Today can be one of those days that can cause parents of children with special needs to take pause. To lose their breath for a second. To take notice of differences. To feel slighted. To wish it could be easier. To give up for a second. To skip it all. Halloween. For me, in those early years post diagnosis, I took comfort living in our own comfortable bubble. But days like Halloween, pulled us out. And pushed us away at the same time. We were not like the other families.…
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Dear high school seniors, I want to talk to you about a group of individuals I wasn’t thinking about at your age. A group of individuals like my son, who need compassionate, patient individuals, just like you, who make a huge difference in their life and the lives of their caregivers like me. Choosing to work with individuals with disabilities wasn’t discussed at any career day, on any career assessment paper tool, or the college programs I was looking at….. but I wish they were. On a daily basis people…
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When it comes to Halloween and autism….whew, there is a lot of advice out there. And have you noticed a lot of it is really intense? Like almost intimidating. A lot of it makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong as a parent. Blue buckets. Signs. Saying trick-or-treat. Everyone should get candy. Do this. Not that. What I find the most interesting about all the preachy advice is that the ones giving it aren’t walking with our family on Halloween. They don’t know what works for us and what…
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See these two boys? They are brothers. One is 12 and the other is 10. They both have birthdays coming up and at least once a day I hear… ‘First Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Cooper’s birthday and then mine!’ This family loves their birthdays. This photo may look like no big deal and when I snapped it, as the little brother walked his older brother into his first day of school this year, I remember pausing and thinking…this is it. This is what I prayed for. Every day. While driving.…
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A while ago a newspaper article showed up in my Facebook newsfeed about a petition to ban drive thrus in a neighboring city. It had thousands of comments. And hearts. And angry faces. I was so confused. How could anyone feel that strongly one way or another about drive thrus. What did they ever do to anybody? Well, after reading through countless comments it became clear. Food places that have drive thrus appeal to lower income people. Therefore, bringing down the cities appearance and value. Which was news to me.…
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How I Became the Strong Woman, I Am Today My name is Jennie Logan. I am twenty-five years old and on the autism spectrum, and I was diagnosed when I was thirteen years old. My mom knew I had Autism as early as I was six months old. I didn’t like to be held by anyone but her. I didn’t like much love or affection, and she would lay me on the floor and notice me happiest when I was stimming off the TV, not being touched. I would often throw…
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To not always believe what the professionals told me. That no one has a crystal ball about his future. That what I am feeling is grief. And grief is love. To let go of the guilt. To focus on self-care earlier. And my marriage. To make finding peace a priority. To not judge my beginnings so harshly. To focus on the good more, even when it is hardest to find. To stand up for myself sooner. To realize that the child I have right now is not the child I…
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I think that social media has led us to believe that a lot of families are perfect. I know I follow a few pages that make me feel that way. And sometimes it hurts me heart. My family isn’t perfect. We aren’t even close. We are loud and messy and probably even a little bit annoying. (I say that with the love of a mother.) There are six of us. Two adults. Four little people. And we smile and pose for a photo that will be shared on Facebook. Often…
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When my second son Sawyer was three he asked me if we could go to a fair. I of course said…’yes, but we have to wait until summer.’ Per the usual he said to me…’can my brother Cooper go?’ I told him no. His face immediately fell. ‘Cooper can’t go with us, buddy.’ I went onto explain how the fair will be too scary for him. ‘Too many sounds and people for Cooper.’ He thought about that for a minute and then looked up at me and said….’is that because…
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Today I went on a walk with my son. That sounds like such an ordinary thing to do. However, to me it was really special. My son is 18 years old. He is busy with all the things that teenager’s do. Getting him to stop long enough to utter more than a few words to me is rare. My youngest child had just left on the bus for school. It was beautiful overcast morning temperature in the low 70s. I decided instead of my normal five mile walk that I…
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