Metro Parent September/October 2022
Celebrating my daughter's autism diagnosis and my own journey as a neurodivergent mother. Essay is on page 18 of the digital issue of Metro Parent!
Pauline Campos
Pauline Campos is a widely-published writer with bylines on TIME.com, The Washington Post, Marie Claire, and many others. She specializes in ghostwriting (and blogging), essays, press releases, and reported features.
Serial Killer Carlton Gary Terrorized Columbus, Georgia by Strangling Women With Stockings
Warning: The following contains disturbing descriptions of violence, including sexual violence. Reader discretion is advised.
The city of Columbus, Georgia, was terrorized by a brutal serial killer during an eight-month period from 1977 to 1978 as he raped and strangled seven women, often with their own stockings. The case went cold after the last murder in April 1978, despite a large police presence and extensive media coverage of the man dubbed “The Stocking Strangler.”
True crime author William Rawlings spoke with A&E True Crime in an email interview about the case, which is detailed in his book, The Columbus Stocking Strangler, debuting September 6, 2022 from Mercer University Press.
Confused About Therapies for Autism? A New Project Can Help
It can be difficult for families of children with autism, particularly when it comes to identifying and accessing services and therapies for autism. A new project by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, funded by The National Institute of Mental Health, is in the works to help parents navigate what can oftentimes be an overwhelming experience.
The project — known as the SPANS (Supporting Parents to Access and Navigate Services) Study — focuses on Cook County families of children with au
How to Support Your Child’s Language Learning Journey
Every parent strives to provide their child with the skills necessary to succeed in life, says Sonia Di Marino, a Spanish Language Instructor at Chicago’s Instituto Cervantes, the largest international Spanish teaching organization in the world. Providing your child with the opportunity to take a Spanish language learning journey could very well turn out to be the gift of a lifetime and open many doors as they grow.
“In a world that is globalized, second language acquisition is a necessity nowa
4 Summer Staycation Ideas at the Forest Preserves of Cook County
Are you and your Chicagoland family looking for the perfect summer staycation ideas? With over 70,000 acres of wild, wonderful and natural beauty contained within, the Forest Preserves of Cook County have got you and your kids covered.
“A lot of people think that Chicago is just the downtown area,” says Jessica Becker, a Forest Preserves Programming Specialist, “but you don’t have to go very far to enjoy natural wonders and natural beauty.”
Becker isn’t kidding when she says the perfect family
Where Is 'Unabomber' Ted Kaczynski Now?
Kaczynski, who is now 80, has spent much of his sentence in an isolated cell at the high-security prison Supermax in Florence, Colorado. At that facility, he shared his one-hour of recreation time—which took place in individual 12×18 foot wire mesh cages—with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and Ramzi Yousef, the 1993 World Trade Center bomber who killed six people and injured more than 1,000 others, according to Yahoo News, which has published a series on his publicly available letters and other writings.
On December 14, 2021, Kaczynski was transferred to the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Butner, North Carolina.
The Murder of Sarah Everard and How #TextMeWhenYouGetHome Became a Viral Movement
Warning: The following contains disturbing descriptions of violence. Reader discretion is advised.
On the night of March 3, 2021, 33-year-old Sarah Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered by an off-duty police officer Wayne Couzens. Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, was walking home in South London after visiting a friend when Couzens, of the Metropolitan Police, arrested her in front of witnesses, falsely claiming she had violated COVID-19 regulations.
Whistle Blowers —
These days, wearable tech is all the rage. Whether we’re talking basic fitness trackers that help us keep tabs on our daily step count or how long it took us to fall asleep last night, our obsession with the numbers all boils down to getting - and staying - healthy. But, fitness trackers aren’t just for humans anymore, Toto.
Lady Gaga Disappoints Fans by Failing to Address Mental Health Triggers in "A Star Is Born"
Lady Gaga has worked tirelessly to help people with mental health problems, sharing her own struggles with debilitating depression. So why hasn't she addressed the very real and dangerous depressive and suicidal triggers in the film?
Trigger Warning: The following story discusses a completed suicide in a film and links to potentially triggering articles. Proceed with caution. If you feel you are at risk and need help, skip the story and get help now. Options include: Calling the U.S. National S
Good At Falling
I wanted to take the easy way there, through the path cleared away by the plow guy that afternoon. My daughter wanted to take the hard way home, through the deep, soft, unpacked snow, simply because we could.
So we did.
That’s when she fell the first time.
Just Hand Out The Candy: How To Not Be A Judgmental Halloween Jerk
It’s almost Halloween. The world as we know it is now unofficially divided into two kinds of people. There are those who Do the Trick-or-Treat thing — whether to be taking the littles out for some costumed fun and oohs and aahs with the neighbors or staying home to pass out candy. Then there are those of us who, even if we stay in all night on October 31 with the bag of fun-size Snickers we bought for ourselves, know we will be navigating the confines of home by nothing more than the blue-light
An Interview with August McLaughlin, Author of 'Girl Boner'
August McLaughlin, author and podcast host, blew open the doors to her own sexuality and is all about inspiring others to do the same.
Exploring the Alternatives: Eastern Medicine Offers Pet Owners New Options
Exploring the Alternatives: Eastern Medicine Offers Pet Owners New Options
An Interview with Erica Garza
The author describes the cycle of pleasure and shame that dictated her sex life - and led to her addiction in her memoir, "Getting Off: One Woman's Journey Through Sex & Porn Addition" in this interview for Kinkly.com.
My Grandmother's Gift As My Father Lay Dying
It’s the day before my father will die.
He’s in a hospital bed in the intensive care unit, hooked up to machines monitoring his vitals signs, with a light so bright hanging directly over him that I must force myself to think of things other than tunnels and what lies at the end of them.
I am 29-years-old. I am the oldest of five girls. I am a wife and a new mother.
I am a daughter so afraid of losing her father that I have convinced myself that I will not.
What Can Functional Medicine Offer Depression?
The term may not be familiar, and that’s okay. According to The Institute for Functional Medicine, the functional medicine model is individualized, science-based, and patient-centered. While the goal of conventional medicine is to treat symptoms and the disease, functional medicine strives to treat the patient by searching for and addressing the root cause of an illness.
Obsessive Skin Picking is Much More Than a Bad Habit | HealthCentral
You might not even realize you're doing it. You pick, pick, pick at a scab or pimple mindlessly, sometimes breaking the skin and drawing blood, sometimes not. If you are aware, you likely are ashamed of your "bad habit."
Why Eye Contact is So Distressing for Those with Autism | HealthCentral
A study published earlier this year reveals that people with autism spectrum disorder avoid eye contact because it causes anxiety rather than because they lack empathy.
When Teens Hurt Themselves...Online
What happens when social media becomes the weapon of choice for self-harm; when the cyberbully is also the victim?
Anthony Bourdain's suicide wasn't 'selfish.' I know because I tried to kill myself too.
After celebrity chef and bestselling author Anthony Bourdain died of suicide, his friend Val Kilmer took to social media to express his opinion on the matter. In a lengthy Facebook post, Kilmer called Bourdain’s actions “selfish.” Further elaborating, he wrote, “A spiritual guide once told me suicide is the most selfish act a human can execute and I was confused but she explained there’s just no mental place further away from humanity and purpose than the hypnotized numbness that creates the false picture of despair, that forces the victim, unaware, to believe, life’s legacy is over.” Kilmer is wrong — suicide is not selfish. I know because I once tried to take my own life.
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