Posts Tagged ‘ASD’
Silence
Early this morning, I took my middle son, one of the twins who is Autistic, with me to run some errands. I did my usual commute to town which is about thirty minutes away. I went through the drive thru and grabbed an iced coffee, went to our pharmacy for medications and then I grabbed some breakfast. As I was in the last drive thru for the morning (which was crazy long), I started to ponder to myself… Wow it’s so quiet in this car. I thought back from home,…
Read MoreI Hear You, I See You, You Are Strong
I hear you. I see you. During the pandemic my son with Autism has really regressed. Oppositional Defiance Disorder has come to live in our home and it in itself, can break you down. From the second my feet hit the floor I am on high alert every second of the day. I don’t shower without another adult to watch him, I can’t use the restroom unless he is with me and you NEVER turn your back. I did that for three seconds last week and it ended in a…
Read MoreBig Changes
Things have a way of changing rapidly in our world. Today, this amazing kid started school. The same school as his brother. He is in 4th grade. I never thought this would happen but we got a little nudge from the universe. And it turned out to be a good one. I cried. His dad cheered. His brother was so excited. And he was too. He dressed himself, put on his own backpack, let me gel his hair, negotiated how many treasures he could bring to school, and made his…
Read MoreOur Secret World
Happy Sunday from this kid. We’ve had an interesting day. He asked me for a train guide from 2007. I told him I’d do my best but reminded him that he was most likely setting me up for failure. He asks me for the most obscure things. He had faith in me though. I know because he asked me well over 100 times. He also asked me to go shopping. And for amazon. And paper. And Target. When the Amazon van drove by I knew we were in trouble. I…
Read MoreThis Kid is a Keeper
Someone once said to me…’siblings to children with disabilities are not special. And they shouldn’t be treated as such.’ I’ll tell you this…in all my years of sharing on social media, very few statements have bothered me as much as that one. I adamantly disagree. This kid. His life is different. Not bad by any means. Wonderful if you ask me. But it’s different than most of his peers. He sees and hears and experiences things most people never will. And we choose to call that a blessing. We work…
Read MoreA Perfect World For My Son
I think a lot about the things that make this kid happy. And bring him joy. Because for a lot of years, the list was pretty small. It’s gotten bigger though, thankfully. If I was to build a world for him, one that was entirely for him…what would it look like? Well, it would be full of color. Bright reds and blues and yellows. Our clothes would all be bright too. Our houses and the objects inside as well. Music would always be playing. Happy, fun, LOUD music. We would…
Read More“Looks Like You Had A Great Time”
Today our family went for a boat ride. When we finally docked after being on the water for a few hours, a sweet older gentleman walked by, saw our three adorable kids and said…’looks like you had a great time?!’ Jamie and I both looked at him and said unanimously…’oh no! It was awful.’ But we said it with a smile and a laugh and the man couldn’t help but laugh with us. See, it was 57 degrees, windy, cloudy and cold. I had thought it would be a beautiful…
Read MoreBeautiful Butterfly
Dear Hunter, I know we’ve never met, but I read about your mama. I felt very sad inside, like something was spinning and turning. First thing I want to say is your mama, she loved you. That is the most important thing to keep in your mind and your heart during the hard days ahead. She fought for you, and learned from you. See, even though you are only six, you are a great teacher. Most people with autism are, you know. Six is a good age. Six is when…
Read MoreTo Any Special Needs Parent Who’s Having One Of Those Days
Dear Special Needs Parent, I know some days are tough. You are beaten down. Your child is having a meltdown. Your teenager is having challenges at school and your young adult is desperately trying to be placed in a job or find somewhere to live. No matter what the obstacle is, we’ve all been there, special need parent or not. We want to run away at times because we wonder to ourselves “Will it get better? CAN it get better?” Your son can’t be bathed because of the texture of…
Read MoreI Hope They’re Nice
I’m a fairly laid back mom. I roll with a situation because if there is one thing I’ve learned in my almost seven year parenting journey is that NOTHING will go as planned. If it does, I usually listen extra carefully because I’m sure the apocalypse or Jesus are coming. One thing that special needs parenting in particular has taught me is that you need to have a plan months in advanced and while making that plan you should probably make plans B-Z because there’s a chance that what ends…
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