We have new health insurance. It's just like our old health insurance. A lot of money for very little return. Let's see, we've had "Aetna, If you have autism we'll forget ya." We've had "InHumana." We've had "Useless Healthcare." And now we have "Stigma."

Are we trying to score...

I'm getting old. I can see gray hairs hiding in my tangle of brown curls. My laugh lines don't seem to vanish when I stop chuckling. And while my bustline isn't truly sagging (I never could take that pencil test) it does seem to be a bit, well, diminished. If...

My friend David Kirby is reporting at Huffington Post that certain heads are emerging from the sand in an effort to look at vaccine safety. The recent legal case where Miss Hannah Poling's family was awarded damages for her vaccinations having triggered (exacerbated / caused / choose your word)...

From the NYT:

As states move to require more vaccines for school-age children, an increasing number of parents are saying no to some of the inoculations. They are seeking exemptions from the state in growing numbers, citing religious reasons or saying that they believe the vaccines will do more...

Two controversies are swirling in the autism world. The first is over the safety of vaccines as they may relate to the cause/onset of this life altering disorder. The recent airing of ABC's Eli Stone episode about a woman who sued a pharmaceutical company (and won) on behalf of her...

Will Autism Speaks "fire" billionaire fundraiser Donald Trump for telling the world he believes vaccinations may be at the heart of the autism? Trump's long running hit "The Apprentice" runs on NBC, and Bob Wright, founder of Autism Speaks is still with GE, which owns the network. Trump could be...

My kids get door-to-door pickup service to their public schools. It's one of the "perks" of having autism. Remember the old jokes about riding the "short bus"? Not so funny anymore. On one of the two buses that stop at my house, I see three boys in the windows. Boy...

Several months ago I wrote a piece for Huffington Post called "The Crappy Life of the Autism Mom" that described a crapisode, which is my word for what happens when two of my three girls with autism work in tandem to create a holy mess in the bathroom. A...

On May 1, 2006, Suzanne Wright, founder of Autism Speaks promised me that Autism Speaks would study whether mercury and vaccines are part of the cause of the autism epidemic. Here's the video [Quicktime required].

Mrs. Wright made this promise at the Children Making Strides/Doug Flutie Jr....

I WILL SHAKE YOUR FOUNDATION!

Danny Bonaduce used that line in his reality show. Danny launched into the jealous husband mode threatening to "shake your foundation" (which I gather means "beat the crap out of") to the guy who made the mistake of admiring Mrs. Bonaduce. I am utterly on...

I am the queen of analogies. It's part of my writing and speaking style. If you ask me for directions I'll tell you to "Take a left at the elementary school that looks like a prison." When an email acquaintance asks what I look like I'll say, "My hair is...

Where's that caterpillar with the hookah? You know, the one from Lewis Carroll's "Alice" stories? I need something to calm my nerves. There is a major legal case underway in the US Court of Federal Claims to decide if a 12 year old girl named Michelle Cedillo was...

The New York Times ran a front page, above the fold article recently titled, "Prenatal Test Puts Down Syndrome in Hard Focus." It seems that ACOG (The American College of OB/GYN's) you know, your friendly OB who gives pregnant women 25 mcg of mercury in that flu shot, is...

Autism is the new term for psychotic behavior? I THINK NOT.

There are posts buzzing about the autism lists that the media is saying the murderer at Virginia Tech was autistic. Perhaps a relative in S. Korea uttered the word and it got into a press report? Not one individual...

I've always had a knack for mimicking voices. Have you ever heard Zoe from Sesame Street tell Elmo to stick it where the sunny days don't shine? I can do that. And I can sing in about a zillion voices. I once sang nursery rhymes to my kids in Cher's...

I admit to having a potty mouth. There is one word I never use though. The "C" word. You know, that nasty, vicious four letter word for a woman's genitals. It's so mean and desperate.

Well, move over *&nt, there's a new "C" word in town....

Have you ever seen Late Night with David Letterman's segment called "Stupid Pet Tricks?" You know the ones where some dingbat in Des Moines trains her Capuchin monkey to scratch her back with a spork in order to get her 15 minutes of fame? Admit it, we've all marveled over...

Well, that title should set off alarm bells in the Neurodiverse (ND) autism world.

Autism is like a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (from the Harry Potter books.) Some autistics got the raspberry cream or root beer flavor. They can speak eloquently, write blogs, move out on their...

Do we live in a "Pharmocracy" today? Here's the cheery message that greeted me this morning when I opened my Yahoo page:

"Want to protect yourself from cervical cancer and genital warts? Roll over to learn more."

Oy vey. Pal, I don't care if you're George Clooney naked in...

Recently the Neiman Marcus Christmas book showed up in my mailbox. This year I'm supposed to be impressed with a huge, $40,000 skyscraper made entirely from pencils and a $100K water park for my backyard. Well, not my backyard.

But I digress. The Christmas Book arriving...