January 2013 - Navigating Autism

Kids pay tribute to their uncle Steve

January 29, 2013January 29, 2013 by Andy Areffi

Kennedy, Alex and Bella three kids with #autism each give a speech about their uncle Steve. Thalia and Wyatt Miller also pay tribute to Uncle Steve with the 23rd psalm. The kids asked us to put this up because they loved Steve very much. We wanted to publish it because we want you to know … Read more

Defining Definition

January 29, 2013January 28, 2013 by Andy Areffi

If you’re like us, we like to have behavior information come home from school. The reason for this is so the kids know that if you misbehave in school there are consequences at home. Big surprise, right? For some reason, LAUSD seems to have imposed draconian restrictions on the behavior agencies communicating with parents. We’re … Read more

About the Areffis

The Areffis are the parents of three children with autism – Kennedy, age 10, Alex, age 9, and Bella, age 7. They wrote “Navigating Autism” because they were not able to find a book to guide them when Kennedy was diagnosed with autism in 2005. They were still struggling to get the assistance she needed when Alex was diagnosed on the spectrum in 2006 and Bella in 2008. They work tirelessly to support parents of autistic children, “We want to help as many people as possible,” says Melissa. “With early intervention, these kids can go on to become anything, and not dependent on disability services their entire lives. As parents, we want our kids to have a shot at happiness, and a ‘normal’ life. We figured we didn’t have any right to complain about how things are unless we did something about it to help.”