Review : Atypical

I saw the trailer for this Netflix show quite awhile ago, and of course, it looked interesting.

I finally got around to actually watching this and it is very good. It has the right amount of family drama to keep one interested. But the main focus and the reason for writing this post is that this is also a very ASD positive series.  This story is told from the point of view of a teenager named Sam who is high functioning. It's interesting and nice to see how he struggles with the same issues that other teens deal with and how he copes and learns with help of his family and friends. I have watched at least 5 episodes and I have been binging the rest of this series soon. I highly recommend it to anyone who is in the spectrum or knows someone...or maybe those who want to understand what it's like for someone in the spectrum. 

Review: Jane Wants a Boyfriend

So last night I saw for the first time this movie called Jane Wants a Boyfriend about a 20-something girl in the Autism Spectrum. Jane has certain ideas about romance, and obsessively watches her romance films everyday. She has a limited social life and she works at her sister's theatre mending costumes. Jane meets her sisters friend Jack, who tends to date vacuous girls who only care about partying. They connect on a level in which they have never connected with anyone else before. They realize that they both are passionate about certain things unlike their peers. Jane thinks Jack is cool, and Jack likes that Jane is shy, and awkward, but he finds it cute.

I really enjoyed this film, and it was nice to see a "Not your neurotypical Love Story". I really felt for the character of Jane, and Jack. This was a very sweet and enduring view on people with Autism falling in love. I really liked how they made a point of saying that they were not retarded, but different, and that they have feelings and emotions like typical people. I rated this film 5 out of  5 stars on Netflix.

Another Resource for Parents of ASD Kids

So recently a family member recommended another ASD(Autism Spectrum Disorder) resource site for parents. I will link it here for others who may be looking for information to help them parent their ASD child. http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/

Below I have linked a resource in written form for you to check out too.

How to Fix An IPad With a Black Screen of Death

So, I hope by the time you have discovered this blog that you have already contacted Apple Support, and they were not able to resolve the issue of your Ipad having  the black screen of "death". I say death in quotes, because if you plug your device into your PC you should see everything it contains, and it should be charging.

I discovered this fix when the same thing happened to my son's Ipad.  My son's tablet is very important to him. He takes it everywhere, and we have had it for quite a long time. So of course, I knew he would be very upset if he discovered that it would no longer work. I tried calling Apple support after I had tried a few minor things, such as powering the device on and off a few times, and then plugging it into my PC to backup any and all files.  It had been quite awhile since his device had been backed up and connected to our home PC. It needed some much-needed updates, but could not be done because it was loaded with apps, and had no space in its memory to upload the new OS. I have heard from other people that sometimes the case may be causing this weird glitch with the screen as well, and simply removing the case may get it up and running again. So if you have a protective case make sure you try removing this, and cleaning it out. I know ours had sand from the beach in it, which means there was probably sand inside our Ipad too.

The first technician I spoke with told me to try and hold down the power button along with the home button, which I may add I had already tried after I had searched online(other solutions), and this was given as a solution. Being a trooper I tried it again, and told the tech I was still not getting a response. The frustrating thing was that this tech seemed to have very little experience with this issue, and didn't offer any other solutions, but that I should mail it to them or go to my nearest Apple Store ,and pay them $240 to get it repaired. I don't know about you, but I do not have $240 just to spend on a repair, and if I would spend that much I may as well have bought a new tablet.

It was after this first call that it happened. On accident, I dropped the tablet on the floor. Now this device has been dropped many times by my son, but it was always in it's protective case. This time it was out of the case, and this time the screen came back on. Although it did flicker and was not entirely back on for good it was not an entirely blacked out screen. This allowed me the opportunity to re-connect the device to my PC, and try to update to the newest Operating system. Of course, I had to delete a few apps to recover the space needed. What I had learned from dropping the Ipad was that this rough movement had somehow "fixed" the black screen. So when it started to fail again all it took were a few raps on the back of the device to revive the screen. As crazy as this sounds it worked, and now the device has no more screen issues. If you doubt this please feel free to search online yourself for the phrase"Spank the Ipad".

This is one of the videos about this fix I found online.

Crazy, huh? It worked for ours. If you have had this same situation happen to you, and this worked for you as well please feel free to comment below. Thanks for reading this post, and I hope this solution or one I linked worked out for you.

More People In the Spectrum Than We Know?

So I have talked to quite a few people, and have noticed some people who seem to fit certain traits linked to Autism Spectrum. So I was thinking that there are probably more people in the Spectrum than what is being reported. I think some people may have small or minute Autism traits so perhaps they pass for the norm or average person. I also wonder if there is some under reporting in the number of children diagnosed because of this same idea. This is just an idea I have and have no actual proof to back it up, but if you suspect that you may also be in the spectrum, or someone you know might be....perhaps this test may help shed some light on what you are suspecting - Autism Test for Adults. It is a very short test. Below I have included two books that may help.

Looking for Family Fun in CNY?

Sometimes it's not easy finding things to do with the family, and especially things for families. I found this Facebook page that has daily and sometimes weekly listings of events going on in the greater Central New York area. I have found this page pretty useful in finding things to do with the family. So feel free to click the link and check it out.

Out and About in CNY

Herbicides Causing Autism???

I just watched a video that someone shared on Facebook, and it really makes you think. I wonder ... could the way our food is produced be causing the rise in Autism Spectrum in children???  I will include the video down below for you to watch and make your own opinion, but seems to me that maybe going organic would be best for all even if it is not the cause.