by Barbara Fischkin Temple Grandin, perhaps the most famous American with autism, scolds New York State Senate. She says the state "should respect how people communicate and stop blocking methods that work." I am writing this in honor of my late mother Ida Fischkin who, as a child, saved

Facebook blog about Dan Mulvaney's frienship with Chou Chou Scantlin, two people with autism

by Barbara Fischkin The Dublin Hebrew Congregation Round about St. Patrick’s Day, in the Spring of 1984, my Jewish mother, Ida Fischkin, learned that within months I would marry Jim Mulvaney. She offered enthusiastic congratulations, as did my father. They loved Jim. We had been living together for a

by Barbara Fischkin Since its debut in 2013, I have been a fan of “By the Book,” a “Q and A” feature, in The New York Times Book Review. Google AI describes it as a look into “select authors' reading habits and favorite books.” I’d always been so eager

by Barbara Fischkin Recent Photo: Abandoned Kings Park Psychiatric Center building. Cousin Bernie's mother was institutionalized in a building here, one of several of her placements in New Jersey and New York. This shows Building 93 present day. Photo Credit: Diana Scarpulla Another eight weeks have passed since I

by Barbara Fischkin Buck Rogers wearing his flying belt. Vintage comic strip panel. Eight weeks have passed since I wrote about my Cousin Bernie—and how, posthumously, he adds to my own memories of him. As readers may remember from my last offering, Cousin Bernie’s widow, Joan Hamilton Morris, sent

LEAD: A SATURDAY morning in San Angel begins, as do most days here, with the clanging of one of the bells in the tower of the Church of San Jacinto. The church was constructed in the late 16th century by Franciscan monks and although much of it has

by Barbara Fischkin Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, 1930's. "Pushcart Market," similar to one frequented by the shared paternal grandmother of Barbara Fischkin and her Cousin Bernie.  Source:  Library of Congress. Photographer: Alan Fisher. Cousin Bernie’s Own Memoir Surfaces Years After His Death (a.k.a Cousin Bernie, Free-Range Professor-Part Three) As much

Barbara Fischkin is the author of three books of narrative nonfiction and fiction and is currently writing an autism-related historical novel (working title "The Digger Resistance"). The book spans the years 1900–present and takes place in Ukraine

by Barbara Fischkin  Warren Wilson College Swannanoa, North Carolina Winter 1989 Now, it sounds exciting. And unusual. Back then I was terrified. I would be moving with my foreign correspondent husband from Mexico City to Hong Kong—a place I had never been—with a toddler and a Mexican nanny in

by Barbara Fischkin An impressionistic watercolor by Marta Camarena: Barbara Fischkin and her first-born son in the plaza in front of of her young family's rented home in the Plaza de los Arcangeles, in San Angel, Mexico City Part One: Before Mari Saved Us This is the back story:

by Barbara Fischkin The place where I learned the most about diversity, equity and inclusion was not at my liberal summer camp in New York’s Catskills mountains—but at a pig farm in northern Kansas. To be fair, if it wasn't for camp, I never would have pitched a tent

Photo from https://wel-metcamps.com/ by Barbara Fischkin People who have never been to sleepaway camp, don’t get it. They tease me when I speak about memories that are decades old, as if I am recalling a past life that never happened. They find it strange that I view my many

by Barbara Fischkin Objects. Objects. Objects. I need to drop objects into my writing. This advice keeps popping into my brain, as I write a second chapter about my cousin, Bernie Morris. For this writing tip, I credit Sands Hall, a teacher beloved by many. Sands may have worded

by Barbara Fischkin Professor B.B. Morris, dressed up as a newspaperman of yore, after educating his students about journalism. I remember the day I realized that my cousin Bernard Moskowitz—my father’s nephew—was nothing like my other relatives. The realization came in a flash as I spotted a newly arrived