Inspiration and Dreams

Alan Stokes and Jonathan at the Cadillac, Michigan YMCA on Dec. 9, 2017.

I haven't talk personally much about my son Jonathan on this blog, because the style has always been to tell the story of diverse autism heroes from around the world rather than our family situation. But he has always been a part of this. I started this blog in June 2011, almost 7 years ago. Writing these profiles of positive heroes has strengthened my heart from the early days of receiving the autism diagnosis to dealing with a teenager with autism. He is the reason I started the Autism Light blog and he is the reason I keep it going. As he has grown older the new releases on the blog have at times been few and far between. This blog takes a backseat to my priority to care for him and spend time with him.

One of the ways we are able to spend time together is by going to YMCA's around our state on weekends. A story has been written about this and it was featured in our local paper. See article by Judy Putnam, Lansing State Journal, April 28, 2018. Now that many new people have been introduced to Jonathan through this article, it seems fitting to share a dream I have for Jonathan and this blog.


I have a dream that one day Jonathan will progress to be able to help me maintain this blog by suggesting subjects, doing some of the writing and indexing of content, and determining the evolving style of it. I hope that one day he will tell his own story in his own words on this blog, and part of me is saving that part for him, as I continue to focus on profiles of others who have their own journey with autism. I'm recording that dream here, because when it happens I want to show him that I prayed for it and believed in it long before the dream ever seemed possible. 

Don't compare yourself to others. Write up your own dreams for your situation. Make sure your dreams are big enough to make you smile if they come true, and that you are big enough to smile if your dreams don't come true.

Dr. Stephen Shore said, "If you've met one person with autism you've met one person with autism (Art of Autism Quotes)." Whether you regularly follow Autism Light or just happened to stumble across some past content here through a search engine, I encourage you to always keep in mind that everyone with autism is different, just like people without autism. Some of these profiles of autism heroes may trigger an idea to apply to your life and others may seem to be meant for someone else. Learn to love helping others reach their dreams and you may find your own have come true.

Statement on Dr. Hans Asperger

Autism Light honored Dr. Hans Asperger as Autism Light #155 on February 25, 2012. Over 6,000 people read his post between 2012 and 2018. Autism Light seeks to be a stop on the Internet that is uplifting and respectful to all people of diverse backgrounds in the autism community.

Evidence of Dr. Asperger's cooperation with the Nazis that resulted in numerous disabled children being needlessly euthanized were not known in 2012 (See Guy Walters: How DID Dr. Asperger hide his past as a CHILD-KILLING monster for so long?, Daily Mail, April 19, 2018). While Dr. Hans Asperger did some good for autism during his time on this earth, as evidence by his original naming as an Autism Light, the uncovering of his horrific conduct rises to the level where he is no longer fit to be named alongside other autism heroes, including disabled children with autism and members of the Jewish community.

Today we are removing the post on Dr. Hans Asperger at Autism Light and removing it from all index pages on the blog, including the Memorial Roll. Our next post at Autism Light will be  a replacement subject for Autism Light #155.

My personal opinion is that the label Asperger's Syndrome (established to honor Dr. Hans Asperger posthumously), and which has been applied to high-functioning people with autism, should be eliminated and changed in light of this news about his conduct. However, I will leave that up to the group of people who have high-functioning autism to come forward with an appropriate name change.

2016 New Year's Resolutions for Autism Light

As we stand at the edge of a new year, I wanted to share a goal I have for the Autism Light blog, for myself as an autism parent, and for the autism community.

My Autism Light Blog Resolutions: 

I want to publish the 500th Autism Light profile in 2016. To accomplish this I will need to average 5 features per month. It is both realistic but also challenging for the unpredictable world of an autism father.

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My Autism Parent Resolutions:

I want to listen more effectively to my 11 year old who has autism and celebrate his developmental progress in 2016.

The following quote succinctly describes my pursuit as an autism parent in 2016.

"So I entered parenting with only 3 clear goals: to love, to cherish, and to listen." - Melissa Ridge Carter" -- Hillary Flower, Adventures in Gentle Discipline: A Parent-to-Parent Guide.

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My Autism Community Resolution:

I wish for unity in the autism community through a greater understanding of the diverse passions and perspectives within people, who each in their own way are striving to make life better for all those impacted by autism around the world.

