Our beautiful son Antonio has Autism and “for the moment” is non-verbal. I received a phone call from the school nurse this morning and she informed me that Antonio has been touching his ears a lot and the classroom aides think he might be sick. I asked the nurse if he had a temperature and she said “no”. Is it possible that the teacher was just trying to send our son home so that there was one less child to watch in the classroom? Would they do this? I don’t think so…I know his teachers truly care for our child and they would never do that. But could this happen to other children in other classrooms? To those exceptional parents that have children that are non-verbal…how do we know for certain? How do we truly know when our little angels have a headache, a toothache, an earache? Oh…the heartache!

Ban the R Word Now! People with intellectual disabilities are people first. A child with mental retardation is just that…a child first…calling a person with mental retardation a “retard” or “retarded” is a form of dehumanization. By recognizing that a person with an intellectual disability is a person first, and confirming that awareness openly by using “people-first language” you are respecting not only the individual with the disability but the entire intellectual disability community.

Having a child with Autism is a beautiful experience. But I only just realized the “power of the Quesadilla”…and what a great motivator “comida de Mexico” can be to help get our little Angel board the school bus in the mornings. On most days Antonio has to carried out to the school bus kicking and biting because he does not want to go to school. We try every trick in the “book” to help make this daily transistion a success…today a simple wedge of melted cheese between a warm tortilla was the “ticket”! Maybe a little hot sauce between the tortilla next time will get him moving a little faster??? Vamanos y Hasta Luego!