Overheard in the Wolfe House #15

By Peggy | August 24, 2010 |

Peggy: So what do you think of this beautiful weather?
Sam: What do you mean? It’s the same.
Peggy: No, the 100s are gone. It’s beautiful out there.
Sam [stepping out on the porch and checking the thermometer]: My God, it’s a hurricane.

Posted in What Sam says

Lend your experience

By Peggy | August 23, 2010 |

Some of the best help a parent can get is from another, more experienced parent.

If you are like me, one of those more experienced parents, you might think you don’t have time to help. But you do.

There is some training involved, but it’s fun and chances are, you’ll learn a thing or two that helps your family. And then you pay it forward by providing support to another family — usually on the phone, or through e-mail.

If you’re ready to help, mark your calendar for Sept. 25, because that’s the next time Texas Parent to Parent will be in Dallas for parent volunteer training.

Here’s a little from their press release:

“We believe that support from other parents is the best way to assist a family on the journey of raising a child with special health care needs. The sharing of joy, frustration, and hope with another parent is one of the most powerful experiences a parent can receive. We’re looking for a few parents who are ready to share their time and their experience.

Do you know a family who would like to attend? Who are the parents who have made a difference in your life? Who has helped you along on your family’s journey?”

Call 1-866-896-6001 … and pass this on.

Posted in decision-making, health, hope

Billy Bob’s

By Peggy | August 21, 2010 |

Last year, Michael discovered that he could get into Billy Bob’s, Fort Worth’s famous honky tonk, on Thursday nights for free.

He and Sam went together this Thursday, sort of an end-of-summer celebration. Both start classes this week. They were lucky this time, Michael reports, because the cover band kept playing. At one point, they played a family favorite, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Texas Flood.

Sam reports that he had fun and would like to go again soon. “People always have fun at Billy Bob’s,” he said. It took a while to figure out what was going on, he said. He danced with one girl.

Michael danced with the same girl.

Posted in adults with autism, social life, What Sam says

The Confundus charm

By Peggy | August 18, 2010 |

J.K. Rowling has a great mind, not just a great imagination. There is no antidote to a Confundus charm, only the strength of character that allows one to resist.

Or, as Epictetus said, “Only the educated are free.”

Posted in Uncategorized

The theory of self-reference

By Peggy | August 10, 2010 |

I’ve often wondered why we don’t hear much about the possibility that artificial hormones play a role in the rise of autism rates.

I couldn’t tolerate birth control pills and wrote about the experience, in relation to Sam’s autism, in my book. To me, hormones could explain why, until recently, autism was in first-born males four out of five times. It could explain why the uptick in recent years. It could explain why more girls now, and not just boys. It could explain why a recent university study found more occurrences among the wealthy

Like being rich causes autism. No one believes any chicken laid that egg. But it is well-known that the wealthy have better access to birth control options.

Yet, people keeping beating that vaccination horse, even though it’s been looked at rigorously for the past decade and no one has found a solid link. And lately, Vitamin D deficiency is all the rage.

I’m skeptical any causation theory if the proponent follows their theory with a “treatment” protocol, or hopes to file a class action lawsuit. Yeah, right. I’m not buying it.

From the theory of self-reference — in other words, no scientific basis whatsoever — I still want to ask, why aren’t we looking at the effect of artificial hormones?

Posted in health, rants