Today, I watched my four year old Florence at one of her school performances. As I stood watching her dance and sing – coyly beaming at me every now and then – I felt that old familiar feeling rise. It’s bittersweet. See as I watch my girl perform I cannot help think of my son. Connor is three. He was diagnosed just before his third birthday with ASC. Connor has the type of autism that you cannot miss. You know the loud, in your face and challenging type. Introverted he…
Hey all, here is the update on Cooper’s ear infections, Cat Scan, and most recent request for ‘help’ and a ‘doctor.’ So many of my wonderful followers have been asking for an update and it makes me so happy to know that people care about Cooper. I used to think if I could just get him communicating I’d be able to help him. I was wrong. Now that he communicates we still can’t help him. I’m chasing doctors, demanding tests, advocating, researching, going slightly crazy, all while my kid melts…
Hi friends! Here is a good ole fashioned Super Cooper and Kate update. We haven’t done one in a while! Cooper is healthy, happy, sleeping and working on many different skills in ABA. He’s specifically working on pairing two sounds together! I want people to know that yes, I get caught up in the struggles that go hand-in-hand with parenting. And especially parenting a child with special needs. But, what matters most, is my son’s happiness. And this kid treats every day like it’s the best day of his life.…
My autism “ah-ha” moment came when my youngest son was six years old. He was diagnosed at age four with moderate to severe autism and a global delay. I was recently a single mom of the three boys, with two of them on the autism spectrum. My one son however was high functioning and steadily progressing. That was not the case with my middle son though and it was a very hard pill to swallow. We had many medical professional tells us that we needed to focus on quality of…
To my sons first friend, I’m not sure that you know what you mean to me. I have watched you and my boy, for months now. I have seen the way you tend to him. Not in a, here I’ll help you because you’re special needs…kind of way. But a, you’re my friend and I want to be with you…kind of way. I have seen the way you look at him, and the way he looks at you. I have watched you get him to do things, that others can’t.…
Jamie, I’ve been thinking about when we first got married. How young we were. We were so unbelievably happy. We had a little house. We had jobs we liked. We had so many friends. We had two puppies. We referred to each other as mom and dad when referencing the dogs. We were that couple. But most importantly, we knew exactly who we were. We had identities and hobbies. We weren’t defined by anything that we didn’t want to be defined by. Some days, I swear you would just stare…
Hey all! Many of you ask how I jumped into the advocacy world. How did I start? Well, it’s quite simple. As my autistic son got older I started to see all the things that were wrong with the way people with disabilities were and are treated. It didn’t seem right. It didn’t seem fair. So, I started openly talking about things like Medicaid, inclusion, and disability awareness. I want you to know that when my son was diagnosed with autism I remember specifically thinking…I don’t want to carry the…
Today was, as you call it, a “Mommy Day.” I don’t work on Mondays, so we played and snuggled and went to music class and ate lunch at Panera. Then, we picked up “Col Col” from preschool. You burst into the classroom, thrilled to see your big brother, and he proudly announced “This is my friend, Grace!” You two giggled and ran around, and didn’t listen to Mommy, and giggled some more. I love seeing you two together (even when you’re being a little naughty) because I didn’t know if…
A few weeks ago I found myself at an event with lots of adults and kids. But not just any kids. Seven year old kids. Specifically, seven year old boys. Boys that are the exact same age as my son. My son’s peers. I should have felt right at home. I am a mom. I know boys. My son is seven. Except, I felt like these boys and their moms were speaking another language. I don’t know anything about seven year old boys. Not really. My son may be seven.…
When my son was diagnosed with autism at age three I was flooded with emotions and questions. I wanted to know what our future looked like. I wanted to know if my son would ever be potty trained, speak, live on his own. The list goes on and on. I felt like our future had been changed in an instant. For years I would ask therapists and teachers question after question. I’d ask if they thought he would ever talk. Some would say yes. Some would so no. Some would…
