Autism Vox

June 18th, 2008

Kendall Bailey, Paralympics Swimmer

Kendall Bailey is 19 years old, 6 foot 6, and a champion swimmer headed for the Paralympics in Beijing this September—–but he was almost rendered ineligible by the United States itself. Bailey has cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, and Klinefelter’s syndrome, which prevents his body from producing testosterone. Today’s New York Times profiles his dream […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 3 comments

May 25th, 2008

Last Week’s Top Posts

Up until last week, posts about “mercury” and “Jenny McCarthy” had the most comments—-after last week, the topic of religion and the restraining order filed against the parents of Adam Race generated a torrent of discussion that’s still going on).

Priest Files Restraining Order Against Parents of Autistic 13-year-old
Some 250-plus comments about Adam Race and […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 0 comments

May 22nd, 2008

It’s Ok to be Disabled Until—-

We all root for amputees—-until they win medals is the blurb on an article by William Saletan in the May 21st Slate. Saletan writes about Oscar Pistorius, the runner from South Africa who—he is a double amputee—runs on specially built prostheses called “cheetahs” ( j-shapes blades made of carbon fiber). Pistorius recently won a decision […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 17 comments

May 12th, 2008

Shooting Straight

Thanks to autism, 15-year-old Kyle Cramer of Coburg, Oregon, is aiming to compete in the Olympics in archery, KMTR reports:
Kyle has captured state and national championships, setting records along the way. Autism no longer holds him back, but helps him to achieve.
Wayne Endicott, owner of the Bow Rack Pro Shop says, “Kyle’s handicap becomes his […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 6 comments

May 6th, 2008

Up-Lifting Story

It was about three years ago as Charlie was turning eight that I stopped carrying him. He was always big for his age and I developed a bit of a muscle in my left arm from holding him, balanced on my hip—-he weighs as much or more than me now and the babe-in-arms days are […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 1 comment