by Marguerite Elisofon | May 8, 2015 | Adelphi University, Asperger's Syndrome, autism, beers, blogging, cyberspace, empty nest, family issues, John Elder Robison, neurotypical, sibling relationships, special education, twins
Okay, so now that I’m taking that first baby step toward 200 blogs, I keep hearing a silly song from my childhood: “100 bottles of beer on the wall, 100 bottles of beer, if one of those beers should happen to fall, 99 bottles of beer on the wall…” Remember...
by Marguerite Elisofon | May 1, 2015 | AHANY, Asperger's Syndrome, autism, baby boomers. Adelphi University, blacks, civil rights, disabilities, discrimination, gays, Harvey Milk, Jews, John Robison, Martin Luther King, millennials, neurodiversity, twins
If a fortune teller had predicted I’d write a blog called The Never-Empty Nest, with 100 posts over a two year period, I’d have called that person crazy. How could I possibly write about issues related to young adults struggling to leave the family nest...
by Marguerite Elisofon | Apr 24, 2015 | Asperger's Syndrome, autism, autistic spectrum, Broadway, cliches, dogs, London, Mark Haddon, math, neurotypical, pet rats, puppies, SATS, sensory processing, small talk, tantrums, Temple Grandin, touch, trains
If you haven’t seen the Broadway play “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” hurry over to the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and get tickets. This not-to-be missed show is based on the 2003 award-winning mystery novel by British writer, Mark Haddon. What...
by Marguerite Elisofon | Apr 10, 2015 | autism, Ayn Rand, baby boomers, Compelling People, criminals, disablity, empty nesters, Hillary Clinton, Hitler, Martin Luther King, Oprah, Osama bin Laden, psychopaths, Robert Kennedy, terrorists, The Beatles
Wouldn’t it be great to have such a compelling personality that you could persuade people to buy your product, adopt your point of view, or follow you to the ends of the earth? I promise I wouldn’t be a psychopath, and I’d really enjoy that kind of power. ...
by Marguerite Elisofon | Apr 3, 2015 | autism, Ban Ki Moon, disabilities, employment, Hewlett Packard, Jack Markell, Microsoft, neurodiversity, Pace University, SAP, Specialisterne, United Nations, World Autism Awareness Day
What a difference a year can make! Remember when I wrote about April being devoted to “autism awareness” last year? (See “April and Autism,” 4/4/14). I shared my conviction that a single month of “awareness” was absurdly insufficient to resolve the complex...
by Marguerite Elisofon | Mar 13, 2015 | "Keep the Change, autism, birthdays, books, Columbia University, disabilities, empty nest, Felicity House, flowers, memoir, middle age, minorities, parents, publishing, twins, women, writing
Birthdays have been coming at breakneck speed these last few years. Time flies—not necessarily because I’m having fun—but because I realize there’s so much less time left for me in the future than the past. (See “Fast Forward Birthdays,” 3/8/13). Each...
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. 