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IN MEMORY OF BERNICE SINGER A bright
star has dimmed, flickered and disappeared from our sight. On April
14, 2004, in Kiryat Tivon, Israel, Bernice Singer passed away with
her loving husband, Dan, at her side. The list of her accomplishments
in life is long. She was the mother of four wonderful children,
one of whom has autism. (You have read about her son, Jonathan,
in THE MAAP. He was among a group of adults with autism who ventured
a climb on Mount Everest.) The later part of her life was spent
in Isreal, where she founded and ran "Mifgash Nisi", a
newsletter for families and professionals dealing with autism in
Israel and many countries around the world; served as a guide at
Yad Vashem Art Museum in Jerusalem; and was a long-standing member
of Voices, an organization of Israeli poets, publishing a book of
poems, "Singing to Myself." Goodbye, Dear Friend.
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 From
The Mailbox
"The Journey Continues: Becoming a Distant
Runner", an essay by Martha Kate Downey
Martha's essay is a thought-provoking piece comparing their family's
life to the training of a distance runner. Martha's 22 year old
daughter, Kate, is challenged with AS.
Martha is the author of the books If You've Ever Wanted To Crawl
into the Closet With An Oreo (a book of parenting tip for those
having "flavorful"children"), Tapdancing in the Night
(a book-on-CD about autism), The People in a Girl's Life and What
Do I Do a About Hitting?! (a book on rage and anger management for
children for children having sensory integration, language/communication
or cognitive delays).
Two letters ask about different diagnoses their loved
ones had received about which they could find little information.
We asked members of our Board of Professional Advisors for help
in answering these letters. Dr. Bennett Leventhal (University of
Chicago, Chicago, Illinois), Dr. Ami Klin (Yale Child Studies Center)
and Dr. Thomas Morgan (The Sturge-Weber Foundation, Mount Freedom,
New Jersey) graciously offered their replies.
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From Those Who Know Best
A thirteen-year-old reader wrote to us about his experience at
summer camp. We thought he was an exceptionally brave and insightful
young man. His camp experiences were not all good, but for the most
part he enjoyed camp. He wanted to share his story so that parents
and camp personnel might have an "insider's view" of what
can happen if the camp counselors are not diligent. (He has given
permission to forward his letter to any camp personnel who might
benefit from it.) The other point he wanted to make is NOT to keep
your child home from camp for fear of bullying or abusive situations
that might occur, but to send them to camp prepared to deal with
those situations.
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For Your Information:
Dan Coulter sent us an on-the-mark essay containing
the warning, " Don't be the pew lady". It is written to
help educate people who are not knowledgeable about Asperger Syndrome
and other Autism Spectrum Disorders.
"Bullying, Disability-Based Harassment, Unequal
Treatment in the Application of School Discipline and the Law"
is the first part of a two-part paper written to us by Kathleen
M. Bonczyk, Esq. Kathleen is an attorney and the mother of a child
on the autism spectrum. In this series of articles, she will discuss
the various pieces of legislation and court rulings protecting the
rights of disabled students.
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What's New?
Donated Dental Services (DDS) is a national organization
of dental professionals who voluntarily provide their professional
services to special needs people with no insurance coverage and
no other funding for expensive dental care. This program currently
has dentists in 34 states. Contact the National Foundation for Dentistry
for the Handicapped in Denver, CO, at (303) 534-5360, www.nfdh.org,
or email them at fleviton@nfdh.org
ASATownMEETING@yahoogroups.com - for adults on the autism spectrum.
http://www.brevardcenter.org - a post secondary program for students
with Asperger Syndrome and Non-Verbal Learning Differences
http://www.wrongplanet.net - a new website created
by two teens with AS for other who also have the disorder.
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