by Marguerite Elisofon | Oct 9, 2015 | Advil, Asperger's, autism, college grads, entry level jobs, Greece, gun control, John Lennon, migrants, moving, neurotypical, peace, shootings, Syria, U Haul, Umpqua community college, war, Yoko Ono
Tired of the tedious, depressing headlines in the news? Every day I read about more human misery: the war in Syria…human traffickers preying on migrants desperate to escape endless violence… the entire country of Greece drowning in debt, and all the individuals...
by Marguerite Elisofon | Jul 25, 2015 | ACCES-VR, autism, baby boomers, college grads, disabilities, hope, John Milton, Larry David, lawyers, millennials, optimism, OPWDD, Pace University, pessimism, Shawshank Redemption, twins
In one of my all-time favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption, Red reads a letter from his friend Andy, who escaped from prison after years of being punished for a crime he didn’t commit. In the letter Andy says: “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things,...
by Marguerite Elisofon | Feb 13, 2015 | ACCES-VR, acronyms, autistic spectrum, Board of Education, cerebral palsy, college grads, disabilities, FET, Front Door, Medicaid, OPWDD, Pace University, SKIP
Disservices for the Disabled—Hell to Pay! What’s next for my daughter, a high functioning young woman on the autistic spectrum? I’ve been attempting to answer that question ever since Sarah graduated cum laude from Pace University with the Class of 2014. (See...
by Marguerite Elisofon | Feb 6, 2015 | 1970s, artists, autism, careers, clutter, college grads, dens, doctors, empty nest, feminism, lawyers, Michelin's guide, pre-mature twins, public relations, publishing, spring cleaning, Vassar, women, writing
Despite our annual spring cleaning ritual— dutifully dragging out industrial-sized garbage bags of each year’s detritus— the Elisofon family nest has accumulated way too much, well, stuff. After over 20 years in the same apartment raising our twins, our nest...
by Marguerite Elisofon | Oct 3, 2014 | 1950s, autism, breadwinners, caregivers, college grads, empty nest, gender roles, Little League, New York Times, Pace, parenting, rugby, special needs, Stay-Home Fathers, twins, Vassar, working mothers, young adults
When kids leave home, do fathers feel worse than mothers these days? That was the question explored by “Sad Dads in the Empty Nest” in Sunday’s New York Times (9/21/14). According to the article, the empty nest transition for dads has become harder than ever...
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. 