GIFT FROM LEO.  For Mother's Day here in the United States, I want all you other moms of autistic kids to know that I see you, and that you are not alone. ---- I see ...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2019/05/dear-other-mothers-of-autistic-kids-i.html

Because I am very smart, it only took me ten years to realize that Zion National Park is a mere three-hour drive from Las Vegas, where we often stay with family. For us, that's day-trippable. I...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2019/04/zion-national-park.html

THE MONSTERS, INC RIDE IS A PERENNIAL FAVE. It's been eight years since Leo's first successful trip to Disneyland, when we discovered that, for him, the Land of Mouse really is The Happi...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2019/03/leos-adventures-in-disneyland-2019.html

Leo turned eighteen years old today. Like nearly all parents of newly-minted-18 year olds, I can't f***ing believe it. But I think I'm ready. I think Leo's ready, too. Leo's ready because ...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2018/11/eighteen-years-eighteen-years-holy-hell.html

PHOTO © SHANNON DES ROCHES ROSA I don't do as much autism and tech advising as I used to do back in those frontier iPad days , but people still ask me about best practices for tech and a...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2018/10/on-creating-social-apps-for-autistic.html

Last night I attended John Donvan's and Caren Zucker's talk at Stanford University, in which they discussed their "Story of Autism" book In a Different Key and its forthcoming film. I should be c...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2018/10/in-different-key-and-hypocrisy-of.html

Content note for abuse and murder of autistic people. I live-tweeted my reading of John Donvan's and Caren Zucker's "The Story of Autism" book In A Different Key when it was first published in ...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2018/10/in-different-key-not-autism-book-youre.html

Next Thursday, September 27, 2018, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee will meet to discuss the health needs of autistic people . I submitted the public comment below, which will become...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2018/09/my-comments-to-september-2018-iacc-on.html

It's April, that annual demonstration of how autism "awareness" can be used to hurt people like Leo. When autism awareness is deployed as a weapon—especially without autism understanding or acc...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2018/04/saidnomother-autism-awareness-at-its.html

People all over the planet are observing World Autism Awareness Day  today. My autistic friends and my family, however, prefer to follow The Autistic Self-Advocacy's example and observe ...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2018/04/how-you-can-honor-world-autism.html

“I WILL ONLY DWELL ON WHAT MY #AUTISTIC  CHILD *CAN’T* DO, #SAIDNOMOTHER   I haven't had to address the anti-vax Autism Mommy contingent for a long, satisfying while. After the...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2018/03/saidnomother-wretched-hive-of-scum-and.html

TO SIRI WITH LOVE AUTHOR JUDITH NEWMAN AND HER SON GUS It took me a long time to read Judith Newman's autism parenting memoir To Siri With Love, despite the author herself courteously sen...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2018/03/to-siri-with-so-much-disappointment.html

ME AND LEO GOOFING OFF That damned flu hit our family last week. It sucked. It took out many nodes in our people network as well. We didn't have as awful a time as many, possibly becaus...

https://www.squidalicious.com/2018/01/realistic-evaluations-of-my-parental.html