LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
E
very first day of school, I place candles
in my kids’ pancakes and have them
make wishes for the new school year.
And every year while they wish for
classes filled with their friends, little homework and even girlfriends (that one was my
boy’s wish), I make my own silent wishes. I
wish for understanding teachers and administrative staff, a whole lot of patience for us all
and a positive inclusive environment in which
both my children will be accepted for who
they are and flourish. But this year I have to
admit that I made a few extra wishes! You see,
my autistic son Jacob is starting high school.
GULP!
Four years … the reality has not yet really
sunk in fully, but the fact is that in four years
my boy is expected to graduate and then …
WHAT? That is what this issue of ZOOM (our
One-Year Anniversary Issue by the way) is all
about. As I started to explore our options, I
knew that I needed to share my findings with
you, our readers. From creating your own college transition plan to discovering what types
of post-secondary programs are out there, we
are bringing you the information you need
to know. We are also offering you first-hand
experiences and advice from autistic college
students to help shed some light and get you
thinking about what tools you may need to
start packing in your or your child’s tool box.
As David Finch shares in his humorous RETOUCH column “Releasing Gifted Kids into
the Wild,” it is not just academics that we need
to be teaching our kids if we want them to
thrive. Sometimes we need to explain to them
the importance of leaving other people’s underwear in the dryer! (Read the piece, and you
will understand and LAUGH! It’s very funny!)
Super Hero!” written by 14-year-old autistic comic book connoisseur Jacob Fuentes. The questions Jacob came up with for David
Kot, the creator of the World’s First Autism Super Hero to appear
in a comic book, are mature, complex (yet simple) and make this
MAMA beam with pride! (That’s my boy!)
If I had to describe our cover story interviews
– yes, plural – in one word, I guess that word
would be … SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS! And even that made-up Disney word doesn’t really begin to express the
insightfulness, the honesty, the sweetness and
pure love for all that is Disney that jumps off
the pages when you read the answers Owen
Suskind gives to the questions posed by our
very own Conner Cummings. Owen’s dad,
Ron, who just happens to be a Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist, does an equally delightful
job with his responses to the questions that
ZOOM co-founder, Executive Director and
Mom, who also taught her child through the
eyes of Disney, Sharon Cummings asks. It is
an enchanting read that will take you down
the rabbit hole and into a word where heroes,
sidekicks and autism all live happily ever
after!
And this is just the icing on this fabulous One-Year Anniversary
Issue cake as it is jammed packed with useful ideas, resources,
information and HOPE! From the bottom of my heart, I thank you
all for supporting us this past year, for reading, for offering your
insight, your talent, your time and your shared passion for what
we are doing! We look forward to growing bigger and better and
continuing to bring you a magazine that is written by the autism
community for the autism community!
Jacob, appeasing me so that he can get
to more important matters ...like eating,
holds up 9 fingers to indicate that he is
going i nto 9th grade.
Until Next Issue,
Sharon Fuentes
Editorial Director/Co-Founder & Publisher
[email protected]
We keep the hero theme going with a very
special ZOOM IN piece by Lydia Wayman
called, “SuperMom” about, yup, her Mother.
(Warning to the mamas out there you may
want to have a tissue on hand when you read
it.) Because you can never have enough cape
crusaders in an issue, we bring you the article:
“It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, NO… It’s an Autism
Keeping our Fuentes Family First Day of School
Tradition of a candle in your pancakes is Grace, now a
7th grader, and Jacob, our freshman in high school!
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ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
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