"A choir is made up of many voices, including yours and mine. If one by one all go silent then all that will be left are the soloists. 

Don't let a loud few determine the nature of the sound. It makes for poor harmony and diminishes the song." -- Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration. 

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Additional Resources: Several wonderful articles have been written about New Year's Resolutions that are applicable to the autism community.  Here are links to half a dozen of them.

1. 5 New Year's Resolutions for an Autism Mom (Huffington Post, Julie M. Green, January 5, 2015)
2. 10 New Year's Resolutions to Support Autism (Kidmunicate, January 5, 2015)
3. 2015 Autism New Year's Resolutions (Navigating Autism Blog, December 30, 2014)
4. Top 10 New Year's Resolutions, from My AutismTeam Parents (Autism Speaks, January 18, 2013)
5. Parent Tips: New Year's Resolutions 2011 (Pathfinders for Autism, Shelly Allred)
6. 2015's New Year's Resolutions for Autism Parents (About.com, Lisa Jo Rudy, December 30, 2014)

Photo: The photo in this post was used courtesy of Profile Rehab. 

Reader's Choice Awards for 2015

It's time to announce our 3rd annual Reader's Choice Awards. 2015 was our fifth year at Autism Light and we produced 86 posts this year. Here are the top posts at Autism Light from the year according to the statistics on reader views. This is not meant to diminish the value of any of our posts or the subjects they reflect, it just reflects the one's that were viewed the most do to a variety of factors.

Top Ten Most Popular New Posts During the Year:

1. Jacob Velazquez' post debuted on July 20, 2015. Jacob has autism and is a musician who lives in Florida.
2. The memorial post for Lois Blackwell (1927-2015) was published on June 30, 2015. She is the Autism Pioneer from St. Louis, Missouri who passed away on March 17, 2015.
3. Izzy Paskowitz' post debuted on January 2, 2015. This post is about an autism father and surfer who founded Surfer's Healing.
4. Kevin Healey's post debuted on July 16, 2015. Kevin has autism and is an Autism campaigner in the United Kingdom.
5. Talisman Camp Programs' post debuted on June 7, 2015. They are a camp that serves individuals with autism in North Carolina.
6. Tyler Gianchetta's post debuted on July 23, 2015. Tyler has autism and saved his mother's life from a burning car in New York.
7. Harold Doherty's post debuted on August 20, 2015. Harold is an autism father and attorney in New Brunswick in Canada.
8. Kim Stagliano's post debuted on May 10, 2015 for Mother's Day. Kim is an autism mother, writer, and advocate.
9. Doron Somer's post debuted on February 27, 2015. Doron is an autism father from Israel who founded the GPS tracking company AngelSense.
10. The memorial post for Jason Mann (1971-2013) was published on April 16, 2015. Jason is a special education teacher from Florida who passed away on December 23, 2013.

Most Google+1's: Taylor Myatt's post had Four (4) Google+1's during the year. Taylor has autism and is from the United Kingdom.

Most Visited Memorial Post: Lois Blackwell (1927-2015) is the Autism Pioneer from St. Louis, Missouri who passed away on March 17, 2015. Her post was clicked on so many times it was #2 in the Top Ten of all posts created during 2015.

Most Popular State Light: The Arizona State Lights has been a popular post to find all the Autism Lights from Arizona. It was the most visited State Light page of the 12 State Lights added this year.

Merry Christmas 2015

For Christmas Day at Autism Light we wanted to simply share a beautiful musical piece played on the saxophone by Lawrence Wang, Autism Light #111. Lawrence is a young adult with autism. This video was originally part of his post on December 18, 2011. You can read more about Lawrence Wang at his post that remains 4 years later an important part of the Autism Light Blog.

Here is Lawrence Wang playing "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas" on his saxophone.

4th Year Anniversary of Autism Light

Four years ago today I wrote the first Autism Light post after I read the story of Carly Fleischmann and wanted to remember the details of her miraculous communication breakthrough. In the ensuing years this blog has honored the story of 413 diverse heroes to the world of autism. There are representatives from every state in the United States and 25 other countries beyond the USA. I want to thank everyone who has been so kind to let their story be told and for all the faithful readers. The statistics of your views reveals that we are on pace to reach 500,000 all-time page views in the next 30 days. I have truly met so many wonderful friends in these four years and learned so much.

This song about Autism Heroes has become dear and near to Autism Light.

