According to neighbors and former teachers, George Hodgins was a pleasant adult with autism. He was non-verbal and afraid of the neighborhood dogs but enjoyed hikes, going on walks, and listening to music. This past week, however, things took a sad turn for the worst. George's mother shot her only child in his bedroom and turned the gun on herself. Her husband, George's father, found them a few hours later. Read More

Shock therapy: torture or treatment?The United Nations calls it barbaric. And yet at a Massachusetts school, notorious for its use of aversive therapies on disabled students, shock therapy is a part of every day behavior management.

A recent court case, in which a family is asking for a videotape of their son  being abused at the school to be unsealed and viewed, has once again brought the center to the forefront of the news. His mother is calling it abusive torture. Her son, despondent for days after the incident, was a student at the school.

So why is it allowed to continue at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts?

Hand in Hand through life togetherWhen my husband and I first suspected our son Ian was autistic, we weren't sure what to think about his future. We had heard nothing but sadness, negativity, horror, and bleak pictures painted about what would happen to us when we were no longer around to care for him. When we were over the initial shock (okay, not so shocking, since we INSISTED he was autistic and no one would believe us. TOLD YOU GUYS! SO THERE!), we decided we had two choices: wallow in self-pity or get positive and get proactive.

We chose the latter route because we felt our child would be best served by channeling our energies into things that would help him and help our family. Since people call us a family full of Energizer Bunnies, I think you can figure out that we decided to channel our energy into positive directions. We're just awesome like that.