Audra Jennings

April is National Autism Awareness Month. As the mother of twin sons with autism, Karla Akins, author of A Pair of Miracles: A Story of Autism, Faith, and Determined Parenting (Kregel Publications), hopes to help create a greater awareness and understanding of what autism is and offer encouragement and reassurance for families living with the effects of autism firsthand. Below is an adapted excerpt from A Pair of Miracles by Karla Akins ©2017 by Kregel Publications. You are your child’s expert I’ve learned a lot over the years in how to be an education advocate for my twin sons with autism. I wasn’t successful at advocating for my children in the early days when they were in kindergarten because I was awkwardly overzealous in sharing information and knew nothing about how to be wise in negotiations. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes. Writing this, it still bothers me that we, as parents, were basically ignored. I know that every professional in that room was there ...

What is Autism? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , an estimated one in 68 children (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls) has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Even though there are so many families facing similar circumstances, many still fill isolated and alone. For those whose families aren’t directly impacted, there are many misconceptions and questions surrounding autism. As the mother of twin sons with autism, Karla Akins , author of A Pair of Miracles: A Story of Autism, Faith, and Determined Parenting (Kregel Publications), hopes to help create a greater awareness and understanding of what autism is and offer encouragement and reassurance for families living with the effects of autism firsthand. Below is an excerpt from the chapter “What is Autism?” from A Pair of Miracles by Karla Akins ©2017 by Kregel Publications. When the doctors first diagnosed my twin boys with autism in 1998, the only thing I knew about it wa...