Potty training. Worst nightmare or piece of cake? This experience is different for everyone. With the first day of school being just around the corner, parents are feeling the pressure to get their child potty trained and to get them potty trained fast. Your system may be working or it may not. Whether you are looking for a couple of tips or a truckload, we are here to help!
There are two things to know that we consider most important about potty training:
1. All children are different. Because of this, some of these ideas may apply to your child and some may not.

If you’ve followed my blog for much time, you probably know that I’m very concerned about how changes to our environment in the past 50-100 years have affected the health and wellbeing of our entire society, but especially our children’s generation. With Autism Spectrum Disorders, asthma, life-threatening allergies, ADD/ADHD, diabetes and so much more at record numbers and on the rise in our littlest population, I’ve come to the conclusion that many variables must be to blame for these frightening increases.

The neonatal period is a critical time with regards to priming the gut for allergic disease. After birth the intestinal barriers and immunoregulatory networks are poorly developed and the post-natal period is a time for the normal commensal microbial flora to develop. The timing and dose of dietary antigens is imperative in this development. The mucosae are bombarded immediately after birth by a large variety of microorganisms as well as protein antigens from the environment. The mucosal surface is huge, 200 times the surface of the skin.

I don’t know about you, but with the Texas summer in full swing and triple digit temps now a daily occurrence, we’ve been spending a lot of time inside. Obviously I want Ethan to be active both inside and outside, but when we’re stuck inside in the heat of the day, he yearns to do nothing but watch TV/DVDs or playing video games.
During the school year I’m pretty strict; Ethan gets 30 minutes of video game time and 30 minutes of TV time every school day (both subject to loss for poor behavior). Weekends are more relaxed, with more TV time allowed and additional game time can be “earned” on occasion. But in the summer months, our rules are different…

One thing I have noticed about people with forms of autism, like me, is that we have our own langauge. Sure, we understand english perfectly well but for us, we do things in a different way. Our brains are wired in a way that makes us communicate differently than those without autism. At times, when those with mild forms of autism, say Asperger Syndrome, speak, its like not many people can understand what we are trying to say. Other times we have a way to communicate verbally but it comes as a challenge to us because we aren't like those without autism.

Last night I went to bed around 9pm. That’s unusual for me – I’m a night owl and often work or watch TV after Ethan is asleep. But, I knew I needed to go to bed early because I felt lousy. Even though I’ve been gluten-free for well over a decade, there are times I get food (either from stores or restaurants) that has been cross-contaminated and it wreaks havoc on my body. Last night was one of those nights…
That also means that this morning was one of those mornings…I awoke at 7am still feeling the effects of a migraine,

Happy Independence Day to our readers in the United States of America! I am very thankful to be an American and grateful for the freedoms I have enjoyed throughout my life thanks to the sacrifices of all those who fought for our independence (so long ago) and those who have fought to maintain it since that time. I don’t take freedom or independence for granted.
Like so many families raising a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), I frequently wonder what the future will hold for Ethan in terms of independence…and when I stop to ponder, I wonder about the future – not just for Ethan, but other children of Ethan’s generation, especially those affected by ASD.
On this journey, I’ve come to meet so many families working day-and-night just to help their child with ASD gain independence in areas families with typical children may never even give a second thought to…
For all families raising children with ASD, today I’m sending prayers and wishes for the children’s independence this Independence Day specifically concerning:

Katherine Galligan, co-founder of The Summer Bridge, and mother of two boys (Michael – 6, and Sean – 4), took some time to share some details with me about the exciting new program she and C’Airey Ashurst started this summer. When Katherine’s son, Michael, was diagnosed with autism and Katherine was thrust into seemingly endless hours of therapy, she met C’Airey, a Speech and Language Pathologist. Recently, they have worked together to create The Summer Bridge. Katherine says, C’Airey’s “role in planning and execution has been invaluable; undoubtedly attributable to her extensive experience and sincere dedication to helping children with learning differences.” Along with Katherine and C’Airey, there are two licensed teachers; one ABA therapist; a college student (pursuing a degree in psychology); and a woman who works as a SpEd aide in Michael’s school, working with the students at The Summer Bridge.

During a recent trip to visit family in another state, Ethan and I encountered a critical, impatient and rude waitress. Surprisingly, the restaurant is a sweet little family-owned joint that we frequent during our trips to this state. It is a family-oriented restaurant (on the nicer side – with cloth napkins) and has an amazing gluten-free menu. The wait staff in the past has been tremendous and highly accommodating (even when we’ve visited with four busy, talkative kids and twice as many adults); but this time was different. This time, Ethan was the only child in the group.
First, before diving into the dining experience, let me preface it by sharing that our flight out of Dallas had been delayed by an hour due to a fire in the control tower just before we were scheduled to pull away from the gate and depart. Without a control tower, like the rest of the planes leaving at that time, we were stuck. And not just stuck…but stuck on a full flight (every single seat filled), buckled into our seats on an airplane that was growing ever hotter (in the June Texas heat) with every passing minute. To minimize the heat, everyone was asked to pull the window shades and wait patiently…um, okay.