Conversations Archives - Navigating Autism

Bella on Zombies

December 1, 2014August 7, 2013 by Andy Areffi

Our youngest daughter Bella had something to say on Zombies. As the saying goes, kids say the darnedest things. Because of that, we’ve decided to chronicle and share some of our kids more interesting conversations. I hope you enjoy. Our eldest daughter, Kennedy, is a huge Michael Jackson fan. Recently, I showed Kennedy and her … Read more

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.”