Why is it so hard for moms to take a break? What can fathers do to help?
First of all, struggling with taking a break from maternal responsibilities is normal. This is hard for the mothers of typical children—who presumably have a little less to be preoccupied about than mothers of children who have autism and other special needs.

Have you ever been on a hike or a run when you get on such a pace that you lose track of your surroundings, what you are passing and how far you have come? Eventually, you snap back to reality, maybe you stop to rest, and you look back at the road behind you. Looking back, you realize that you have traveled quite a long distance and maybe through some hurdles and you take in the accomplishment. That is where I am standing at this very moment.

Is change hard for your child? Do they become upset when things within their daily routines change? Do they question you, “When are we going…..”, “Why are we……”, “How much longer….”, etc? With summer approaching we wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a transactional support that may help your family: countdown calendars. Countdown calendars can help you and your child alleviate some of the stress that you may encounter throughout the year. The idea of a countdown calendar is to help your child understand when an event is going to happen.

We are very proud to announce the launching of AutismSpot’s newest feature - ”Ask Kathy!” Each and every week, Ms. Fox, an Autism Specialist with over 25 years of experience working in the field, will take questions from our readers.
Do you have a child living with autism? Are you a teacher or therapist who works with students living with autism? Do you have a question about sensory/sensory processing, communication, social/emotional, or behavior? If so, then “Ask Kathy!”

Have you read about MMS treatment for ASD? Guest blogger, Nicole Wallace, has penned an informative post with some great information about how many families in Latin America are witnessing recovery from autism via Master Mineral Solution. Nicole also shares information about how MMS treatments began and how to learn more about MMS & autism from Kerri Rivera next month in Chicago at AutismOne. Read more below and let us know what you think!
Master Mineral Solution (MMS) Treatment for Autism
By Nicole Wallace
MMS, the miracle cure for autism. Is it hype or hope? Thirty-nine children recovered from autism on one protocol, using MMS. Sound too good to be true? Is that really possible? Ask Kerri Rivera who is slated as a speaker for this year's AutismOne conference in May. Rivera is the founder of Autism02, a DAN! based non-profit autism clinic in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. At AutismOne Rivera will explain how MMS - or chlorine dioxide - is the missing piece for so many of the families she works with and how it has reduced the ATEC (Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist) score of so many kids.

Throughout the month of April, in honor of Autism Awareness Month, Maureen Bordelon has shared some guest blog posts from her website and blog, My Autism Hat Rack. On this journey as parents of children with autism, we do have to learn to wear many new hats. In this post, Maureen writes about wearing a running sweatband to chase (and keep safe) her little runner. As this is a common and frightening issue many families face, I I hope find Maureen's post - with details about what worked in their home - interesting and helpful! ~Leigh
The "Runner Sweatband"- Only Green Lights Here!
By Maureen Bordelon
I gave birth to Jonathan when I was 34 years young and as most new Mamas, I wanted to lose the “baby” weight. Of course, it was the bagel sandwiches, Tex-Mex and stuffed jalapenos that put on the “baby” weight - not really the baby, but it sounds better - right? Little did I know, I would drop the baby weight when Jonathan started walking…correction running at 14 months old.
Yep - we had a Runner! This might sound “advanced, cool, active” to most people, but if you have a child on the spectrum – RUNNING was a very scary “characteristic” of autism in our home.

With men, there is often an awkward pause before they can find the words to speak. Not about sports—that’s usually easy—but about what it is like to be doing their best to face autism with no “fix,” no exit, just life-altering challenges. Then they share their struggles and what they are learning about how to relate to their children and families. This is some of the work I do as a psychologist who happens to also be the father of an adult child with autism.

Mother’s Day is just over two weeks away. How can we actively involve our youngsters in the Mother’s Day gift giving process? By combining two of Mom’s favorite things……jewelry + handmade gifts = macaroni necklaces! Painting macaroni sounds tedious, messy and time consuming but in actuality it can be simple, fun and quick with minimal clean up. The best part of this craft is that your child will be working on a multitude of skills and they won’t even know it!

Tonight, my son Ethan will join several other students from his school district to speak on a panel to teachers, administrators, parents and other members of our community. I am very excited, proud (and just a slight bit nervous) about the event. Ethan loves the spotlight, so I know that he will enjoy speaking to everyone about how Asperger’s Syndrome impacts his life. This panel is the brainchild of our school district’s lead In-Home/Parent Trainer. I love that she asked herself, “Who better to learn about 'Autism Awareness' than from the students who live with it every day?” Simply brilliant! I shared an invitation with friends, family, neighbors, therapists, Ethan’s teachers & doctors and other local parents raising children with ASD. I’ve been very touched by the interest level and number of people taking time out of their evening to come learn more from Ethan and his panel mates.
Ethan and I have worked together over the past several days to review a set of prepared questions (for which Ethan dictated answers and I typed as quickly as I could). Most of his answers were just about what I expected them to be. Further, most of them were painfully short (so I gently prodded for additional details). However, I was surprised when Ethan more or less chose (respectfully) not to answer a question; he said it was “too personal.” Wow. Too personal? This from my little guy who has been such an open book with teachers and classmates (strangers in the grocery store even) about how autism and Asperger’s affect him?

As Autism Awareness Month wraps up, I feel a bit guilty about the bah humbug attitude I have had this year. Maybe it is because I have been at dealing with autism for over seven years, and I just don’t feel like getting in the “spirit of autism” this year.
In the beginning, I remember the rush each April would bring. I had never had a cause before, and it felt good to give back and to do something that mattered. I was going change the world, and I was going to do it all in one month! I helped at a booth at the mall, I gave a huge autism awareness cake to the school, I wrote articles for the school newsletters, wore my "Green Our Vaccines" shirt everywhere, posted all kinds of stuff on Facebook and even stood with a sign in an autism-related protest.
Now seven years later, quite frankly, I am tired of autism. I am tired of the fact that there are endless treatments to try for my daughter, and the guilt that goes along with picking and choosing which to try. If I try one new treatment, what if the other one was the one that was going to work for her? Usually we are doing so many treatments at the same time, how do I know which, if any, are really making the difference? When can I ever rest with the peace-of-mind that I have done everything I can do and just accept who she is?