Posts by Jaime Ramos
Parenting a Child with A Disability: Challenges and Joy
Some days, I can’t help but watch. Watch everyone else and envy how easy things seem to be for them. Deep down I know that everyone has their own struggles, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that our day-to-day life is so much more complicated. At school drop-off I watch as other kids jump out of their cars and walk confidently into the building, while we have to park and walk our son directly to his para. And at pickup, I see kids my son’s age walking home or…
Read MoreThose Left on the Sidelines
Something that autism has gifted our family is that it has opened our eyes to another world. We get to see the lives of many people affected by disabilities. When we are at a sporting event, camp, or conference for my son filled with children and adults of all different abilities, I see more love and acceptance than anywhere else. I love that both my children are surrounded by it. They have seen the beauty in differences from the beginning. At the same time, I have one foot in the…
Read MoreEveryone Deserves the Opportunity to Meet Their Full Potential
Nearly every parent worries about their child’s future. When it comes to my eight year old autistic son I worry on a heightened level. Recently, on a podcast I co-host, Table for Five No Reservations, we have interviewed parents of disabled adults and some disabled individuals themselves. All with different levels of need and in different areas. In some ways it gave me hope about the future but in many others it scared me. A blatant recurring theme hit me. Opportunities and resources astoundingly decrease when people like my son…
Read MoreA Brother and Sister on Their Own Path
I have two beautiful kids, a 7 year old son and a 4 year old daughter. My son is autistic. This adds a different dynamic to their relationship, but really it’s their normal. I remember the day they first met. We were so nervous about how he would react to her. We’d practiced with baby dolls and talked about her all the time. A reminder she was coming. He had baby cousins around before, so he knew what babies were like. I was nervous about a baby that never leaves…
Read MoreI Blamed Myself for His Autism
Last night I laid in a full-size bed, inside a tent, under a train blanket, with my eight year old son. He had just fallen asleep. Beforehand, we talked, sang, and laughed. He asked me to hug him tight, and I did as he fell asleep. Slowly releasing him before he completely drifted off. Tight hugs are one of the few things that help him calm his body. Sleep doesn’t come easy for my boy. You can judge and give suggestions, but we’ve tried it all. My son is autistic…
Read MoreChristmas Through My Autistic Son’s Eyes
Christmas is so much. It’s busy, it’s loud, it’s joyful, it’s frustrating, it’s just, a lot. I love it though. I love it for religious reasons, I love being with family, I love yummy treats, and I love presents. I get so caught up in it. I have so many deep seeded memories when it comes to Christmas that I want to recreate them for my kids. I want them to have it all and sometimes I forget to slow down. My son, Jesse is on the autism spectrum and…
Read MoreMy Deepest Fears Lie in Motherhood
I stood alone on a dark bridge on a warm summer night. I listened to the creek below as it attempted to drown out the sound of my children and their cousin, playing several yards away. We were at an unfamiliar park for a small family gathering. I left my two kids with my husband and some family to walk across the park and get some alone time, a rarity for any mother. As I wandered, I came across the bridge surrounded by tall trees, which blocked out any street…
Read MoreIt Felt Like I Would Never Get Over My Son’s Autism
“When are you going to get over this?” My husband calmly asked, as I laid in our bed yet again crying. I can’t remember what event involving our son preceded it; Another evaluation, an elopement, an awkward moment at a family gathering or school, maybe it was another long meltdown. Whichever it was, I was now lying in bed quietly crying and venting to him about all of it. Pure heartbreak and fear. After his question, I knew he immediately regretted asking it, not only because it sounded so harsh,…
Read MoreOngoing Acceptance of Autism
On a sunny Thursday afternoon I was reminded of the ongoing acceptance of my seven year old son’s autism diagnosis. I took my daughter to the park across from my son’s school thirty minutes before we picked him up, so she could play. It just so happened that my son’s class was out on the playground where I could see him and his classmates. As peeked over every so often I tried to be careful that he didn’t see me. I watched him and his fellow autistic students play. Anyone…
Read MoreThe First Time I Heard Autism
Hot, sweaty, and out of breath in the middle of winter I sat in a full doctor’s office lobby. Due to construction, the area we were in held patients waiting for the pediatricians as well as those waiting for gynecologists. It was packed. My newly two year-old son would not hold still while we waited. I chased him around the room and brought him back to his chair over and over. The waiting area wasn’t enclosed and there were stairs nearby. Not ideal. Names were being called one by one…
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