What Happens When One Twin Has Autism
As some of you may have noticed, I have not been writing blogs lately. Instead of blogging, I've been busy trying to find a new nest.-- a VERY relevant topic these days thanks to the pandemic. More news on that soon. Meantime, I'm reprinting my recent article on...
read moreAn Autism Mom’s Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Long before I became a mother, I strongly identified with the gender struggles of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Over the years, her pioneering legal mind and advocacy for equal treatment of gender has been a tremendous inspiration to me throughout my own life, and most...
read moreCovid 19 Summer Vacation – Maine instead of Spain
This year, our family had expected to travel to Madrid, Sevilla, the Algarve and Lisbon. That vacation had been meticulously planned by my husband, (who should be a travel agent in his next life). But the best laid plans, well, you know… The coronavirus not only...
read moreAn Autism Mom’s Vacation Rules During Covid19
Believe it or not, my daughter Samantha asked me to make a list of vacation rules. Why didn’t I think of this 20 years ago? Probably I was too busy running around with my almost 10-year-old twins. Or maybe I never imagined Samantha would (or could!) follow even the...
read moreLove on the Spectrum – The Real Deal
As an autism mom and blogger, I was eager to watch the documentary series Love on the Spectrum. Of course, my daughter Samantha watched with me. Filmed in Australia and recently released on Netflix, Love on the Spectrum features autistic men and women in their early...
read moreCovid19: Oddities and Ends
Here in New York we’ve entered a not-so-brave new world of semi-normal. Forget about consistency—especially when it comes to viewing real estate. Many buildings on the Upper East Side allow brokers to show apartments with various limits. I’ve seen about half a dozen...
read moreLife Lived Backwards
When I was in my late 20s yearning to find a serious relationship, my psychotherapist sensibly suggested that I find my own identity first. Back then, I worked in financial public relations and had grown to hate every minute of it. I’d always wanted to be a writer,...
read moreNot Quite Independence Day 2020
Nobody looks forward to the dentist, but last week was an exception for me. Crazy as it sounds, I was eager to have my teeth cleaned. Has the pandemic driven me totally nuts? Not exactly. Tooth cleaning was an opportunity to take care of MYSELF! I know a few other...
read moreReopening New York City During the Coronavirus – Are We Safe?
As Phase 2 began this week, I felt like a bird being (slowly) released from my East 73rd Street cage. On Monday, my daughter and I went for a haircut. We both prefer our hair long, but Samantha was beginning to resemble Rapunzel, and I looked as though a litter of...
read moreAutism and Covid19: Questions Without Answers
As the coronavirus drags on, and New York continues to be (mostly) shut down, my daughter on the spectrum is asking more and more questions I can’t answer. The onslaught of her curiosity and sincere desire to understand adds to our daily household stress. I have my...
read more



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.