Summer Archives - Navigating Autism

4th of July fun in the sun

July 12, 2012July 5, 2012 by Melissa Areffi

This was a great 4th of July. The weather was warm, but not scorching – and it didn’t rain this year! Funnily enough, it rained last year in So Cal. We went out to Redlands to hang with Andy’s family. The cousins have a trampoline with the net around it, in an attempt to avoid … Read more

Summer Fun and the coolest trick to make sure the sand doesn’t stick!

July 12, 2012June 17, 2012 by Melissa Areffi

Summer is finally almost here, and thank God we seem to be avoiding the June gloom Southern California generally gets. No kidding, usually every June it gets flipping cold and rainy, and clears out around the 4th of July, where we bake until November. Go fig. That means it’s time to pull out the old … Read more

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.”