Guest Post
To the Parts of You I Haven’t Met Yet
You were a gift from the moment the little blue + sign appeared to my young 20-year-old self. You were a literal dream come true. I dreamed of the person you’d be, the memories I’d make with you, what your hobbies would be, your little personality, the sweet voice you would have, and every single little part of being your Mommy. I never imagined it being difficult, because my love for you was already so strong. I was excited to endure everything that I would have to for you and…
Read MoreWe’re Having Fun and We’re Doing It Together
Hear me out… This phrase is our family’s unofficial motto. When you live with severe autism you work so hard every day to make even incremental progress. When you’re at the end of your short rope and sweating from the preparation and execution of the simplest task to enjoy a teensy slice of normal, you can hardly believe it all came together for one shining moment. An autism diagnosis is like having the wind knocked out of you. You know you’re likely to take a deep breath again, but when?…
Read MoreSon, My Promise to You
Hey there, kiddo. It’s me, your mom. Today you turn nine. Nine. In some ways, it seems like just yesterday I was sitting at our family’s summer camp with a positive pregnancy test in my hand. So excited, waiting to call your Dad to tell him the good news. Wondering, when I could tell your Grandma and Grandpa they were going to become first-time Grandparents. And, to be honest, worrying and hoping that that vacation margarita wasn’t going to be a problem. In other ways, it feels like these past…
Read MoreLiving in the Present as an Autism Mom
“Is he going to be like this forever?” My seven-year-old niece was quiet and hesitant with her inquiry. Her mom and dad have talked to her about my son’s autism and I was thrilled when they told me that she had some questions for me. I love spreading autism awareness. I especially love talking about my sweet boy and all of the unique, wonderful and challenging pieces that come together to make him so very special. I could barely contain my excitement that someone so young was taking an interest…
Read MoreBecause She is Mine…A Father’s Autism Story
I will never be nominated for “Father of the Year” by any autism association. In fact, by most measures, I am completely inadequate as a father for the special needs my daughter, Lizzie, requires. Patience, understanding and sympathy are not my strong suit. I often come home from work tired and sometimes a little irritable. I worry about the money we have spent on therapy over the last several years. I worry that the decisions of which therapies to use are the right ones. And I worry way too much…
Read MoreSkeletons in my Closet
I am so much older and so much wiser these days. And yes, so much more thin and worn out than when our eighteen year old daughter Jazz was given that autism diagnosis at age three. In those early days, I swallowed every book, watched every documentary, attended every autism-related conference in order to get a handle on this thing life had thrown my way. I was puzzled by the old moms I encountered and their silence. As a newbie to autism, I was naïve perhaps as to what changes…
Read MoreI Should have Known
As a parent of a child with autism, or in my case two children, I’m sure most of us have had plenty of hard moments. This was my very first hard moment, and also the hardest one. I’m a mom of twin girls born in June of 2014. Let’s call them L and T. They were born 11 weeks early and we stayed in the NICU for six weeks. Dramatic yes, but we had a good outcome. No damage on any organs, scans looked good and so on. I was…
Read MoreThank you Mom for Everything
I am the blessed mommy of twelve year old twin boys. Noah has severe, non-verbal autism and epilepsy. Owen is absolutely typical. When you have a child with autism, life is anything but ordinary. Today I’d like to take a moment to honor and THANK one of Noah’s champions and favorite people in the entire universe, his Grandma (my mom) Cindy. Cindy has been an integral part of Noah’s life since day one. She gladly accepted the role of caring for our boys when I returned to work after six…
Read MoreIt Will Be Okay
Today I watched my almost three year old run into the street in front of a car. It wasn’t how I planned. It wasn’t what I THOUGHT was going to happen. But it happened. I will literally never forget that moment, for as long as I live. Deep into a meltdown, he ran. I’m grateful to the driver who was (luckily) paying attention and spared my sons life. Backtrack- Dylan was diagnosed at 2 years and 3 months, which was 10 months ago. He’ll be 3 in February. We knew…
Read MoreYou Were Always Special
“Hi Mrs. France, we wanted to call and let you know that everything was fine with Jack’s X-rays. There are absolutely no abnormalities.” As your mother, you would think this would have been a phone call that I was elated to receive. Instead, I hung up in tears. It’s not that I want anything to be wrong with you, my sweet boy. I was just hoping that what was going on was something that could be “easily fixed.” I thought that maybe you just couldn’t hear the world around you…
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