If you like Autism Light, check out these other autism blogs I created after Autism Light.

• Autism Rest (Autism Memorial)
• Autism Shares (Autism Social Media)
• Autism Sites (Autism Websites)
• Autism Quotes (Quotes by those who care about Autism) 

Thank you for reading as we start our fifth year of blogging at Autism Light.  I always welcome emails from anyone in the autism community with ideas about autims heroes. Contact me at the email address of autismlight@gmail.com.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

7 Memorable Mothers of Autism Light

Autism Mothers are Awesome!

Here are links to 7 memorable posts on Autism Mother's that were featured in the past on Autism Light.

1. Diane Soucy: Diane Soucy was the first autism mother to be featured on Autism Light. Diane's son Matthew has autism. Original Post: June 24, 2011.

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2. Nuala Gardner: Nuala Gardner is from Scotland. Her post is Autism Light's most accessed International Post featuring a mother. Nuala's son Dale has autism. She is the author of the book A Friend Like Henry. Original Post: October 5, 2011.

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3. Jeanette O'Donnell: Jeanette O'Donnell has the distinction of having the most children with autism on Autism Light. Jeanette is from Texas and 5 of her children have autism. Original Post: October 11, 2011.

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4. Joan Edge: Joan Edge is from England and is one of the sweetest mothers to appear on Autism Light. At age 82 when she was featured, she was the oldest mother to appear as an International Post. Her son Michael has autism. Original Post: January 10, 2012.

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5. Eustacia Cutler: Eustacia Cutler is the mother of Dr. Temple Grandin, who is Autism Light #38. Eustacia was featured as the first post in our Mother's Day series. Original Post: May 13, 2012.

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6. Lin Wessels: Lin Wessels is the mother of Sam Wessels, who is Autism Light #152. Lin was featured as the second post in our Mother's Day series. Original Post: May 12, 2013.

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7. Areva Martin: Areva Martin was the first Autism Mother to be part of our Martin Luther King, Jr. Series. Areva's son Marty has autism. Original Post: January 19, 2015.

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The graphic at the top is from WebWeaver Free Graphics.

Reader's Choice Awards for 2014

2014 was our fourth year at Autism Light. Here are the top posts and special awards at Autism Light from the year according to reader views. This is not meant to diminish the value of any of our posts or the subjects they reflect, it just reflects the one's that were viewed the most in my Blogger statistics.

Top Ten Most Popular New Posts During the Year:

1. Naoki Higashadi's post debuted on May 27, 2014. This post about a 21 year old autism self advocate and author from Japan received hundreds of views.
2. Jaci Velasquez' post debuted on February 27, 2014. Jaci is an Autism Mother and Musician from Tennessee.
3. Toni Braxton's post debuted on January 6, 2014. Toni is an Autism Mother and actress from California.
4. John and Traci Schneider's post debuted on February 2, 2014. John and Traci are Autism parents from Seattle, Washington, where John serves as the General Manager of the Seattle Seahawks.
5. Pentru Voi Foundation's post debuted on February 13, 2014. The Pentru Voi Foundation is an organization that serves those with autism in the country of Romania.
6. Chelsea Stepp's post debuted on January 1, 2014. Chelsea is an Autism Sister and musician from Warfield, Kentucky, who has a special bond with her autistic sister Cammi.
7. J.P. Morgan Chase's post debuted on January 11, 2014. J.P. Morgan Chase is a financial institution that added autism insurance benefits for its employees. 
8. Sheila Chako's post debuted on April 24, 2014. Sheila is a special education teacher from California.
9. Matt Kemp's post debuted on May 11, 2014. Matt Kemp is an Autism Brother and Major League Baseball Player.
10. Tom Fields-Meyer's post debuted on June 15, 2014. Tom is an Autism Father and writer from Los Angeles, California.

Most Google+1's: Toni Braxton's post had Five (5) Google+1's during the year. Toni is an Autism Mother and actress from California.

Most Popular Backlight: Dr. Vince Carbone's post as Autism Light #5 returned for an encore appearance on January 5, 2014. Dr. Carbone is a Board Certified Applied Behavioral Analyst from New York. Dr. Vince Carbone's post continues to be a reader favorite since it's debut in the first months of the Autism Light blog on July 7, 2011.

