Finally, here is a story about an autistic child named Nathan where the family focuses on the positive and not the negative. 

Who once was a boy who "screamed when he was frustrated, spinned in circles to entertain himself and banged toy cars against the wall," Nathan is now a boy who has made amazing progress over the past few years.  Nathan is not an autistic "savant" or "cured" from his diagnosis -- He is a boy who has made gains that will help him in his daily life and be more involved in family activities.

Nathan, she says, isn't composing symphonies and does not entirely blend in with his classmates. But thanks to years of intensive speech, behavioral, play and occupational therapy — and an intelligence his parents suspected from the start — Nathan is doing things they did not think possible back in 2003. Among them:

If you live in the New York City area (or feel like making a trip to New York), I'd like to encourage you to attend the conference, Autism and Advocacy: A Conference of Witness and Hope, that James T. Fisher, Ph. D. has been organizing.

Interested?  Here is detailed information about the conference:

Autism and Advocacy: A Conference of Witness and Hope
Location: Fordham University - McNally Amphitheatre, 140 West 62nd St., NYC
Date: October 27, 2006
Time: 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Conference is free and open to the public.
Registration is required. (See attached flyer for registration contact information.)

What will be discussed at the conference?