Melissa Areffi - Author at Navigating Autism

Five Life Savers for Dining Out

July 12, 2012June 10, 2012 by Melissa Areffi

Call the restaurant, ask questions. When are their busy times? Try to avoid that like the plague. After all, if the service is slow and the wait is terribly long, you’re setting your kid up for failure and you a migraine. Try to arrange seating, even if it means you have to wait longer. We … Read more

About the Areffis

The Areffis are the parents of three children with autism – Kennedy, age 10, Alex, age 9, and Bella, age 7. They wrote “Navigating Autism” because they were not able to find a book to guide them when Kennedy was diagnosed with autism in 2005. They were still struggling to get the assistance she needed when Alex was diagnosed on the spectrum in 2006 and Bella in 2008. They work tirelessly to support parents of autistic children, “We want to help as many people as possible,” says Melissa. “With early intervention, these kids can go on to become anything, and not dependent on disability services their entire lives. As parents, we want our kids to have a shot at happiness, and a ‘normal’ life. We figured we didn’t have any right to complain about how things are unless we did something about it to help.”