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You have come to this link because you are either researching autism or looking for autism information for someone of your acquaintance. Possibly yourself, a relative, a friend or maybe a child that you work with. The purpose of this page is to make sure that you know my capacity. I am not a professional in the Autism Field. I am an autistic parent of autistic children. I have known I was 'different' all my life and first realised that this difference was 'genetic' in 1974 when my first child was 3 years old. I did not know that this 'difference' had the name of 'Autism' however until 1992 when my youngest child was 4 years old. I doubt that I would have even found out then if it had not been for the St John's Autism List. It was through this list and meeting others like me and my family that allowed me to finally obtain correct diagnoses for myself and my children. I am a Linguist by 'formal education' but all my knowledge of autism comes from personal experience. I have been subscribed to Autism mailing lists since 1992 and a listowner since 1993. The information I present on my pages should be construed as only my opinions or references to other people's opinions. My opinions cannot help with diagnosing someone! I might present some information to help recognize some common signs of Autism but the ultimate labelling of a child must come from a professional in the field. And once you get an opinion from someone in the field, if you have second thoughts regarding their opinion, you should seek a second professional opinion. I cannot give advice or forward information privately. So instead of asking me for those, subscribe to the list and ask the listmembers (that is afterall the reason for the existence of the list). In light of this, consider what you are seeking, if you are seeking research information for a paper or a thesis, you may be better served by seeking the advice or consultation of a professional. If you are seeking a parent's or autistic person's perspective, then join the list and post your query there. If I feel there is any help I can offer I will answer your query on the list but in addition to my opinion or help you will be able to receive help from many others whose experience may be different from mine and will give you a much more balanced view on which to base your actions. However please understand that after spending my whole life living in the shadow of Autism and spending the past 14 years talking about it, I now tend to devote an increasing amount of time maintaining my lists and webpages (which I really enjoy doing) rather than participating on them. In this way I feel I am making a much greater contribution by making much more information available than I could by writing a book or by any other means. In light of that if you still would like to say 'Hi' or ask a simple question (not necessarily autism-related) then please feel free to email me: cas@boronia.apana.org.au. Just keep in mind that the shorter your message to me the more likely it is that you will receive a quick response. Take care, Carolyn Baird |