The Jenin Autism Project – The Reason We Are Here

January 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Discussing the project on Zain FM

My friend Kitti South Robinson along with Melissa Diamond are in Jenin, in the West Bank of the Palestinian territory for the next few months working on “The Jenin Autism Project,” part of “A Global Voice for Autism.” They are there to help parents learn about autism and Applied Behavior Analysis and help connect them to other autism resources as well as building their own supportive network. They are blogging their experiences here to share their efforts in figuring out how to best help childre … [Read more...]

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The Jenin Autism Project – Getting Started with the Families

January 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Kitti South and Melissa Diamond along with others involved in the Jenin Autism Project

My friend Kitti South along with Melissa Diamond are in Jenin, in the West Bank of the Palestinian territory for the next few months working on "The Jenin Autism Project," part of "A Global Voice for Autism." They are there to help parents learn about autism and Applied Behavior Analysis and help connect them to other autism resources as well as building their own supportive network. They are blogging their experiences here to share their efforts in figuring out how to best help children with … [Read more...]

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What is the Gift in All This?

January 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Photo by DeAnna Nicole Photography

Sometimes the memories resurface with such veracity so as to take my breath away with the pain and utter helplessness I have tried to bury. Maybe we are not meant to forget our worst times. Maybe they are to be reminders so that we appreciate everything better that comes before and after, even when that better doesn’t seem good enough.I am sitting on our sofa in our family room settling in to watch some TV. The kids have gone to bed under protest. The house is quiet and I’ve turned the fir … [Read more...]

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The Jenin Autism Project – Helping Autism Families in Palestine

January 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment
global voice for autism

Over the years, we've been blessed to have a number of great therapists come into our home and work with Lil D. And we've been especially lucky the past 3-4 years to have a group of therapists, who are either related or friends with each other, come to our home -- when one gets ready to leave, he/she recommends another from their circle of friends/family to work with Lil D. They pour their hard work and love into Lil D, they babysit for us, sometimes they spend weekends with Lil D or travel with … [Read more...]

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Finding His Calm

December 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Daanish stuffed

What is the function of the behavior?I can’t tell you how many times special education teachers, therapists and behavior therapy experts have asked me that regarding why Lil D does the things he does and the way he does them. Friends and family will ask a different version of this question – What’s going on with him? Why does he do [fill in the blank]?I’m sitting with him in the basement watching him go through his current stages of retreat, which may or may not be accompanied by a full-o … [Read more...]

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Winter Break in Autism Land

December 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
winter-break

Sixteen days.Siiiiiiiiiiixteeeeeeeeeen daaaaaaaaays.That’s how long until the kids go back to school.Yeah, that sounds so wrong, doesn’t it? The start of winter break, the kids are happy to be home. I am released from the strict kid morning and afternoon-evening routines. We are not going anywhere, but we have family coming into town to spend the first half of the break with us, and that promises to be full of fun.But with Lil D home for a mere three hours, the kitchen drawers are … [Read more...]

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The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World

December 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Prophet_Muhammad_Charter_of_Privileges_to_Christians_AD628

I’ve been attending a halaqa (Islamic study circle) for nearly two years now – a small intimate group of ladies with whom I’ve grown very close to. Our halaqa is simple – we are studying, surah by surah the 30th juz (chapter) of the Quran, and we are studying, hadith by hadith, the Forty Hadith of Imam Al-Nawawi.The structure and methodology of our halaqa was determined long ago. Since we don’t have any teacher or scholar leading us, we all take turns presenting a surah and a hadith. And, sin … [Read more...]

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