It's hard to run a marathon that pushes you harder than you have ever been pushed -- physically, emotionally and spiritually. One for which you did not train or set out to run but one that you just woke up to find yourself running one day. One that challenges your...

For the last decade, my heavy heart watched other children move on through their lives hitting their milestones on time while my son Liam struggled behind, knowing he wanted so badly to be in the mix but not quite finding his way. During the first 17 months of his life,...

It was bound to happen. Adolescence. How did he get here so fast?

Just the other day my son Liam was on his way home from the hospital wrapped in a blue blanket. In a world crammed with autism -- chock full of therapy, treatments, doctor visits, specialists, learning how...

For years, medical professionals and educators have hailed the successes of early intervention for children with all manner of challenges. For children with autism, those challenges often require years of painstakingly, patient individualized therapy to begin to improve their symptoms. For an average of one in 68 families nationwide, finding...

Growing up, my little brothers and I were the best of friends. Our family was particularly close. We rarely fought and I knew that those boys would always be there for me no matter what. We covered for each other. We learned German so we could talk to one another...

Last week, I purchased a bag of Brach's Autumn Mix for my son Liam. Even thought it was mid-October, I gave in to his sweet tooth's request with the caveat that he would have to make the whole bag of delicious candy corns and pumpkins last until Halloween day.

Louisa May Alcott once stated, "I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship."

Over the last ten years, I have been learning how to sail my ship in rough waters from the Hurricane of Autism blowing into my home in 1998...

Divorce puts an interesting spin on the holidays. Six years after my initial separation, they are getting easier and more routine. I have become accustomed to either having our home roaring at 180 decibels with the swarming of children and relatives or the deafening silence that comes with being a...

Two weeks ago, Liam came bounding into the house on a Friday afternoon with something special from his teacher. Apparently, for being such a good boy in school, she had given him the opportunity to bring home the Oriental Trading Halloween 2007 catalog. She takes the motivation for him to...

For most children, developmental milestones are met right on time. Parents dutifully record them in baby books and scrapbooks. The first smile. The first babble. The first jar of solid food. The first crawl or step. The first word. The first "Why?"

At first, all that inquisitiveness is cute....

For a very simple reason over the last six years, I have clung to the hope that my son Liam was insulated from the emotional distress that can envelope a child when their parents divorce. He has autism.

For once, I had hoped...

For a very simple reason over the last six years, I have clung to the hope that my son Liam was insulated from the emotional distress that can envelope a child when their parents divorce. He has autism.

For once, I had hoped that his exceptionality...

In life, you will read a handful of books that will change the way you see the world, books that connect with your soul and books that provide you with inspiration and guidance as you make your way through life. Nearly thirty years ago, I read a book by Katherine...

A miracle is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as "an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment." Given that definition, last week our family most definitely experienced a miracle on Wilton Street.

My son Liam has autism. He was diagnosed at the age of 27 months and...

When my kids were younger, to curb the "I Wants" and "GIMME" meltdowns, I would hand them one dollar as we entered the grocery store. They were allowed to purchase one item. You know how that goes. Aisle 3 equals "I want Pop Tarts!" until we round the corner onto...

Growing up as a child, my parents had us tune in to the evening news every night. Walter Cronkite reached into our living room where we all sat to receive the news of the day and then he signed off promptly at 6:00pm. Immediately following was a home-cooked dinner with...

What makes a woman fearless? Is it a fearless mother combined with the genetic code of previous generations of fearless women in her family?

Is it our nature or our nurture that makes us fearless?

Born at the end of the 1960s, I came of age under the women's liberation...