Thank You to the Waitress Who Understood Inclusion

We tried a thing today. It was one of our spur of the moment ideas. My autistic son, Xavier, had gotten up at four again, and to be honest, after we dropped off his younger brother at school, we were all hungry and in need of a caffeine fix. Xavier’s Occupational Therapy appointment had been canceled due to a training his therapist was attending, so we had over an hour to kill. There is a diner that my husband and I both love, and hadn’t been to in a couple…

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I Don’t Have Children, I Have Penguins

Last year, I felt more worried than usual that our program numbers were going to drop. I’m a choreographer for a theatre program for kids with disabilities who are partnered by peer mentors, a unique program called the Penguin Project. We’d been running our Penguin chapter for 4 years, and I knew the day would come when Artists and Mentors who had been with us from the beginning would start to move on, to jobs or high school activities or dance or sports. I was preparing myself for it. Seeking…

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Thanking Those that Brought us Answers

Imagine not being able to express every day needs and wants. Behavioral issues become a concern because the child is feeling frustrated. The parents are equally frustrated and concerned as to why their child is unable to express their wants and needs that are appropriate for their age. This scenario was what my daughter, myself, and my husband experienced. At 18 months old our daughter was referred to Early On Intervention. After being evaluated a speech therapist diagnosed Haley with Expressive and Receptive Language Disorder. As time went on, we…

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Thank You to my Son’s Best Friend

I would like to recognize my son’s aide and our respite care provider, Hunter. Hunter is a college student who we first hired in the summer of 2017 to spend time with my son, Nathaniel, and give him some variety to his day.  My son Nathaniel is 9 years old with moderate Autism. He is very smart, but struggles with social communication, following directions, and getting along with others. I was having trouble finding summer activities that Nathaniel could do independently. It is difficult to take Nathaniel to unfamiliar places.…

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I’m Thankful for You: My Son’s ASL Tutor

“Heather, if sign language isn’t working for Milo, I don’t care. I’ll teach him something else. I just want him to learn how to communicate.” I looked at my son’s sign language tutor, Hannah, whose eyes were glistening with tears as we watched my six-year-old nonverbal son press his stomach onto the swing in our living room. Anyone who knows Hannah knows her passion for sign language. We’d hired her to teach our nonverbal autistic son how to sign, but he wasn’t getting it. He was defaulting to signing “more”…

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The Friend who is My Son’s World

I am honoring and so incredibly thankful for my best friend Regina. In 2014 we were pregnant at the same time. Our kids would be five months apart. We would do everything together and we were going to make sure that our kids did everything together. That was until things changed. I started to see the differences in our kids as they got older. I ignored it. I was overreacting. Everyone says boys develop slower anyways. “I have nothing to worry about” I would tell myself. I remember at his…

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Thankful for the Grandmothers in my Life

I would like to honor my mom and mother-in-law this November. I’m thankful for everything they’ve done for my family in the past three years. I have three kids with special needs and they both have been there since the beginning. They’re our biggest support system. My first son Nicholas was recently diagnosed with Autism. He’s 3.5 years old, non-verbal, has global developmental delay, and sensory processing disorder, among other things. Daniel, my second son, is 2 years old and was born with an association that affects many body systems,…

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Thankful for my Son’s Second Family

Have you ever prayed so hard for something and when God answers your prayer it is the opposite of what you expected. Then when you look back it was the biggest blessing that you ever experienced? I remember the day so clearly. It was a beautiful Friday in August. We were on our way to Green Bay to celebrate Chad’s nephew’s birthday. As our car was pulling out of the driveway, my phone rang. It was Katie, one of the supervisors at WEAP. She was calling to say that they…

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My Daughter, I am Thankful for You

My seven year old daughter, Emmy, sat down next to me this evening and asked me what I am most thankful for this year. She told me ‘Don’t just say family, really think about it. Be specific.’ Without any hesitation…I said ‘You. I am most thankful for you.’ She looked puzzled. Offended mostly. ‘How could you say you’re most thankful for me?! What about Dawson?! Are you not thankful for Dawson too?’ I smiled, and I hugged her tight. Emmy is always thinking about her little brother. Putting his wants…

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Five Reasons Why I’m Thankful for Autism

Most day I could probably write a longer grocery list of why autism is so hard on us and Zachary, my nonverbal child.  If you could make the best life for your child, you would. No questions ask. If I could ease his troubles and anxiety, I would in a heartbeat. Autism has significantly changed my life and perspectives on things. I had thought I was a grateful person beforehand, and maybe I was, but looking back it seems far more shallow. Here is my  “grocery list” of 5 reasons…

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