An autism-friendly vacation

Becky Large knows the struggles first-hand. Traveling and vacationing with a family member who is autistic, like her son Harley, is the complete opposite of relaxation. Airports and vacation spots are filled with sensory overload, which sends the person with autism into a meltdown.

Becky decided to do something about it. She created the Champion Autism Network (CAN) and has worked with Surfside Beach, South Carolina to become the first autism-friendly vacation spot anywhere.

Becky worked with the TSA at the Myrtle Beach airport to create a quiet room. She engaged the cooperation of local hotels, and compiled lists of restaurants, attractions, even grocery stores which offer autism-friendly options.

Becky and her efforts have been showcased on NBC Nightly News.

Although Surfside Beach is not the only vacation spot deemed suitable for families with a child who has special needs, it is currently the only autism-friendly location because of its comprehensive sensitivity to the whole families' needs.

Vote today. Live in peace tomorrow.

Want to do one right thing today? Vote. About two million people around the world don't have that right. Millions of people have fought for your right to speak your mind. This is your chance. Use it.

Want to do one right thing tomorrow? Accept the results with grace and live in peace with your fellow Americans. End the vitriol. No more name-calling and finger-pointing. Certainly no sore losers, threats of retribution, or violence. Just enough already. 

Sure, we've got issues, big ones. We won't solve them by infighting. We won't develop solutions unless we talk openly about the problems. Blame gets us nowhere. 

We're better than this, America. We can't let this campaign's animosity define us or divide us further. We must be united to truly be the United States.

Our only way out is forward. Together. 

One doctor's ingenious fake epidemic

When the Nazis moved into Poland in 1939, Eugene Lazowski had just finished medical school. He was made an officer in the Polish army and stationed in the town of Rozwadow where he worked for the Red Cross. The fence which marked the border of the town's Jewish ghetto was right behind his house.

Dr. Lazowski had heard of recent discoveries by fellow Pole Dr. Stanislaw Matulewicz. It seems that a certain strain of the typhus bacteria, when killed and injected, will allow the patient to test positive for the deadly epidemic disease while remaining symptom-free. Dr. Lazowski tried it, and sent the patient's blood sample to a German lab for testing. 

The response was a red telegram - the patient has epidemic typhus and must be quarantined.

The patient was not ill.  

So Dr. Lazoswki came up with a plan. Whenever a patient came to him, be it a villager or a Jew from the ghetto (who he was forbidden to treat but did so anyway), he injected them with the bacteria. Blood samples left the village, red telegrams returned.

Soon the village and the ghetto seemed to be a hotbed of epidemic typhus. Nazis avoided the area - Germany had not had an outbreak of typhus in a generation, and officials worried about their soldiers' vulnerability. When a medical inspection team was sent to check on the epidemic's status, Dr. Lazowski planted ragged, dirty villagers in the hospital. The nervous doctors took one look and left quickly. The village quarantine was official.

The Nazis stayed away from Rozwadow for the duration of the war. Over 8,000 villagers and ghetto residents were spared the fate of other Polish villages, all because of one doctor's kind heart and his ingenuity.

4-year-old girl visits her 82-year-old best friend on Halloween

The story of 4-year-old Norah Wood and her new friend has gone viral.

As Norah's mother Tara explained it, in late September, she and Norah were grocery shopping when Norah waved at a stranger. "Hi, old person," she said. "It's my birthday today!" The man and Norah chatted for a few minutes then parted. 


A few minutes later, Norah asked her mom if she could get a picture with the man since it was her birthday. The man, Mr. Dan as Norah now called him, was taken aback but delighted. They posed together like they'd known one another for years. 


Since meeting in late September, the two new friends have visited weekly for play dates.
Norah stopped over on Dan's 82nd birthday, and on Monday, stopped by again to show off her Minnie Mouse costume.  

It seems that Dan's wife passed away a few months ago, and he'd been feeling pretty low. 
The chance meeting with Norah and her kind heart was just what he needed to lift his spirits. Mr. Dan later told CBS News, “There were other old people [at the grocery store], and she saw me and I was the ‘old people’ she had to talk to.”

Norah's mom added her own thoughts. "I can only assume there was some divine intervention or stars aligning or she was nudged by the universe. I know we’re all better because of it." 

Mr. Dan's perspective cuts to the chase. “If I didn’t have anything else to do the rest of my life, I have her to love.”

Costume inclusion

Kids and Halloween go together. During my years as a pediatric physical therapist, our kids with special needs were included in Halloween celebrations but their bulky equipment made costumes a challenge.

Creative parents and teachers are figuring out ways to incorporate kids' mobility aids (and in one case, a service dog!) right into the costume. Here are some super cute ones.

Some charities now work with families to customize a costume for a kid with special needs. Magic Wheelchair is a non-profit founded by man whose own 3 children have spinal muscular atrophy, so he completely understands a child's need to combine safety and fun. At Oskaloosa Academy in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, art students have used their skills to create awesome costumes for today's celebrations. 

Another way kids with special needs get to be kids first, with their needs integrated right into their day.