Most Visited Memorial Post: Dr. William Bolman (1929-2014) is the Autism Psychiatrist and co-founder of the Autism Society of Hawaii who passed away on April 18, 2014.

Most Popular State Light: The Kentucky State Lights has been a popular post to find all the Autism Lights from Kentucky.

Most Comments:  This distinction of most comments goes to two golfers who we featured in January, 2014. Cliff Kresge and Elijah Winfrey both tied with the most comments.

3rd Year Anniversary of Autism Light

Three years ago today I wrote the first Autism Light post after I read the story of Carly Fleischmann and wanted to remember the details of her miraculous communication breakthrough. In the ensuing years this blog has honored the story of 349 diverse heroes to the world of autism. There are representatives from every state in the United States and 22 other countries beyond the USA. I want to thank everyone who has been so kind to let their story be told and for all the faithful readers who have made over 350,000 views of the unpredictable releases of new Autism Light posts. I have truly met so many wonderful friends in these three years and learned so much.

I give this song to you my friends and blog readers because You Light Up My Life and to someone You Light Up Autism. Whether you are part of the 349 mentioned to date on Autism Light or not, please keep being a hero for autism and know that someone notices.



If you like Autism Light, check out these other autism blogs I created after Autism Light.

• Autism Rest (Autism Memorial)
• Autism Shares (Autism Social Media)
• Autism Quotes (Quotes by those who care about Autism) 

Thank you for reading as we start our fourth year of blogging at Autism Light.  I always welcome emails from anyone in the autism community with ideas about autims heroes. Contact me at the email address of autismlight@gmail.com.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.

Reader's Choice Awards for 2013

2013 was our third year at Autism Light. Here are the top posts and special awards at Autism Light from the year according to reader views. This is not meant to diminish the value of any of our posts or the subjects they reflect, it just reflects the one's that were accessed most.

Most Popular New Posts:

1. Lorri Shealy Unumb's post debuted on July 29, 2013. This post about an Autism Mother, advocate, and attorney from South Carolina quickly made it's way into the top ten of all-time posts.
2. A post on a boy named Ethan debuted on February 1, 2013. Ethan is the 6 year old boy with Autism from Midland City, Alabama who was held hostage for almost a week. During Ethan's captivity all new posts were suspended in honor of Ethan.
3. Deron and Amy Williams' post debuted on March 30, 2013. This post is about an NBA player for the New Jersey Nets and his wife who are inspirational autism parents.
4. Iris Halmshaw's post debuted on July 5, 2013. This post is on a 3 year old artist from the United Kingdom who has autism.
5. Donald Triplett's post debuted on April 6, 2013. Donald is 80 years old and lives in Mississippi and is the first person diagnosed with autism.
6. Spencer Timme's post debuted on July 16, 2013. This post is on an Autism Brother from Virginia, who has a special bond with his autistic brother Mitchel.
7. Ethan Walmark's post debuted on September 16, 2013. Ethan is an 8 year-old musician/singer who has autism and lives in Connecticut.
8. Dr. Bryan Jepson's post debuted on May 4, 2013. Dr. Jepson is an Autism Father and physician from Texas.
9. Harrison Teuber's post debuted on July 3, 2013. Harrison is a 15 year old with Autism from Illinois who formed a business to deliver groceries to people in his community.
10. John Schneider's post debuted on April 13, 2013. John Schneider is an actor (known best for starring in 'Dukes of Hazard') from California who is also an Autism Father.

Most Google+1's: Joel Manzer's post had Nine (9) Google+1's during the year. Joel is an Autism Father from Virginia and the editor of Autisable.

Most Popular Backlight: Scott James' post as Autism Light #30 returned for an encore appearance on April 4, 2013. Scott is a singer from the United Kingdom who has autism. Scott James' post continues to be a reader favorite since it's debut in the first months of the Autism Light blog on September 6, 2011.

Most Visited Memorial Post: Cynthia Joyner (1981-2013) is the Autism Mother from Tennessee who passed away on July 20, 2013.

Most Popular State Light: The Alabama State Lights has been a popular post to find all the Autism Lights from Alabama.

Most Comments:  A post on a boy named Ethan debuted on February 1, 2013. Ethan is the 6 year old boy with Autism from Midland City, Alabama who was held hostage for almost a week. During Ethan's captivity all new posts were suspended as the autism community went to prayer and waiting for a resolution.

