For children on the autistic spectrum each day brings its own challenges. Some days bring even more like Halloween. I have become a recent fan of the show Parenthood on NBC-TV. In a recent episode, they dealt with the fears of a child with Asperger’s Syndrome on Halloween. I found it to be very well done because it handled not only the child’s fears, but what happens with the parents and rest of the family.

My son, Peter, is 9 years old and has pervasive developmental disorder—not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). That means that he is on the autistic spectrum and has had delays in a number of areas. In our family, he falls between two girls, Charlotte, 12, and Kit, almost 8.

via Trick or Treating with an Autistic Child – Yorktown, NY Patch.

Some days, after school, Carrie Cassidy’s autistic son will wander off by himself and worry her until he’s back in her sight.

The other parents and children at Champlain Heights Annex know her son, Stuary Isnardy, and help keep an eye on him.

“There’s been times after school where Stuart’s taken off,” Cassidy said. “And I go into the school and children will look at me and say, ‘He went that way!’”

That’s one of the reasons she hopes the Vancouver School Board doesn’t close Champlain Heights — one of five schools it’s thinking of shutting down next spring to save money.

via ‘Perfect’ school for autistic son faces shutdown.