October 2013 - Navigating Autism

Red Bird Shaun of the Dead – Kennedy Areffi

December 1, 2014October 26, 2013 by Andy Areffi

Red Bird Shaun of the Dead is Kennedy Areffi’s first parody trailer she used to learn editing. Some of you know that Kennedy Athena has been learning to make movies. She saw the trailer for Shaun of the Dead on Youtube (still trying to figure out how) and decided to make her own version with … Read more

Disney’s new Autism Assistance Card FAILS

May 14, 2014October 21, 2013 by Andy Areffi

By Andrew Areffi, Melissa Areffi, and Heather Swarner Disney’s new autism assistance card fails to address the real problem – FRAUD. The newly developed Disability Assistance Service (DAS) is meant to be a one-size fits all solution to address the complaints from non-disabled patrons that somebody with a hangnail or no problem at all could walk … 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.”