Navigating Autism Dating Sites
“Why doesn’t Samantha try a dating site?” My son’s girlfriend suggested that Samantha look for a new boyfriend on-line because that’s how she met Matthew. “What a great idea!” I had thought of it myself years ago, but knew that Samantha would need an autism dating...
read more
Autism, Optional and Oxymoron
My daughter Samantha, a 31- year-old autistic performer, told me she didn’t want to go to an “optional” rehearsal with Jonathan, her music coach—just four days before her very first one-woman show. That’s when explaining the nuances of meaning embedded in the word...
read more
My Autistic Daughter’s Night to Shine
With a lot of hard work and a little luck, my daughter Samantha Elisofon performed her very first one-woman show to a full house at the Triad Theater. Samantha called the show “My Resilience and Inspirations” and chose “mantra” songs from a variety of genres that...
read more
Behind the Scenes of an Autistic Performer’s One Woman Show
My daughter Samantha Elisofon will be performing her FIRST one woman show on June 21. How does she feel about it? “Thrilled to pieces but also anxious and worried. I’ve always performed with others, never all by myself.” That’s the edited summary of her feelings. I...
read more
Things I Can’t Write About
I wish I could start writing again, but right now that seems like a thankless task. Do you really want my opinion about any of the topics on my exhaustive (and exhausting!) list? COVID 19 and the next booster shot (and the next?) COVID and the new variant – to mask...
read more
An Autism Mom’s COVID Craziness
The good news is that our daughter Samantha is COVID negative. The bad news is that both of her parents have COVID. Since we live in a two-bedroom apartment, Samantha is the one who must try to isolate. Howard is home for what we both hope will only be a week. His...
read more
Autism, COVID and Freak Accidents
Autism, COVID and Freak Accidents My title sounds crazy, right? But this unhappy word trio perfectly describes my life for the past two weeks. We had been looking forward to our son Matt returning home for the holidays to celebrate his 31st birthday with his autistic...
read more
An Autism Mom’s Gratitude List in a Confusing COVID World
Notice that I haven’t written any blogs since returning home from Maine on Labor Day. Why not? I could say I’ve been surprisingly busy feathering my new 74th Street nest. (That process has taken much longer than expected.) But that’s only part of the truth. The...
read more
An Autism Family’s Complicated Vacation
Our family vacations have never been simple, but this year we had new complications. To begin with, we had only recently moved, our new apartment was still unfinished when we arrived, and it continues to be a work in progress. Next, our son Matt had a pre-vacation...
read more
A Prodigal Son Comes Home
After Covid restrictions and surgery on both hips, Samantha’s twin brother Matt returned from Los Angeles to go on our family vacation. We haven’t seen our son—except on FaceTime—for 19 months, so we were excited. Would Matt look the same as the last time we saw...
read more
My Book
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. 