Newborn Matthew
Click BUY NOW button below. (Free shipping only in the continental United States)
Also available on AMAZON, BARNES AND NOBLE and other book retailers
Nervous Laughter
When I was eight years old, Uncle Russell came to visit. He was my mother’s cousin, but everyone called him Uncle Russell. He was twenty years old and had a severe case of cerebral palsy.
Follow this link for original article
Upcoming Events:
* * * *
2009-2010 Marin Autism Lecture Series
In Partnership with Marin Autism Collaborative
2/9/10 Autism-a mother’s perspective
Laura Shumaker, Writer/Author and Rebecca Foust, Poet/Author
Details coming soon
* * * *
A NEW MEMOIR REVEALS THE REALITIES OF AUTISM
It was Matthew Shumaker’s strange obsession with wheels and drains that spurred the first nagging doubts. While other toddlers tumbled down the padded ramps at Gymboree, or giggled under a billowing parachute during the baby games, Matthew toddled away to examine the wheels on a small rolling cart.
Other children conversed. Matthew echoed what other people said. He didn’t make eye contact. And his attention could be completely derailed by the sight of water swirling down the sink.
San Francisco Chronicle
January 15, 2006
Link to original article
Do you want me to come in with you while you get your haircut?” “No,” replies my 19-year-old son Matthew. “I want him to think I drove here by myself.”
When I suggest that he remove the junior sheriff sticker from his T-shirt before he goes in, he refuses.
“I want him to think I take care of bad guys.”
“A must-read for all families affected by autism, professionals who care for children and adults on the autism spectrum, and for those who wish to get a better understanding of what it is like to wear the shoes of a mother striving to do the best for her special-needs son.”
-Ricki G. Robinson, M.D., M.P.H.
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine; Scientific Advisory Board Member, “Autism Speaks.”
“In Laura Shumaker’s thoughtful portrait of her family’s struggle with autism, we explore the journey that anyone touched by disability must navigate. Her writing is elegant. Her lessons are invaluable.”
“What would happen to Matthew if you guys were killed in a plane crash?” asked a nervy acquaintance. The question stunned me. Since my son, Matthew was first diagnosed with autism as a toddler, I’d been asked tough questions about his future. “Will he ever live on his own and hold down a job? Do you think he’ll get married?”
“Voices of Autism” Anthology Shares Real-Life Accounts of 40 Patients and Caregivers
– LAURA SHUMAKER, LOCAL AUTHOR, PUBLISHES STORY IN ANTHOLOGY–
LOVE LESSONS
It was February 16th, just two days after the Valentine’s Day storm paralyzed the Northeast. I had just finished my continental breakfast-a rubbery muffin and weak coffee -at a mediocre hotel near the Philadelphia Airport. My flight from California had arrived late the night before, following hours of delays, and I was tired and jittery.