United States

 

Autism Light has reached a special milestone today. Autism Light #230 from Washington State completes a goal we have had since the early days of the blog to be able to share the positive stories about autism from around the entire United States. As of today there is at least one Autism Light from every state in the United States of America featured on this blog. Some of the larger states like California and New York have several Autism Lights but each state has at least one.

With this milestone reached it brings us to a new project that will be integrated into the Autism Light blog. We will begin dedicating a post on each state and including links on the page to the respective Autism Lights that call that state home. The purpose of this will be to make it easier for people to see what Autism Light stories are available from a particular state. We will also begin to help promote positive autism events from the respective state on the page.

Please be patient with us as it will take a while to cover every state. In the meantime you can always find an Autism Light from a particular state by clicking on the state "Label" in our Homelands page.

Thanks for helping us honor these diverse Autism Lights through your visits to this blog.

Autism Light #200 To Be Named

The Autism Light blog is in the process of preparing the post on the subject that will be Autism Light #200. The young gentleman who will help us reach this milestone is nonverbal and has autism, but has become a published author just like our very first Autism Light, Carly Fleischmann.  After 200 Autism Lights the attention is still on seeing hope in the midst of autism.

To mark the occasion of 200 Autism Lights being featured we are including here the "Heroes" video that was also featured in the Autism Light #8 post on Toys "R" Us which was first published on July 30, 2011.



Here is some facts about our 200 Autism Lights at this point in time.

• They represent 17 countries of the world.
• They come from 41 different states of the United States.
• 71 are parents.
• 45 have autism.
• 23 are from the state of California.
• 22 are musicians.
• 18 are from the state of New York.
• 17 are connected with sports in some way.
• More than half of the 200 posts have received over 100 all-time page views.

Stay with us as we continue to write about Autism Light. There is not any shortage of content to share in the weeks and years ahead.

Autism Light Receives 40,000 Views

Thank you to all the loyal readers who have helped us pass 40,000 views today on the Autism Light blog.  That's 40,000 stories of autism light read as always without any commercial advertisements.

Those of us in the autism community need other people. The stories of people (and some animals from time to time) can not only inspire us and motivate us but also help us and our loved ones as we apply it to our unique situation.


Here is how we reached 40,000.

Time to Go from 0-20,000 Views = 8 Months, 10 Days (March 3, 2012)
Time to Go from 20,000-40,000 Views = 3 Months, 5 Days(June 8, 2012)

The difference in time to reach the second 20,000 views shows the tremendous growth and interest in reading about good news for the autism community.  It also reflects the outstanding quality of the Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O.) of our subjects that have been on the blog for a longer time and yet continue to get regular views.

Stay with us on a continual journey to discover diverse heroes to the autism community.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Book Needs Autism Stories

This Special Announcement was distributed via email by Chicken Soup for the Soul publishers and is copied here in it's entirety to help share the information with the autism community.

New Chicken Soup for the Soul Book:
For Parents of Children with Autism or Asperger's

If you are the parent of a child, from newborn to college age, with autism or Asperger's, we invite you to share your story about raising your child - the ups and downs, the effect on your family and marriage, your child's special attributes and talents, and the lighter moments too. These stories will provide advice, comfort and insight to other parents in the same situation.

Please send us only non-fiction stories and poems written in the first person of no more than 1,200 words. These must be your personal stories - things that happened to you or someone you were close to. You may use a "pen name" on your story. Your story should not have been previously published by Chicken Soup for the Soul or other major publications.

Here are some suggested topics, but we know you can think of many more:

How you first recognized the symptoms

Meeting the challenges of everyday life

Academic struggles or brilliance

Good and bad experiences with school administrations

Appreciating your child for exactly who he/she is

Helping your child build a social life

Successful treatments - what has worked for you

Helping siblings and family members cope

The effect on your marriage and personal relationships

The importance of taking time for yourself

The importance of a support system

The lighter side

The positive side - benefits of autism or Asperger's

Please remember, we do not like "as told to" stories. Please write in the first person about yourself or someone close to you. If you ghostwrite a story for someone else we will list his or her name as the author. If a story was previously published, we will probably not use it unless it ran in a small circulation venue. Let us know where the story was previously published in the "Comments" section of the submission form. If the story was published in a past Chicken Soup for the Soul book, please do not submit it.

If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it.

