Posts Tagged ‘ASD’
Mamas who are in the Grief Stage; it is okay
Why would you feel grief over autism? Your child is alive. They are healthy, even happy most of the time. It could be so much worse they say. I have said those words to myself as well as had others say them to me. It does little to bring you comfort in the darkest corner of your mind. All it really does is make you feel guilty and believe me we feel an insurmountable amount of guilt already. The guilt can be even worse than the grief. I could tell you…
Read MoreI Wanted to Tell Her It Would Be Okay
It was a warm sunny day in the middle of June. We were, and still are in the midst of a pandemic. We live in southwest Florida so the June days can become unbearable at times. I was almost 7 months pregnant with a very crazy 1-year old little girl. My husband and I decided to take her to the pool to cool off and have her burn off some of her energy. We live in a little community, filled predominantly with retirees. We are one of a few families…
Read MoreAge is Literally Just a Number
Today I find myself decluttering. It usually makes me feel quite a bit better…when I’m in one of those random funks. But if nothing else, today’s chore left me feeling more gloomy than anything. I first tackled the hall closets, our makeshift office in the spare bedroom, and then turned my attention to Beckett’s room. Truth be told, there isn’t much going on in our son’s room..to declutter, or otherwise. Of course, he has a sturdy, nice bed, complete with ladder and slide. There are various decorative pieces on his…
Read MoreCan You Feel My Vibe?
My son, who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), was also diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). As part of his profile, he has a heightened sensitivity to light, sound and the energy of his environment. To navigate loud places, or areas that have unexpected sounds, has been challenging. We found bright lights could be over stimulating, making movie theatres, fairs and arcades unpredictable. He would become so revved up, literally bouncing from one thing to another, and his impulse control was non-existent. He also became disregulated by itchy…
Read MoreI am a Forever Mother
All five of my kids have really peculiar teeth. Which is kind of ironic, seeing as my husband is a dentist. Missing laterals, crowding, odd bite patterns—we’ve got it all. My son Jack has what is called a class three underbite, which means his lower jaw comes out much further than it should. He’ll probably need to have a lot of teeth pulled. And there is a surgery to correct the whole thing. It is big and long and complicated, with a very difficult recovery. We could never put him…
Read MoreIt Feels Like the Walls are Closing In
Does anyone else feel like they are standing in a room screaming at the top of their lungs but no one is listening. Or cares. Because I do. Distance learning is really hard. Trying to work with three kids and a husband is really hard. Never being alone is hard. Self care is hard. Motivation is hard. Trying to be happy all the time is hard. Trying to stay busy without leaving the house is hard. Finding Christmas cheer is hard. When everything shut down in March for us I…
Read MoreA War With Hope
My son Cooper has taught me so much about timing over the years. And how we don’t have a set time limit to accomplish things. When he was diagnosed we heard a lot of things. We heard game over. We heard prepare for the worst. We heard he would never talk, or make a friend or ride a bike. We were told he would never live independently or have any type of self care. After kindergarten we were told he would never be able to attend a public school. And…
Read MoreThe Special Needs Sibling Shield
Today we ventured to Walmart for a few things. Eggs. Milk. Nerf gun bullets. And 2 pieces of paper. The essentials. Obviously. Outings as a family are still relatively new for us. And while they are far from perfect, they are real. See, we have a kid who is just learning about waiting and buying and walking and all the parts of the world. While our son Cooper is making amazing progress at stores and by amazing I mean huge leaps and bounds…so much of it is still hard for…
Read MoreWhy We Push
It was only an hour and a half into the first day of my son’s school-sponsored summer enrichment program when my phone began to ring. It was supposed to be math camp – my 6 year old’s first love. Not enough kids signed up so they went with our third choice, farm camp. He does not dig farming so much, but I had viewed it as a chance to be around typical kids in a safe and fun environment.I had no expectations that he would grow even remotely in his…
Read MoreFind Your Tribe
A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about exactly what to do after you have learned of your child’s diagnosis, you can find that post here. It’s a bit overwhelming and once you pull yourself out from behind the curtain of sleep deprivation and emotional exhaustion, you need to do something very important. Find Your Tribe. At first, your friends and family will be there. Emphatically. Supporting you. Hanging on your every word and asking how they can be there for you. You may have friends that will want to…
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