Table of Contents
Introduction Dr. Rebecca Landa xi
1 The "A" Word
1 This Is What It's Like Leigh Merry day 1
2 I'll Take the Special Jessica Adam 6
3 The Diagnosis Katherine Briccetti 9
4 Autism Does Not Define Me Karen Krejcha 13
5 First Talk Lana Clifton 16
6 What's in a Label? Jennifer Doelle Young 20
7 The Boy Who Drew a Face Shari Cohen Forsythe 23
8 The Seven-Year Twitch Amy Giles 26
9 Your Own Dance Melinda Coppola 29
10 The Eccentric Side of Normal Sarah Darer Littman 31
11 For Jacob Sarah Mitchell 35
12 Being Quiet Lava Mueller 39
2 The Amazing Brain
13 How Stuff Works Trey Brown 45
14 The Art of Hope Jennifer Froelich 48
15 Fun Facts Peggy Robbins Janousky 52
16 We Love Vermont Beth Cato 54
17 Look Up Jayne Thurber-Smith 58
18 Sam Allison Hermann Craigie 60
19 Convenient Care Tyann Sheldon Rouw 64
20 James 101 Nancy Burrows 68
21 Jays Odyssey Tales Sharon Fuentes 73
22 The Rainbow Florence Strang 76
23 Walk On Michelle Rubin 78
3 Challenges
24 I Hit the Roof Shelley Stolaroff Segal 85
25 Obsession Michael D. Gingerich 87
26 Bridging the Gap Caroline Saul 90
27 What I Didn't Expect D.M. Rosner 94
28 Peace Amy McMunn Schindler 98
29 The Right Kind of Kick René Zimbelman 101
30 Lost Jennifer Bush 105
31 Don't Stop Believing Liane Kupferberg Carter 108
32 Room Repair Kathy Labosh 111
33 The Red Shirt Shelley Stolaroff Segal 113
34 Always Learning Sue Jeantheau 117
4 Friends and Strangers
35 My Village Christine Coleman 123
36 The Cardinal Rule Hope Maven 126
37 A Loving World Joyce Rohe 130
38 A Friendly Reminder Tina Dula 132
39 Friendships Dawn Hentrich 136
40 Trains and Angels Jean Marino 140
41 Reconnect Anne Moore Burnett 144
42 My Trip to Home Depot Stephanie Carmel 146
43 Parting the Waters Robin J. Silverman 149
44 The Birth of Camp Awesome Bonnie Monroe 153
45 The Market Jean McAllister Brooks 157
5 Finding the Funny
46 Oliver Wears the Pants Kate Coveny Hood 163
47 The Little Man Inside D'Ann Renner 167
48 Return of the Prodigal Son Lorri Benedik 172
49 Don't Call My Daughter "Normal" Sarah Maizes 174
50 Funeral Fun Angela Benam 176
51 Scared or Angry? Lori Odhner 180
52 Dressing Up Michele Bissonnette Robbins 182
53 Life Skills Carol Schmidt 186
54 Womb Pact Sharon L. Martin 189
55 It Is Because I Said So Alisa Rock 193
6 School
56 The Most Popular Girl Cynthia J. Patton 199
57 Yes or No? Amy McMunn Schindler 203
58 He's Not Even Wrong Jean Winegardner 207
59 Seeing Eye to I Julie Casper Roth 210
60 The Storm Before the Calm Jennifer Doelle Young 214
61 Letter to My Child's First Teacher Leigh Merry day 218
62 Let Me Tell You About Jake Jean Ferratier 221
63 Field Day Adrienne B. Paradis 224
64 Student Teacher René Thompson 227
65 Never Giving Up Hope Kym Grosso 229
66 Thank You Diane Alison Dyer 232
7 All in the Family
67 The Salutation of Slapping Palms Jeneil Palmer Russell 239
68 Do Dogs Have Autism? Kathleen Leopold 241
69 Back and Forth Seth Fowler 244
70 Don't Sweat the Stimmies Joyce Rohe 246
71 Rocky Road Eric Tor 249
72 Finding My Inner Spectrum J. Vetter 251
73 Our Passover Story Jennifer Berger 255
74 Joseph's Wish Terri Manzione 259
75 Thank You Las Vegas Steve Spilde 263
76 Beacons of Flope Christine Bakter 266
77 The Boy from My Dreams Gwen Navarrete 270
78 The Biggest Losers Win Big Phil Parham 274
8 Snapshots
79 Sound of a Sunset F Lewis "Big Daddy" Stark 281
80 The Blister Faith Paulsen 283
81 Just for This Day Sally Meyer 287
82 Tuesday Morning Douglas E. Baker 290
83 They Think He's Dancing Maura Klopfenstein-Oprisko 294
84 Twirl with Me Mommy! Amy L. Stout 297
85 The Island D. Alison Watt 300
86 Flying the Friendly Skies Michelle Landrum 303
87 Because Night Turns into Day Janoah M. White 305
88 Transformation on the Trail Kathleen Deyer Bolduc 307
9 Hope and Expectations
89 Ma Tovu Alison Singer 313
90 When Ladybugs Roar Wendy Sparrow 316
91 The Poem in My Nightstand Drawer Mary Roth 320
92 Two Worlds Aspen Teresa Nolette 323
93 The Other Side of Hope Janet Amorello 327
94 Softness in the Vast Blue Sky Galen Pearl 329
95 A Hug with No Arms Carrie Malinowski 332
96 Just Joey Luisa R. Fortunato 335
97 Feeling judged Laura Shumaker 339
98 Bedtime Routine Nancy Burrows 341
99 We're All a Little Spectrum Laura Cichoracki 343
100 Traditions Maura Klopfenstein-Oprisko 346
101 Learning to Iron Ann Kilter 349
Afterword: Real Look Autism Mary Beth Marsden 351
Glossary 354
Meet Our Contributors 359
Meet Our Authors 376
Thank You 379
