Autism
Autism and Anxiety
I have the most amazing son. He is 9-years-old. Almost double digits. He loves dancing and holding hands and Steve Harvey. He loves climbing in my bed at 1 am and carrying around 17 sheets of paper, all different colors of course. He smells like the wind. And he can find mud anywhere. He has autism. He is autistic. It is part of him like his blonde hair and ruddy eyes. He was nonverbal until he was 8-years-old. Today, he has 15 or so words. They come and go. He…
Read MoreCaptain’s Log: Day 5, Social Distancing
There are no rules during Corona. It seems we have entered into a reality where time doesn’t matter. Like a Las Vegas casino or the days in between Christmas and New Years Day. Or that movie Groundhog’s Day where every day is the same. Our calendar is wide open until July. Every planned event now with a red line through it. The weekdays are the same as the weekends. We wake up. Drink coffee. Eat breakfast midday. And again an hour later if you are my children. And then ask…
Read MoreCaptain’s Log: Day 4, Social Distancing
Positives: I finished my laundry for the first time in nine years. All of it. Done. We are cleaning our basement and finding amazing treasures and crap. So, that’s great. Struggles: We are all spending entirely too much time together. I feel like I’m not going to know how to socialize after this. Sawyer: ‘Mom, who was your favorite boyfriend besides Dad? Was he better than Dad?’ Me: ? Sawyer: ‘Mom, the baby is in your drawer! You know the one, beside your bed, that I am not allowed to open…
Read MoreWhen The World Isn’t Quite Right
I’m sitting here in my office (hiding), and thinking about how crazy the world is right now. In fact, I keep trying to explain to my children that this has never happened in mommy’s life and it will hopefully never happen again. They don’t seem to understand the severity of it and Sawyer keeps reminding me that last year we had the Polar Vortex and he missed a whole week of school. Which was also awful FYI. We couldn’t leave the house then either because our eyelids would freeze shut…
Read MoreCaptain’s Log: Day 3, Social Distancing
No one seems to be wearing pants anymore. One is in the hot tub at 8:30 am and is starting to resemble a Frat Boy. One is eating chocolate doughnuts. One is carrying a plunger around and hitting anyone who he comes in contact with. The remotes are missing. Every device is on max volume. Which is almost as annoying as my husband screaming, ‘turn it down, for the love of @#$’, every 30 seconds. The three little ones are always hungry. Always. But seem to hate every food I offer…
Read MoreMy 10 Novel, and Not So Novel, Tips for SUCCESSFUL Self Distancing (survival)
LOCK UP THE PANTRY: Yup, you read that right. If your children are anything like mine, they are always hungry. And on chaotic days with no real rhyme or reason, they tend to be even hungrier. I will find little hoard piles of food throughout my house and wrappers hidden in couch cushions. It makes me crazy. Remove the impulse and lock the food up unless it’s meal time. GET OUTSIDE: Go for a walk. Hunt for rocks or leaves. Set up a trampoline or a water table. Go for a…
Read MoreIs My Son Happy?
‘Everyone has a different idea of what happiness looks like.’ Is my son happy? I think about that a lot. As do many parents of children who struggle to communicate. Who can’t show us. For a lot of years I honestly didn’t know the answer to that question. At age five my son didn’t laugh or smile much. He didn’t enjoy leaving our house. At home, he isolated himself a lot. He didn’t play or interact really. He was full of anxiety, only we didn’t know because anytime we asked…
Read MoreSocial Distancing With Autism
I’m getting a tiny chuckle (with love of course) at the people panicking about social distancing. We have been social distancing for nine years. Not by choice of course. No one told us we had to do it. It more happened out of necessity. Because of autism. When someone in your family doesn’t understand the world we live in and the world doesn’t understand him or her in return…well, you stay home more often than not. Because home is safe. You learn to social isolate real fast. See, my sweet…
Read MoreFrom Non-Verbal to Verbal
I decided to take a much needed nap yesterday while my baby slept. You know that old saying…sleep when the baby sleeps? I was practicing that. For the first time in ages. Because my baby, well, he is giving me a run for my money in the sleep department. I thought my older son was a bad sleeper? Ha. The newest Swenson says, ‘watch this.’ Anyhow, I slept for two glorious hours. And I woke up to the most beautiful sound. One I had never heard before. One I had only…
Read MoreNever Give Up
It’s funny how life seems to happen. And sometimes in the most bizarre ways. For nine years you social isolate, so much in fact, you almost forget how to socialize. You know you can’t go to Walmart, or candy stores or parks or even walk down the street safely. If there are crowds or lines or loud sounds it ain’t happening. So, you adjust. You figure it out. You learn to live and keep going. Then, suddenly, it seems to get easier. Not overnight. Far from it really. Instead after…
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