After responding to an inquiry from the Autism Alliance of Michigan last week, Erin was contacted by Robin Erb of the Detroit Free Press regarding an article she was writing about the recent autism insurance reform in the state of Michigan.   After a half hour phone interview Ms. Erb asked if she could send out a photographer [...]

So much has happened in the past two months!! We’ve been so busy that I’ve neglected the blog. I guess that I can just say that I’ve been on sabbatical. In any case, here’s an update of what we’ve been up to… On March 29th, after several trips to Lansing and sitting through many hearings [...]

A post that I saw today on Facebook regarding misappropriation of funds by Autism Speaks intrigued me. It’s an accusation that I’ve seen more than once in the autism community. Some are so staunchly against the organization that they have set up online petitions to boycott it. My experience with Autism Speaks has been very [...]

This was day two of the Senate Health Policy Committee Meeting in Lansing, the people wanting to address the committee last Thursday but were unable to because of time were given the opportunity. Along with parents and professionals advocating the passage of SB 414, SB 415 and SB 981, there was also parents and professionals [...]

We went to Lansing yesterday for the Senate Health Policy Committee meeting.  When we left, we had hopes that the committee would vote on the autism insurance reform bills (SB 414 and 415) to get them on the Senate floor for a vote.  Our hopes were quickly dashed when questions arose regarding a bill that [...]

By now you have probably caught wind of the changes that the American Psychiatric Association is planning on making regarding autism diagnosis.  Many families are concerned that these changes will affect the services that their children are receiving, and with good reason.  The new criteria is more stringent than that listed in the DSM-IV and [...]

About a week after the new year rang in it occurred to me.  My little boy is supposed to start kindergarten in the fall.  Somehow this had stayed off of my radar for the past few months.  I suppose this is a good thing, since even the mere thought of finding an appropriate environment to [...]

Dear Family and Friends,   2011 has been a joyous year for the Nieman family!   Noah is growing up so fast!  We can’t believe that he is going to be five next month!  Thanks to the autism therapy that he has been receiving, he is making progress by leaps and bounds.  It’s incredible that [...]

Dear Friends and Family, We hope that you enjoy Noah singing two of his favorite Christmas carols and wishing you a Merry Christmas in his own words! Love, Larry, Erin and Noah <iframe width=”420″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/-Tzg4rhNG8s” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

Things that were once so important to me aren’t anymore. I stopped reading the “What To Expect” books years ago. I realize now that whether Noah uses a tripod grasp to grip his crayon or whether he can use a stick as a tool (Yes, I was asked this on an evaluation once.) isn’t the [...]