News
13 Sep
2018
Infinithéâtre is proud to present "Prequel: An Old Testament Comedy in Two Acts by Joel Yanofsky"
Infinithéâtre has invited seven Québec playwrights, developing seven unique plays, each play sponsored by a different Québec English-language theatre, for a twelve-month intensive playwriting unit under the guidance of dramaturge and playwright, Alexandria Haber. This is the first time these plays are read in front of a live audience. We seek audience feedback after each reading. Come see "Prequel: An Old Testament Comedy in Two Acts", at:
The Segal Centre - Thurs, Sept 20th at 7pm
5170 Côte-Ste-Catherine
Montreal, Québec H3W 1M7
More Details: Infinitheatre.com or Facebook Event
9 Apr
2018
Today’s Parent launches first autism eBook for Canadian parents
Parents with a kid on the spectrum all say they remember the day their child got an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis vividly.
“My hope is that this eBook can offer families a glimpse into what their child’s future might look like. And, more important, what they can do to prepare for it.”
To mark World Autism Day 2018, Today’s Parent is proud to be launching the first ebook in a series of guides for Canadian parents whose kids have special needs: The Now-What? Parents’ Guide to Autism. It’s available for download now on Kobo, Kindle and iBooks.
31 Jul
2014
The Kids Who Don’t Beat Autism
The following is an excerpt from an article published in the New York Times as part of the Motherlode section.
The other day a stranger called our house, out of the blue, to discuss my son Jonah’s health. He’d seen my memoir about our family and autism in the library and he wanted to know if I’d heard about a treatment that was getting remarkable results. Something to do with ocean water, he explained.
Incidentally, this sort of unsolicited heads-up isn’t as unusual as you would think. Not for me or any parent of a child on the autism spectrum. We’ve heard it all — from gluten-free diets to hyperbaric chambers. We’ve learned to tune it out, most of it anyway. But some trace of the miracle-cure talk echoes; it can’t be unheard. Ocean water, huh? As it happens, I told my mystery caller, we’re going to Maine next month.
I could have kicked myself.
11 Apr
2014
The Sixth Stage of Grief: Buying a Puppy
The following is an excerpt from an article published in the New York Times as part of the Motherlode section.
Last fall, I received a puppy for my birthday. The gift, from my wife, Cynthia, was welcome, even if it came around 50 years too late.
Still, the undiluted joy I’m sure I would have felt as, say, a 6-year-old has been undermined by a nagging grownup question: What were we thinking, getting a dog? Probably, we were thinking – without realizing it at the time – that this has been a difficult year for our family.
Those difficulties began but didn’t end with our son, Jonah, who has autism and just turned 15. Social interaction, always a challenge for him, has become considerably more challenging during his teenage years. We figured he could use a friend. He is not only isolated from his peers these days, but he is also increasingly isolated from Cynthia and me. Jonah’s door is closed an awful lot and his self-imposed exile, not that unusual for any teenager, has still been hard to adjust to. Some days, I find myself staring at that door, wondering what happened to our adorable little boy.
7 May
2013
Autistic and Coming (Reluctantly) of Age
The following is an excerpt from an article published in the New York Times as part of the Motherlode section.
In the last few months, my 14-year-old son, Jonah, has grown taller than his mother. Which means just one thing: I’m next. In our below-average-size family, this doesn’t exactly qualify him for March Madness; still, it should be cause for celebration.
Jonah isn’t celebrating. Instead, he seems to be finding the prospect of growing up unsettling.
A lot of us do, but, in Jonah’s case, the mysteries of getting older are combined with the even more confounding mysteries of having autism. So while other kids are likely to take your word for it that growing up is a simple fact of life, Jonah is skeptical. Occasionally, he even expresses a desire to be short again, which probably explains why he asks his mother to stand on tiptoes whenever she’s next to him.
27 Nov
2012
‘Far From the Tree’ and the Literature of Autism
The following is an excerpt from an article published in the New York Times as part of the Motherlode section.
On a recent road trip, my son, Jonah, and I outvoted my wife, Cynthia, winning the right to listen to Steely Dan’s “Greatest Hits.” This provided Cynthia with time to fashion a pointed critique of the songs Jonah and I were happily singing along to.
“This music’s slick and vacuous,” she pronounced during “Dr. Wu.”
“Exactly,” I said. “We’re guys. We love ‘slick and vacuous.’”
These days, I’m drawn to anything my son and I can enjoy together. He’s about to turn 14 and has autism – two factors that increase, exponentially, the ways in which his brain works differently than mine.
Bad Animals: A Father’s Accidental Education in Autism
Joel Yanofsky tried for years to start this memoir. "It's not just going to be about autism," he told his wife, Cynthia. "It's going to be about parenthood and marriage, about hope and despair, and storytelling, too."