SUBMISSIONS GO TO http://chickensoup.com.
Select the Submit Your Story link on the left tool bar and follow the directions.

DEADLINE IS September 30, 2012
We plan to publish the book on April 2, 2013, for Autism Awareness Month.

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This information was forwarded to me by Ken Wachsberger and was provided as an announcement by Chicken Soup for the Soul. It has been featured on other blogs such as Mommy Life. Autism Light has no relationship with the Chicken Soup for the Soul company.

Loving the Blue Light

This year I changed the light bulb on my front porch so that my residence would participate in a small way in the global Light It Up Blue campaign. But I can't bring myself to take the blue light out and change it back to a white light. You see as a parent of a child with autism every day is autism awareness day. So I think I will keep the blue light.

The blue light is a more subdued light than a white light, but it is beautiful and different not less. It's kind of like a person with autism. A person with autism might not look like the majority of neurotypical people, but as a blue light they represent a beautiful and unique part of our society. 

Special thanks to Kerry Magro and Autism Speaks for leading this initiative. Here is a video of some of the world's buildings that participated in Light It Up Blue in 2012.

The world's famous buildings can't light it up blue year round, but maybe as parents we should keep the blue light outside our homes. Every time we turn it on we can remind ourselves that our loved ones with autism are different not less. And if you are driving around your town after April and still happen to see a blue light, maybe that home is a place where every day is autism awareness day. 

Occasionally we break from announcing a new Autism Light and provide a Special Post as we are doing today. Thank you for reading the Autism Light blog. Will you be tomorrow's Autism Light? 

Autism Light Receives 20,000 Views

Special Thanks to All Parents of Individuals with Autism.

The Autism Light blog reached 20,000 page views moments ago. This represents a lot of hope being spread around the world in just a little over 8 months time. We want to give a special shout out on this milestone to to a special group of people that are unsung heroes to autism. They are parents of children and adults with autism. In a very real sense it is this group of diverse parents who are day in and day out true Autism Lights. Behind every successful person with autism at one time in their life there was a caring and devoted parent or guardian.  Some specific parents (56 so far) have been publicly recognized as an Autism Light, but thousands of others work behind the scenes and are never recognized by others. They are a steady fan and support for their loved one with autism. They are the wind beneath the wings of those with autism.

So if you have autism thank your parents for their help. And if you care about the cause of autism then remember this weekend to appreciate all the autism parents who shine their light for Autism. As parents of those with autism often say, "Every Day is Autism Awareness Day in Our House."

A regret at Autism Light is that there are so many more parents we could mention specifically but have not been able to. We will work at telling as many more of their stories as we can in the future.  Autism Light thanks all the parents of those with autism for the work you do when the days are difficult and you struggle to put a positive face on the various challenges you encounter. Keep the light on.


Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.


This Post went into syndication on Autisable.

Dream for Autism Wiki

One of my dreams is that someday we will have a freely accessible and constantly evolving information website like Wikipedia, but a Wiki style system that is focused specifically on subjects related to the international autism community. We could call it Autipedia or something similarly fitting.

In order to have a page on the site the subject will have to have some connection to autism, as a person, resource, or organization. Celebrities included will need to have at least said or done something consequential in public discourse about autism. Unlike Wikipedia the people featured won't have to be famous in any respect, because all types of diverse stories can help the autism community find solutions to challenges.

Here is an overview of how Wikipedia works. A similar type of system could have value for the autism community and be a key reference in research on the many voices and resources of autism around the word.

I realize it may be a challenge to get this project underway because of the reality of the project.

• This idea won't make any person famous. Instead it will empower people with knowledge and the opportunity to volunteer to participate in writing the story of autism. Content will be edited and categorized by a large group of volunteers and the subjects who have pages should be encouraged to self-edit so their information remains current. After all Wikipedia is what is because it's always being updated by volunteers and the original creators are somewhat of an afterthought today. 
• This idea will not make anyone money. Donations will be needed to cover the cost of server space and the system, which possibly an autism foundation will want to back. Like Wikipedia no advertisements should be allowed, because that would possibly influence the neutrality of the presentation of the information. 
• This idea won't promote a specific theory or treatment above others. It will be inclusive and include all ideas on autism, even the ones that reasonable minds differ about their value. 

Ronald Reagan said, "You can accomplish much if you don't care who gets the credit." I'm presenting this on the Internet in hopes that someone with the resources and maybe another someone with the technical background will feel the passion to help it come to fruition.

