Archive for February 2019
A Solution for Sound Sensitivity
While individuals diagnosed with autism and other sensory disorders can have a broad spectrum of symptoms, there is one symptom that seems to be more universal than others: sensitivity to noise. For those of us that aren’t as sensitive to noise, it may not be obvious, but parks, playgrounds, restaurants, shopping malls, busy city streets, airports, birthday parties, movie theaters, school cafeterias (the list goes on), can all feel painfully loud for individuals with autism and other sensory disorders. While you can try to limit your child’s exposure to loud…
Read MoreYouTube Safety and Autism
Most kids love YouTube. And many autistic children really, really love YouTube. My son loves the never ending stream of Barney and Thomas videos. He loves the music and the variety. He can easily move from trains to Daddy Shark. And honestly, I’ve never really worried about it. Jamie or I are always near him. We monitor what he watches. We listen. And even giggle when we hear Barney speaking in German or Spanish. But unfortunately, some frightening news is surfacing about the platform. The same things that make YouTube…
Read MoreThe Inner Workings of an Autism Parent’s Mind
There’s probably quite a few things we, as an autism family, do that seem completely typical to us, but totally out of the norm for other families. And we haven’t realized these things aren’t typical until others have pointed them out to us. Here are a few points we’ve learned aren’t typical for most families but are vital for ours: Always on the defense In our house, we are always on the defense. We’re always waiting for the next “thing” to happen. The next meltdown, the next dysregulation, the next…
Read MoreBut I Want for Something
Jamie and I had one of those weekends as parents. You know, one that just depletes you. Where you wave the white flag, but quickly realize no one seems to care and that you are the adults and you just need to survive. We have a sick baby. A really, really sick baby who isn’t sleeping. Sawyer had three hockey games. That I had to miss. Which made me feel terrible. Cooper’s anti-anxiety medication seems to be leveling out again. Just like everything else we have tried over the years,…
Read MoreWhat’s it like to be Nonverbal…
I am so excited and honored to introduce you to Peri of Not Raingirl. I have been following Peri for quite some time and trying to learn everything I can from her. Not only is she amazing herself, I know that she can help me be a better mom to Cooper. Take a read as she describes what it feels like to be nonverbal. Peri’s Story I was not fully verbal until I was 10 years old. I said my first word at 6 years old, but stopped saying much…
Read MoreOur Children Deserve Better
I write this soaked in tears. Another story of a teacher abusing an innocent child. I’m so incredibly sick about the stories that are coming out almost everyday now. Those are just the ones we know of. Some of our kiddos can’t communicate. They can’t tell us how their days are. We basically have to be mind readers and go off their body language. This last story I just read was that special needs teachers locked kids in a dark bathroom and blew whistles in their face all while holding…
Read MoreA Different Kind of Tired
I don’t feel this way all the time. But some days I get in my feelings. I go to my dark place, and I vent to myself. Yes, to myself. We all do it. I let myself go here and then I pull it together. I gather myself, my feelings and keep moving forward. My moments go something like this… I’m tired of being tired! I am tired of feeling bad for being tired. Tired of the weight. Tired of scheduling everything. Tired of making decisions. Tired of not getting…
Read MoreThe Day I Learned my Son had Autism
The date was Monday, February 2nd, 2015, the day I now vividly remember as the day I found out my son had Autism. I remember the date, because it was the day my new baby turned exactly two weeks old. My dear friend Aimee was visiting for the first time since my 4th child was born. My new daughter Lainey, two weeks old at the time, was chilling in Aimee’s arms while our other kids ran around tearing up the house like they always did. My then 19 month old…
Read MoreThe Lucky Mom
While walking through the grocery store, I recognized a mother and her daughter, about 10 years old, chatting and shopping together. I knew the mother years ago when her oldest daughter, now 19, was friends with my oldest daughter. They met in first grade and became instant friends. A few years passed and this mother and I were pregnant at the same time. We both had baby girls just a few months apart. I remember my oldest commenting about how the two baby girls would naturally play together someday. This…
Read MoreA Letter to the Sisters of my Special Needs Sons
My darling girls, Please forgive me. Valentine’s Day came and went without a special something from me. Yes, I sent you a text with my favorite bitmojis (you know my obsession with them), but that was not my plan when the month started and it is far less than either of you deserve. As a society, we devote each month to some type of awareness. In April I put my game face on and try to cheerlead autism but usually by the second week that enthusiasm has fizzled and the…
Read More