Tough parenting
Autism and Age
Have you stopped thinking of your Autistic child as a certain age? I think I sorta have. While Cooper is six…cognitively, socially, behaviorally, emotionally, he is all over the board. He ranges from six months to probably four years old. Yes, he wears 6T clothes. And yes, he was born in 2010. On paper he is six years old. But in my mind, he is almost his own unique age. And, I don’t think it even is a number. In my world…age and autism don’t correlate. Having a disabled child…
Read MoreFacing a Weekend Alone with Autism
I like to give insight into my world because I think it’s really eye opening. I heard a quote once that an Autism Parent is prepared for war at all times. I think that is true. As a mom to an Autistic six year old and incredibly active four year old, I know our limits. Cooper’s daddy is going on a fishing trip this weekend and I’m flying solo with the boys. This means no going to grocery stores, no drive thru’s, no gas stations, or parks and I have…
Read MoreLeaving The House With An Autistic Child
I want to talk about leaving the house with my severely Autistic, six year old son. I think there are misconceptions about why we choose too and not too bring him places. I’ve been accused of hiding my son. Of being embarrassed of his behavior. I’ve been accused of letting the bullies win. On the other side, I’ve been praised for continuing to try and bring my super challenging son to stores. Everyone has an opinion. Measures of Success Last night we had a really tough outing. And if I’m…
Read MoreWhen Does Parenting An Autistic Child Get Easier?
Have you ever wondered that? I used to all the time. I would be at a particularly low point in our Autism journey and I would ask that question to my mom or a friend or a doctor. And no one would tell me the truth. I just needed to hear if it was going to get easier or get harder. I needed an honest answer. The problem was I was asking the wrong people. I’m not surprised I get asked this question every day by parents of newly diagnosed…
Read More9 Big Mistakes Parents of Autistic Kids Can Avoid
I often think of my son’s autism as a journey. A journey with many, many steep mountains. And holes and cliffs. And of course it’s slippery. The hills have jagged rocks and most of the time I feel like I am hanging on for dear life. There is no safety harness or map. I typically don’t know if I am even going in the right direction. And perhaps at times I am going backwards. It’s just me against this damn mountain. And it feels like there is more bad weather…
Read MoreThe Hitting Has Begun
I have been blogging about Cooper for a few years now. Since the beginning I’ve received more emails than I can count from autism parents who have teenagers. The emails always start the same way. They say they have a teenager who was just like Cooper. And they tell me about the diagnosis and the process and the where they are currently in the journey. And then they go onto tell me that their daughter or son started hitting and kicking and exhibiting really aggressive behaviors. I’ve read enough of…
Read MoreCooper Has The Kind Of Autism No One Talks About
I stumbled across a post today on Facebook titled, ‘My Son Has The Kind Of Autism No One Talks About-Term Life’. “Because for every boy with autism who manages his high school basketball team, there are 20 boys with autism who smear feces. And for every girl with autism who gets to be on the homecoming court, there are 30 girls with autism who pull out their hair and bite their arms until they bleed. And for every boy with autism who gets to go the prom, there are 50…
Read MoreI See You…Perfect For Today
I am so glad I saw this today. On the way to work this morning I was thinking about how hard it is to raise babies. It’s exhausting and challenging and tiring and wonderful and amazing. For any of you that know me you probably saw on Facebook that Sawyer put sand in my lawn mower gas tank last night. And then stripped down naked and ran around my front yard destroying plants. As I chased him around my yard screaming I had a silent chuckle at the neighbors watching…
Read MoreLearning to Say Yes…
I know I’ve been gone forever. I go through these droughts where I don’t know what to say about Cooper. Trust me I have hundreds of things I could write about but the words don’t seem to flow out. Maybe I am too tired. Or overwhelmed. I don’t really have an answer. We are still having major potty training struggles and successes. Cooper is pee trained but his pooping is worse than ever. We have made the decision to keep Cooper at Fraser day treatment for one more year. So…
Read MoreAutism and Changing Behaviors
I recently read a study that found moms that have children with autism, have also been shown to have stress levels similar to combat soldiers. I have felt this for years but I could never admit it. If I admitted that I couldn’t handle Cooper than I was admitting he was severely autistic. Admitting meant defeat. Or failure. There are a lot of emotions that go into asking for help. I am strong. Seriously. This blog is the ONLY place I break down. Not in real life. Not to friends.…
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