It was a hazy night in 1983 when a newspaper writer built like a bear descended upon a Minneapolis comedy club to do a story on a fast-rising comedian.
In 1999 Sandy Levine’s husband Michael Fairhurst was rushed to the hospital due to a rare neurological illness. As an award-winning television producer, Sandy started recording Michael’s illness and recovery for three reasons. First, she thought he probably wouldn’t remember much of what happened, and that someday he may be interested in seeing it. Second, it gave her something to do to help keep her sanity. And third, as a producer, she knew someday – assuming Michael lived –it would make a damn good story.
My favorite thing to tell anyone who asks about life with autism is “If you’ve met one kid with autism, you’ve met ONE kid with autism.”
Autism is as individual as the individual themselves. I used to be a support parent to newly diagnosed autism families in our county. The first thing I always said when talking about anything was “Here is what worked for us…”
Every case of autism is different. Some kids are okay being touched. TJ wasn’t. Some kids are non-verbal. TJ is very verbal. Some kids seemed to develop in a typical fashion until they were 1 or 1 1/2, and then lost language. That wasn’t our experience at all; TJ appeared to have autism from the second he was born.
At the age of 18, Kevin Pearce soared onto the professional snowboarding stage, quickly becoming the athlete to watch in this ever-evolving sport. While training for the Olympic trials, Kevin sustained a traumatic brain injury. His ongoing rehabilitation and training remain an inspiration to countless people.
Trauma stains the heart like pomegranate juice on a white linen couch, erupting perspectives and shifting ideas of order. No matter what you attempt to do, it’s there.
If extra time on a test or memory aids can make life easier during college, why not use them? Adam talks about moving past the “stigma” of using disability services and getting the help you need to succeed in college.
It is said death is a part of life. How one deals with grief can be a long journey that should not be taken alone.
For the millions of people who have been touched by some form mental illness, Pete Wentz has a message for you: It’s OK to open up.
Collette O’Toole hoped she would get a few hours with her baby after she was born. Sadly, Isabelle didn’t make it that far, writes Noel Baker.
Over two dozen veterans and active military personnel commit suicide every day. That number is, among other things, absolutely staggering. What’s more staggering is that we’ve known about this crisis for years and still haven’t curbed the trend. PTSD and other forms of combat trauma continue to wreak havoc on the minds of current and former service members.