The Best of the Rest of the Web: Max Gamer, an Accessible Icon, and Celebrating Small Milestones

By NYMetroParents Staff March 20, 2014

From the NYMetro Special Parent Spring/Summer 2014 issues comes a selection of thought-provoking quotes about special needs parenting, including one dad's take on miniscule milestones, optimism about autism, and an introduction to the new accessible icon.

IT'S FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT PERSON THE DISEASE HAS THAN WHAT DISEASE THE PERSON HAS.
—Hippocrates

"I take nothing for granted.... [I’ve] reveled in the fact that my son for the first time tracked the dog with his eyes while she ran around the backyard. Or celebrated my son getting potty trained (for the 3rd time).... Or trying a new food with a different texture. These are miniscule milestones in a typical parent’s life, and in the grand scheme of things may be small milestones in Kyle’s life, but they are worth noticing and celebrating…"

—Autism Daddy (@AutismDaddyFB), a New York father of a 10-year-old son who has autism and epilepsy, on his blog (autism-daddy.blogspot.com), in a post he wrote on a particularly rough day—so he turned the table on autism and ID’d the “Top 10 Benefits of Having a Kid with Classic/Severe Autism,” a must-read for anyone out there whose life is affected by autism…and whose sense of humor is fully intact! Recently named “Best on Facebook” by Parents magazine, Autism Daddy promised to keep on telling us “all about our lives…with no filter…no sugar coating…no sunshine and rainbows…just tell you all about the good, the bad, and the pee…”—and for that, we thank him.

Sign of the Times

"If the icon does anything to help society re-imagine the more engaged role that people with disabilities might play in society, then it will help pave the way for their inclusion in education, the job market, and society in general."

—Brian Glenney, Ph.D., co-founder of The Accessible Icon Project which created this new handicapped sign, depicting a person in an action pose with a clear sense of self-navigation—it will begin appearing in New York City this summer thanks in large part to Victor Calise, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. The design is also part of the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection (historic!). If the new signage hasn’t been officially adopted where you live, check out ways that forward-thinking folks are getting it out there anyway at accessibleicon.org.

We want Norrin to be as independent as possible....
But independence can be messy.

—Lisa Quinones-Fontanez (@LaliQuin), a Bronx mother of a young child who has autism, on the “To the Max” blog: parents.com/blogs/to-the-max; Quinones-Fontanez also writes at Autism Wonderland (autismwonderland.com), one of Babble.com’s top 30 autism blogs

max gamer comic computers and shirt tags

“While I don’t want to ignore the difficulties [of Asperger’s], I do want to celebrate the strengths of the superconnected mind.”

—Frank Gaskill, Ph.D., author, with Ryan Kelly, of the graphic novel “Max Gamer: Aspie Superhero,” illustrated by Kara Dahlheimer, of which the second issue is due out this spring; the book can be purchased at maxgameronline.com, or digital versions are available for all devices at comixology.com

“I have an autism spectrum disorder and fibromyalgia. I attend college with my assistance dog, Parker, and am pursuing a degree in psychology. I WILL graduate, and put my new skills to use helping others in situations like mine to believe in themselves and go on to be great.”

—Karry, one of many young people affirming their aspirations as part of the What Can YOU Do? Campaign (whatcanyoudocampaign.org), a national youth outreach initiative from The Campaign for Disability Employment (@CDETweets). If you want to be inspired—or give a little hope to your own son or daughter about the future—scan the responses!