I was walking into the neighborhood dry cleaners when another mom was walking out. She smiled and asked, “How is Danielle? Is she still making progress?” I stood there, my coat slipping down my arm, one sleeve half on and half off. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Danielle is my 23-year-old daughter. She has autism and complex medical needs, including Crohn’s. “How is Danielle?” is a question I know how to answer. A simple fine, okay, or hanging in there is usually enough. “Is she still making progress?” is…
My son is autistic, and he is my whole world. He is beautiful, brave, loving, and so full of light. Every day, he teaches me patience, strength, and what unconditional love truly means. He deserves a life where he is supported, understood, and celebrated because he is absolutely perfect. I find myself constantly fighting for the bare minimum from services that just don’t want to help him. Waiting lists that feel endless. Phone calls that are always unanswered. Emails that are just left unread. It’s constantly being made to feel…
This morning my third son had an early morning hockey practice. Setting the alarm for 6:30 am for a Saturday always cuts a little deep. Ten minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off, my eyes snapped open. Lights were on everywhere. And laying on my chair was my boy. Full dressed in his hockey clothes. He woke up and dressed himself. Typical development amazes me. I say that a lot on here. But it’s true. Typical development is a gift. Children that just know and do and try…
When I started this page years back, I did it for a few reasons. I wanted to find families like mine. And kids like my Cooper. I wanted to learn all that I could about autism, the spectrum and what it could look like as my sweet son aged. I wanted to build a village of parents, teachers, therapists, and friends who wanted to support and raise each other up. I wanted to create a safe space for families to share the unique wins and struggles that we encounter on…
There is a saying I heard a while back that reframed a lot of how I parent my autistic son. Am I helping or hurting? Let me set the scene first. I ordered pizza for my four kids tonight. It’s been a day and pizza sounded good. I was busy doing a few things so my second son Sawyer, who is 13, dished up his plate. He is not one to wait for food. Minutes later when I walked into the living room I saw his older brother Cooper eating…
When limbs get long and thick– and hair sprouts— so does an intellectual yearning for more. It’s no longer the curiosity to sneak out of a side door– to dig hands in dirt, spill rice or roll in grass. it’s no longer the fear of her climbing into cars– it’s a lust for something new and immaterial– for living and exploring– and for me, It’s a heavy fear of the world that she is so curious about. the world she yearns to be part of.…
This question seems simple, but it is extremely difficult to answer. My daughter Olivia is 16 years old. She is autistic, and she has Sensory Processing Disorder and anxiety. Olivia has words for labeling and requesting but is considered nonspeaking or semi-verbal because she cannot hold a conversation. There was a time when Olivia did not even acknowledge Christmas. She did not understand what was going on, and opening presents did not interest her at all. Now that she’s older, she actually loves Christmas! She loves the lights, the tree,…
The holidays are always tricky for our family, just like they are for so many families with special-needs children. Our daughter is seven, but a simple Amazon search for “gifts for 7-year-old girls” doesn’t capture what she’ll actually love. If a toy isn’t tied to her current interest, it’s set aside within seconds. And when all her favorite shows seem to be from before 2015, gift hunting feels more like a treasure quest than a holiday tradition. This year, though, we’re preparing for something different. The greatest gift we could…
When My son Isaac was born, it was just before Christmas. We spent that year just staring at this perfect baby that was all ours, envisioning the Christmas days we had to come, the visits to Santa, and the traditions we would make as a family together. That was before we knew how hard Christmas would be for our boy—before we knew that what we thought he wanted was not actually what he needed. It was before we knew that wrapped presents made him feel uneasy, that moving the room…
When my son’s autism was discovered twelve years ago, I wasn’t ready to think about the future. Nope. I focused solely on the present and helping him. And it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t like help just rolled in. I learned quickly there is no prescription for autism. Instead, it was trial and error. And a whole lot of advocating (fighting) for services and supports. But hard work paid off. And he was worth every bit of the hard. When he turned 8, I was ready to dip my toe into…
