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 | Jul 3, 2015 | autism, autistic spectrum, Caitlyn Jenner, colleges history, gays, hip hop, John Robison, neurodiversity, OASIS, Pace University, same sex marriage, segregation, Supreme Court, Temple Grandin, Vassar
Last week the Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 to legalize same sex marriage, granting homosexuals multiple civil rights that heterosexuals have enjoyed since the United States declared independence from Great Britain. Finally gay men and women are free to marry...
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 | 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 | Sep 5, 2014 | autism, beach resorts, college, facials, freshman convocation, getaways, Gurney's Inn, holiday traffic, Labor Day, massage, Montauk, national anthem, Pace University, plumbing issues, summer
Better to take a short, affordable vacation than slog through the hot summer without any break, right? Well…sort of. Maybe Labor Day weekend wasn’t the best time for a nest escape. Or perhaps Gurney’s Inn wasn’t the best place for Henry and me (though it had...
by Marguerite Elisofon | Aug 27, 2014 | air travel, autism, empty nest, family vacations, Gurney's Inn, Israel, Labor Day, massage, Montauk, national anthem, Pace University, romantic getaways, traffic, Vassar
Could my husband Henry, our family tour guide and travel agent, plan one more exotic summer vacation for our WHOLE nuclear family? Not this year. (See “Ottoman Odyssey,” 9/6/13 for last August’s adventure). For one thing, it was impossible to predict...
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. 