Love and Autism Win at Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic
Words fail me (almost) when I describe our family’s experience at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. My husband and I traveled with our daughter Samantha—on the autism spectrum and lead actress in Keep the Change—to see the movie’s international premiere in the Czech...
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Film Festival Frenzy
As my regular readers know, our family has been caught up in a thrilling wave of film festivals featuring Keep the Change. Not only did KTC win Best Narrative Film and Best New Director at the Tribeca Film Festival, but my daughter Samantha was also nominated for...
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Good News for the Autism Community
Although I’m rushing off (to a wedding and then two more film festivals for Keep the Change), I couldn’t resist sharing some happy news. Finally, the New York City public school system is finding effective ways to integrate, educate and include children with autism in...
read moreE.P.I.C. Players — Diversity and Inclusion
Since the beginning of 2017, my daughter’s theater group, E.P.I.C. Players has been evolving. (Even the name of the group has been a bit fluid.) What has remained solid, however, is the theater group’s mission: Empower, Produce, Include. Create. In that spirit,...
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Why You Never Shush Someone with Autism
Nobody likes being told to be quiet, especially with the finger-to-lips-word “Shhh!” Such a demand is perceived by most as annoying, intrusive and embarrassing. But try the shush command with my daughter (or many others on the spectrum who have trouble modulating...
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Parenting A Young Adult on the Autism Spectrum
As the mother of a 26-year old daughter on the autism spectrum, I often feel like a tightrope walker, performing an impossible balancing act with no safety net. When I talk to Samantha about managing the details of her life (grooming, refilling prescriptions,...
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TriBeCa Win for Love & Autism
After watching three screenings of Keep the Change at the Tribeca Film Festival, I still can’t believe my eyes. My daughter on the autistic spectrum played the female lead in a movie at a major film festival! Who would have dreamed that my baby girl—who’d once...
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Independent Living and Autism Spectrum Issues for Adolescents and Adults
Despite having to set an alarm for 6:45 am on a Saturday morning, my husband and I attended the 2017 Autism Conference at Adelphi University for Adolescents and Adults, sponsored by the Asperger’s and High Functioning Autism Association. We had about an hour’s drive...
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2017 World Autism Awareness Day
After standing on a chaotic line in monsoon-like rain for 45 minutes, I was relieved to clear security and enter the warm, dry interior of the United Nations for the March 31st World Autism Awareness Day. The last time I attended World Autism Awareness Day two years...
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Why We Need to See More Actors With Disabilities
Hollywood has a long and controversial history of actors and actresses portraying characters from different ethnic backgrounds and with different sexual orientations than their own. An extreme example would be Laurence Olivier playing Othello in blackface. And while...
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Consulting
About Marguerite
Marguerite Elisofon is a New York City writer and the author of My Picture Perfect Family, a memoir about how her family navigated life with a child on the autistic spectrum before the internet and support groups existed. She also blogs about parenting young adults and disability related issues in The Never Empty Nest. Her writing has been featured in a variety of publications, including Time and NY Metro Parents magazine, and her family’s story has been featured by the NY Post, Fox News, The Daily Mail, and on Jenny McCarthy’s Dirty Sexy Funny radio show. A Vassar graduate, Marguerite was born and raised in New York City, where she still lives with her husband, Howard, in their mostly-empty nest. She is available to speak about a wide variety of issues relating to twins, parenting, and autism. 