Archive for February 2017
8 Ways to Prepare Now for Your Autistic Child’s Future
A few months ago my autistic, but otherwise extremely healthy child was denied life insurance. I was shocked and confused. When Cooper was born, in preparation for college, Jamie and I started a savings plan for the him that could be converted into dollars for college tuition. Smart right?! Recently, I received a letter in the mail that notified us that Cooper was denied coverage. I was irate. Autism is not a death sentence. My son is healthy. He has no medical conditions. An At-Risk Life After following up I…
Read MoreMy Worry as an Autism Mom and Why It Never Rests
Parenting a child with special needs is so much more than helicopter parenting. It is never taking your shoes off, being ready to run, casing every room, knowing every exit and danger, being drenched in sweat, never sitting, searching your child’s body for marks or bruises, up all night worrying, parenting. It consumes me at times. And deep down I worry that it is destroying me. It’s not like it happened overnight. It was an evolution. I am a pretty chill person. My kids fall and I wait for the…
Read MoreRamblings of an Autism Mom Around Acceptance
My favorite topic to blog about! I’ve been noticing a trend. Every morning for the past few weeks I wake up to dozens of emails from parents looking for hope, help and guidance. I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND. I did the exact same thing when Cooper was younger. I would stay up late…usually after some sort of meltdown or a particularity hard day. And I would search for a blog where the child reminded me of Cooper. And I would reach out. And in a really weird way I would feel guilty…
Read MoreDear Mom, I Read Your Letter Today
A few days ago I shared a letter I wrote for my son Sawyer. You can read it HERE. It was a toughie to share. It was brutally honest. It was real. And I really put myself out there. I purged every ounce of worry and self-doubt that I have about raising an autistic child alongside a typical child. Let’s get something straight. Cooper is an amazing little boy. He is funny and sweet and brings more joy than I can put into words. But…it’s different for me. I am…
Read MoreConfessions of a Special Needs Parent
Parenting is hard. I think we can all agree on that. You are raising a tiny little human from birth to adulthood without an instruction manual and silently praying they turn out sane and happy. Now imagine if that tiny little human has a diagnosis of some sort. Autism. Cerebral Palsy. Traumatic Brain Injury. The diagnosis could be physical, emotional or neurological. It could be obvious. Or maybe it’s invisible to the outside world. Scary right. You aren’t a doctor. Or a therapist or a physiologist. There is no instruction…
Read MoreA Letter To My Other Son…The Sibling To A Special Needs Child
My little peanut, Today is your fourth birthday bud. How can that be? I look at you running and jumping with your friends and it’s hard for me not to cry. You are amazing. I am so proud to be your mom. I need you to know that. I want to tell you a few things. I know you won’t understand them now. And that’s OK. But someday, when mom is old and grey, I want you to read this letter. I want you to know I am sorry. And…
Read MoreAutistic Kids Grow Up To Be Autistic Adults. And It Can Be Wonderful.
Before my son was diagnosed with ASD I would frantically search out stories, blogs and articles of hope. Stories where it turned out NOT to be autism. Stories where instead of autism the child was actually deaf. Or allergic to gluten. Or whatever. These stories had happy outcomes. I did this because the stories of autism-to-life scared me to no end. I wasn’t ready yet. Then he was diagnosed and even more ferociously I searched for stories were the child was cured. The child had autism and the parents started…
Read MoreI Can’t Fix My Son
I shared a video last night on Facebook and I can’t believe the overwhelming support I’ve received.Thank you to every single person that messaged me or left me a comment. Just reading the words, ‘I understand,’ is more therapy than I can describe. Knowing that people out there understand is amazing. It makes me feel less alone. So, what was the event that caused my crash? Well, we had an evaluation for Cooper yesterday at an autism center. I am looking for options that will replace public education. I am…
Read More