Conor and Mom Trail Time

End of May, first of June is a great time to be outdoors in Fredericton.  With beautiful weather the last couple of days Conor and Mom got outdoors for some fresh air and fun on the North Riverfront Trail. (Dad was there too, the invisible guy behind the point and click camera).

Connections, Conor and Writers' Grimoire

If you are a semi-regular reader of this blog you may have noticed the link to Goody Bledsoe,  a book by Conor's mother Heather Doherty  that I have posted on the sidebar.  I have now added a link to Writers' Grimoire  the new blog co-authored by Heather and her long time friend, and fellow author, Norah Wilson.  

Heather's writings are not about autism.  She is a dedicated mother who is actively involved in all aspects of Conor's life but her writing is her writing, it is a part of her life that does not revolve around autism.  Heather and Norah as a team  write in a category, YA, which, as I understand it, is different from the romance category that Norah writes in individually and the literary category that Heather writes in. For those who question my credentials to write about autism on this blog don't worry. I am not competent, and I know I am not competent, to write about literature, romance or YA.

This blog is about autism, and about Conor, and the Wilson Doherty team has an interesting connection to Conor's life.  Heather and Norah met many years ago when they both worked  as legal secretaries at a Fredericton law firm which was located at that time down the road, literally,  from the office of the law firm where I worked at the time.  That is where I met Conor's future mother when I dropped by to pick up some legal documents for  a lawsuit in which the lawyer for whom she worked was opposing  counsel.  Conor's very existence can be traced back to that law suit and  to the law firm,where the writers who now  write together as Wilson Doherty also met.  

For Wilson Doherty that law firm was a connection that became the beginning of a long friendship and ultimately a writing collaboration.

For Conor that law firm, and the law suit that introduced me to his mother, was a connection that ultimately gave rise to his very existence. 

Just  a connection but a very important Conor Connection. 

Conor and Mom Show Off Their New Haircuts

Conor and Mom both got new haircuts yesterday and showed them off today for the camera.


autism

Autistic Children Grow Up

Autistic children grow up.

They get taller, bigger, stronger. And like other parents we must adapt as they do, both to continue to enjoy their presence in our lives and to help them develop to their fullest potential. For some parents of autistic children the physical growth of their children also represents a point of departure; they must part company with their autistic children whose behavioral challeges can no longer be accommodated coming from the large, powerful frame of an adult. The brutal reality is that some parents (particularly mothers) and siblings are physically attacked by the autistic children, brother or sister for whom they care so deeply.

I have read on the internet heart wrenching stories of parents who have had to make the agonizing decision to send their autistic child/adult to live in residential or institutional care. As a lawyer I have provided some pro bono legal services to parents struggling with the challenges of caring for autistic children who have been aggressive to them and had become a risk to family members. Such realities are not the usual autism fare of CNN, New York Magazine or Good Morning America. They are real none the less for the parents who care for these children and mourn, (yes Jim Sinclair MOURN), the premature loss of their children.

Above are pictures of our son Conor, 12, with his mother, Heather (also author of Goody Bledsoe, see right side of page). Conor, diagnosed with Autistic Disorder, is now slightly taller than his mother. He grew like a weed this past year, with the usual changes that accompany that stage of life. When Conor is outside the house by himself, in the yard or on one of the steps, we check constantly. Sometimes visually, sometimes by asking him to say "Hi". On one such occasion I was startled by the deep man's voice that answered. It was Conor's voice, no longer the voice of a boy.

Conor is aggressive on occasion. We have "managed" the aggressive aspects of his behavior, thanks in large part to Applied Behavior Analysis therapy which has also helped Conor with so many areas of life. But there are still times when it is difficult. And we know that a day will likely be coming when we will no longer be able to have him with us in our home. As Conor grows bigger and stronger and we grow older and weaker.

In the meantime though we enjoy Conor and all that he has brought to our lives. We do not subscribe to the misguided "autism is beautiful" ideology that urges people to find joy in their child's neurological disorder. We accept the realities of Conor's autism, we face those realities and we try to do something about them, to help Conor overcome them to the fullest extent possible. We do so with great joy, the joy of Conor, a fun loving, affectionate but challenging blessing in our lives. For as long as we can.

autism

Heather Doherty Reviewed on Prairie Fire and AU World

Conor's mom, Heather Doherty, has now been featured on au.world and her first novel Goody Bledsoe has been reviewed on Prairie Fire Review of Books. Conor's autism did not prevent her from completing her education with a degree in English literature from Athabasca University or from publishing her first novel "Goody Bledsoe" which is NOT about autism.


http://au.world.athabascau.ca/200707/htdocs/student_success.php

http://www.prairiefire.ca/reviews/doherty_bledsoe.html

Goody Bledsoe Book Signing June 9, 2 PM Chapters Fredericton

Heather Doherty, AKA Conor's mom, will be signing copies of her book "Goody Bledsoe" this Saturday, June 9, from 2 to 4 pm at the Chapters book store, Regent Mall, Fredericton.

Some comments on Goody Bledsoe:



“Heather Doherty has written an exceptionally moving and brilliant first novel, a startlingly permanent novel that must be read.”

- David Adams Richards


"The storytelling is not trendy but traditional, even universal.
It is not dissimilar to the works of David Adams Richards, and
like them, the story is an engaging and a moving one."

- reviewed by TISH PACEY

The Daily Gleaner, Fredericton, March 17, 2007

Goody Bledsoe and her little brother have been on her aunt and uncle's New Brunswick farm just three days. In the face of Aunt Jackie's drill-sergeant authority, it's the pigs and Uncle Nathan who offer the warmer glimpse of a world that might be called home. By this point (20 pages in), there has already been ample cause for tears, none of them quite spilling.

The emotional control of Goody and her terminally ill mother is also their author's containment. Sadness brims, but is held in check by Doherty's ironies. I was hooked.

JIM BARTLEY, Globe and Mail, April 14, 2007

Globe & Mail Review of Goody Bledsoe by Heather Doherty

Today was a day of excitement in the Doherty household as the Globe and Mail published its Spring Fiction Books issue and included for review Goody Bledsoe by Heather Doherty, mother of two fine boys, including a fellow named Conor who appears from time to time on this autism blog site. New Brunswick government officials who have been involved on the other end of my autism advocacy efforts over the past 8 years have been rumored to refer to me be a variety of names. Now, I guess I will simply be known as Heather Doherty's Husband.

Some comments from the Globe & Mail review of Goody Bledsoe:

Goody Bledsoe and her little brother have been on her aunt and uncle's New Brunswick farm just three days. In the face of Aunt Jackie's drill-sergeant authority, it's the pigs and Uncle Nathan who offer the warmer glimpse of a world that might be called home. By this point (20 pages in), there has already been ample cause for tears, none of them quite spilling.

The emotional control of Goody and her terminally ill mother is also their author's containment. Sadness brims, but is held in check by Doherty's ironies. I was hooked.

JIM BARTLEY, Globe and Mail, April 14, 2007

http://tinyurl.com/3d6tej

For anyone in the Fredericton area Heather will also be reading from Goody Bledsoe at the Nashwaaksis Public Libarary on April 19, 2007 beginning at 7 pm.

http://heatherdohertywrites.blogspot.com/