Helping Samantha Find Someone to Love
One main reason I wrote my new book, My Picture Perfect Family, is to bring much-needed public attention to the talents and challenges of children with autism. Despite myths to the contrary, individuals on the spectrum DO seek close friends and make intimate...
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What I Learned From My Autistic Daughter
I'm less than a week away from the publication of my book, My Picture Perfect Family! As part of the lead-up to launch I wrote an essay on "What I learned About My Autistic Daughter" that was published onTime magazine's website this morning! What a nice way to start...
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Autism Awareness and Authority Figures
Given the jittery state of the world after recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, there could be no better time for law enforcement to gain a deeper understanding and awareness of autism. Over the past five years, Trish Ieraci developed the “Four Step Autism Awareness...
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Understanding Non-Verbal Learning Disability
What does it mean when a child is diagnosed with Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD)? The NVLD Project, non-profit organization just launched its informative and colorful new website on March 15 th to address that very question. (Check out nvld.org) The symptoms of...
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Autism Parents – Is Self-Direction the Right Path?
Ever since my daughter graduated in 2014 from OASIS, the autism support program at Pace University, Sarah has been mostly unemployed. As her mom and advocate, I’ve usually been able to help her keep moving forward on a productive path toward greater independence, but...
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News About Girls With Autism
The big news—that there are MANY more girls on the autistic spectrum than previously realized—isn’t surprising to me. “The Invisible Girls” by Maria Szalavitz in the March/April Scientific American Mind simply confirms what every autism mom of a daughter has always...
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Finding Lost Children – An App to Help Autism Families
Help has arrived for parents of kids on the autistic spectrum in the form of an app that locates wanderers and run-aways. Regardless of how loving and vigilant parents may be, too many tragic stories of lost kids with autism—eventually found dead—appear in the news....
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Informed Compassion – Support for Asperger’s & High-Functioning Autism (AHANY)
On the second Tuesday of each month, parents of young adults with Asperger’s or high functioning autism are invited to attend a support group, led by Pat Schissel, AHA's Executive Director and LMSW. Last year when I attended my first meeting, I was impressed that Pat...
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Developmental Disabilities & Motherhood
Is a 19 year old woman with a developmental disability capable of raising her own baby? That turns out to be a complicated question, and the answer depends on who you ask. The cover story in this week’s New York Magazine, “Who Knows Best,” by Lisa Miller explores the...
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Debating Autism and Neurodiversity
What does a diagnosis of autism really mean? That depends on who you ask. Currently defined as a spectrum of disorders, the autism label covers people who are severely disabled—those who engage in violent or self-injurious behavior and are unable to communicate...
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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. 