Parenting & Family

Children With Special Needs

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Guide since 2004

Terri Mauro
Children With Special Needs Guide

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Autism Memoirs Among Recent Reviews for the Harried Parent's Book Club

Wednesday May 16, 2012

I saved up three autism memoirs to read and review during Autism Awareness Month, and ... what's that you say? It's not April anymore? It's midway through May? Well. Let's just say that my lateness is a blow for making awareness and acceptance a year-round thing, not confined to a single month. I've read and posted my Harried Parent's Book Club reviews for two of them so far -- Finding Kansas, a memoir written by a young man with Asperger syndrome in an attempt to explain how he experiences the world, and A Regular Guy, a mother's story of her son growing up with autism -- and I'm now partway through the third, Judy's World, a Readers' Choice Awards nominee this year for Favorite New Special-Needs Memoir. After that, I'll be choosing whether to read a pile of memoirs I have on parenting kids with disabilities other than autism, or catch up with some parenting how-to books. The former are usually easier and more enjoyable to read, but the latter are often more useful in the long run. What are you reading right now? What kind of books do you prefer, personal stories or instructional texts? Share in the comments, and add some reviews of your own.

'Modern Family' Star Sarah Hyland Talks About Kidney Transplant

Tuesday May 15, 2012

Looks like we can add Modern Family to the list of TV shows featuring performers or characters with special needs. Sarah Hyland, the actress who plays oldest Dunphy daughter Haley, revealed in an interview with Seventeen magazine that she received a kidney transplant from her father last month (or, in more appropriate language for a 21-year-old, "My dad gave me a freakin' kidney!"). Though originally diagnosed with kidney dysplasia at age 9, she had to wait until her condition became severe enough to require a transplant. Playing a teenager onscreen has given her some options for dealing with the pain and weakness; Good Morning America reports that she'd "often sit down or text on her phone during a scene to hide her exhaustion." She'll now have the summer to recuperate before the show returns in the fall. The Los Angeles Times reports that she'll also be working with the George Lopez Foundation as a Youth Ambassador. For more on the story, view a video interview on CNN.com, or look for the June/July issue of Seventeen with Sarah on the cover.

_{Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images}

'Parenthood' Keeps Tuesday Time Slot, 'Glee' Moves to Thursdays

Monday May 14, 2012

Last week I posted the good news that Parenthood will be back for the 2012-2013 season with at least fifteen new episodes. NBC has now announced its fall schedule, and Parenthood is on it, in its familiar 10 p.m. Tuesday timeslot. That means we won't have to worry about waiting for midseason to catch up with the Bravermans.

In other TV news of special-needs interest, Fox is moving Glee from Tuesdays to Thursdays at 9 p.m. Also on Fox, Touch, a show that at least at one time was about a kid with autism, has been renewed and will be on Fridays at 8 p.m. -- followed by Fringe, a show that, while not specifically special-needs related, has had many plotlines that felt relevant to me.

What special-needs shows are you wondering/worrying about? Share in the comments.

_{Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images}