America, how does it feel to wake up and learn that you can't have healthcare tests that you think you or your loved one needs? Welcome to the autism treatment world. Kinda sucks, doesn't it?

This week we learned that neither mammograms nor pap tests are as necessary as previously...

Does Spanx make an asbestos undergarment for HuffPo bloggers about to set themselves on fire?

I'm wondering if some Democrats are going to use abortion against the healthcare plan the way Republicans have used it (and gay marriage) to scuttle elections for years. This concerns me.

I am a pro-choice...

This Fall, Congressman Alan Grayson (D) of Florida said, "If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly. That's right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick."

He's right. Although I'm not sure it's the Republican plan, they don't seem...

Dear Senator Dodd:

I am a resident of Connecticut. I just heard you have prostate cancer. I am very sorry to hear this news. I'm sure it's a frightening revelation that has sent your entire family into a tailspin.

As far as I know, however, you are now surrounded...

Good God in heaven - it's been a rough week for anyone who loves a person with autism. I'm rather fond of three girls with autism, my daughters Mia, Gianna and Bella.

Earlier this week, Nancy Pelosi excluded autism from H.R. 3200 the healthcare bill. You can read about that...

Last week, Time Magazine ran an article, "Growing Old With Autism," featuring Karl Taro Greenfeld's new book Boy Alone, a memoir about growing up with his brother, Noah, who is severely autistic .

I met Karl last year. He wanted to ask me a few questions...

In 1994, the National Alliance for Autism Research was born. They were dedicated to genetics research for autism. Three years ago, they were absorbed into Autism Speaks. Now, fifteen years after their inception, millions of dollars spent and tens of thousands of children diagnosed with autism later, they appear to...

You think wrinkles and gray hair are the scourges of aging? Try imagining your child with autism as an adult and at the mercy of a state run home, an institution or even prison while you're slumbering away in a pine box.

I'd be happy to look like a...

Bankers who take taxpayer money to bail out their companies are facing a pay cut to $500,000 and a close eye on spending. Here in Fairfield County, CT home of several of America's wealthiest communities, the sound of gnashing teeth cuts through the chill winter air. I mean really, how...

As a Mom, one of the highlights of the inauguration was watching the first children, Miss Malia and Miss Sasha Obama, revel in their father's day. They were poised and yet still childlike. Eyes bright. Smiles wide.

Their mother, our elegant new First Lady, was able to fully share...

I wrote the post below last year, but it seems appropriate to bring it back because HuffPo contributor David Kirby has a piece running today called, Autism Speaks: Don't Rule Out Vaccines.

It's clear that both Bob and Suzanne Wright, the founders of Autism Speaks, want the same...

Hi, Kim here. By now, you know my husband Mark and I have three girls with autism. Our life is more difficult that I could convey to you in a book the size of the Bible, let alone a short post. One hour ago, my husband lost his job. This...

I have no love lost for Sarah Palin. None. Nada. Zip. That said, I don't think the national media or the McCain campaign should destroy her now that they have lost the election. Have some class and just move on. McCain has no one to blame but himself and that...

There's been a lot of talk about disabilities on the Presidential campaign trail. Sarah Palin has been presented by the McCain campaign as an expert in disabilities by virtue of the fact that she has an infant with Down Syndrome and a nephew with autism. The Obama campaign has put...

New Jersey has had it with the lack of participation in the organ donation program among its citizens. In an effort to save the lives of gravely ill men, women and especially innocent children in the Garden State, Governor Corzine has passed a law that requires all healthy citizens to...

Lordy be, sometimes it's exhausting having three children with autism. Oh, I don't mean my actual day to day life with Mia, Gianna and Bella. That's tiring of course, but parenthood wipes most of us mothers out by 9:00pm -- whether you're running to and from soccer practice or speech...

The other day I heard a talking head on the TV saying that Bristol Palin's pregnancy was more acceptable to conservatives because, "the government wouldn't be paying for the baby." Oh really? Let's talk health insurance for a moment. Bristol is covered by her parents' insurance. When Bristol turns 18,...

I'm intrigued by Senator McCain's choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his runningmate. I, like most Americans outside of Alaska, had never heard of Governor Palin before the media hoopla began. I understand that McCain expects Gov. Palin's conservative background to boost his appeal to the base of the...

You've probably heard of the uproar over the use of the word "retard" in the new Ben Stiller movie, Tropic Thunder. It has practically whitewashed the fact that Robert Downey Jr.'s character performs in blackface. No small feat.

As a writer, and the mother of three girls with autism,...

Dan Childs of ABC News has run a piece about Michael Savage and his diatribe against people with autism. Savage called those of us with autistic children "frauds" and suggested that we covet the autism label so that we can bilk the government for special services and money. You can...