Contact me at autismlight@gmail.com if you have an interest in this. Quite possibly the concept has already been birthed somewhere and if so I'd love to be part of an existing project seeking to accomplish this. I believe this is a great idea, but I am only one person and can not do it alone. If you support this idea please leave a comment to that effect, so that others may see the level of interest.

Photo: The photo in this post was taken from Wikipedia and is in the Wikipedia Commons.

Merry Christmas 2011

Autism Light would like to wish a very Merry Christmas to all those in worldwide autism community who find their encouragement, strength, and hope in Jesus Christ, and who celebrate His birth today. 

Autism Light #100 to Be Named

For Immediate Release.

Hours away from naming its 100 hero of autism, the "feel good" blog known as Autism Light is encouraging a growing number of people in the autism community through the sharing of inspiring stories of diverse heroes in and for the autism community. Readers can now find indexes and quotes from past Autism Lights as well as a recently created section that will offer spotlights on special autism themes that are important to multiple Autism Lights.

Carly Fleischmann was named Autism Light #1 on June 22, 2011. Since then readers of the Autism Light blog have been taken on a journey around the world and to 31 different states in America to learn about a diverse group of 100 heroes for autism. 20% of the heroes have autism and 34% are parents of autistic people. The creator of the blog, Alan Stokes, himself is a parent of a son with autism.

Chris Harris, a parent of a child with autism wrote about the blog, "Saying Autism Light is amazing and inspiring doesn't even come close to giving it justice. This father of an autistic son is going to do something because of Autism Light. I'm not going to make the mistake of doing nothing because I can only do a little."

The most read about hero at Autism Light has been Gary James, who is devoted to giving away iPads to children with autism in every state in the United States. The second most read about hero has been Jack and Maureen Fanning. Jack Fanning, was a fireman killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11, and his widow Maureen Fanning was left to raise two autistic sons on her own and started an autism foundation in her husbands memory.

Some of the heroes are rich and famous celebrities or athletes but many others are average people making a difference with whatever talents and resources are at their disposal. Autism Light content is easy to follow through popular social media like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube or Blogger.

Alan Stokes says, "Our goal is to find and share on the blog the stories of the next 100 Autism Lights by the end of Autism Awareness Month in April, 2012. We plan to expand our look at international heroes and hope to have a representative of every state in the United States." Join us on a continued journey to discover diverse heroes to the autism community. Each one in their own way will leave us with the impression that it is better to light a candle than to curse the autism.

For more information on Autism Light contact:  Alan Stokes at AutismLight@gmail.com.

Recovering Autistic Children (Give Away)

Update:  This give away is closed. Erin Mast is the winner of the book. 


Autism Light is giving away the book Recovering Autistic Children to one lucky person.

Dr. Stephen M. Edelson has graciously offered to give away a copy of the book he and Dr. Bernard Rimlund edited, called Recovering Autistic Children, to one of our Autism Light Blog readers. The giveaway is running from September 28 through October 11, 2011, with winner to be announced on October 13, 2011, the same day as the start of the Autism Research Institute's Fall Conference in LasVegas, Nevada.

To Enter:   

Win this Book

• Send an email to AutismLight@Gmail.com with the nomination (s) of an Autism Light.
• You will receive one entry in the drawing for each Autism Light nomination you make. 
• Please state who you are nominating and a few words about who they are, unless they are a public figure who needs no introduction.
• Feel free to nominate someone not well-known in the public sphere (i.e. your spouse or local hero).
• You may nominate a person, an organization, or a resource who is a hero in and for the autism community. 
• You may make up to 10 Autism Light nominations and receive up to 10 entries in the giveaway.  
• You may make multiple nominations in the same email or submit them at various times during the the giveaway period (September 28-October 11.) 
• Please do not nominate someone already featured in the Autism Light Index, as they do not qualify for an entry.

To Win:  

• A random drawing (picked by a 6 year old with autism) will be held from all entries received by October 11, 2011 at 11:59pm EST to the email of autismlight@gmail.com. 
• Winner will receive a free copy of the book Recovering Autistic Children.   
• In addition, to receiving the book the winner that was drawn may have their nomination for an Autism Light featured in an upcoming blog post. 

Thank you for participating in the first Autism Light Giveaway.