Posts Tagged ‘Autism Awareness’
Changing the Narrative
The other day I interviewed Joe of Joe James Autistic Awareness & Photography, an autism self advocate and all around cool guy. Each time I chat with him I spend days after reflecting on the wisdom and advice he provides me with. In our most recent interview, at least a dozen time he said, ‘I am autistic and proud.’ And at one point he said, ‘can you imagine if every autistic person said that? How the narrative of disability would change?’ Wow. Think about that for a minute. Right now,…
Read MoreOne Size Fits All
The other day I was scrolling my newsfeed and I came across a picture—a list, really—titled Reality Check. I scanned the points and as usual, my brain went right to autism. I can’t help it. Ever since my son was diagnosed fifteen years ago, I see much of the world through a spectrum lens. Hi. My name is Carrie. I have five kids, and my second son, Jack, is diagnosed with autism. When I was a New Autism Mama, I thought I could just make Jack do the things he…
Read MoreThe Stories We Share
We are just a few weeks away from celebrating the 6th anniversary Henry’s autism diagnosis. We celebrate now, but back then it was a different story. Six years ago, I was nervous and confused. I can admit it now, but I knew nothing about autism before his diagnosis. It’s hard to believe because autism is now my life and my work. But yes, at that point, I knew nothing more about it besides a few characters in TV and movies. Henry had a lot of the textbook signs back then:…
Read More“You Need To Calm Down”
Yesterday I decided we needed to get out for one last summer weekend…take a chance with masks, and take a chance with the world. Going out is never simple. Johnny’s mood, my mood, his little sister’s mood, are all factors. For Johnny it’s the hardest, he finds the world difficult. It’s uncomfortable and unpredictable. We went to an outdoor mall that has a farmers market in the summer. As always, there were ups and downs but it was good. We bought veggies and treats. We wandered and spent time together.…
Read MoreMy Dream for a Better Tomorrow
I dream of a world where Autistic is put in the special skills and strengths section of a CV and not the medical section. The knowledge should already exist that we have additional needs, we shouldn’t have to specify it on a form as a disability or disorder. Here is why the word Autistic should be respected, admired and in some cases envied. I cannot emphasize enough how much autistic people have shaped this world and provided global changing technology, medicine, knowledge, understanding of the unknown, detailed analysis of countless…
Read MoreIt Could Be Him
When the lovely Kate from Finding Cooper’s Voice asked me if I would write about current events every now and again for her page, I thought, sure! Why not? I figured I’d glance across social media every once in a while and find stories about kids with autism. Maybe some of them would be heartwarming, or inspiring, or even a little bit sad. Maybe I’d touch upon discrimination, and heartache. But I’d keep it light, and bright, and motivational. Yet week after week, I read articles that affect me deeply—reports…
Read MoreI Forgot About Autism
Hey autism. We forgot about you for a minute. Here we were just living life. Going about our days like “normal” people. Til’ this morning. I had a need for a good coffee and the girls wanted a milkshake so because things have been so “zen” around here, my silly guard was down and we went to the dome. As if we could just do the”get in the car” and “go sit in a restaurant” thing. I forgot. We got out of the car and immediately Rory bolted. I ran…
Read MoreIf He Get’s Sick
Here in New Hampshire, we are on day 6,382,091 of quarantine. Okay, okay. I’m exaggerating. Its only day 5,847,235 of quarantine. Either way, it’s been a long time. Hi. My name is Carrie. I have five kids. I live in New Hampshire. Our state has been under a shelter-in-place since March 13th. We are tired of it. We are tired of ourselves, and our house, and our yard. We are tired of walking around the neighborhood. Our dog, Wolfie, is especially tired of walking around the neighborhood. He runs to…
Read MoreThe Year of Acceptance
I was headed to get my son Jd his favorite food at the food stop next door when I heard the older boy’s voice. It caught me off guard. I saw his dad next to him, paying for the delicious hotdog on a stick. This was our second time attempting to eat outside of our box as a family, since our son’s ear tubes were placed. Before his surgery this outing wasn’t even thinkable let alone doable. I vowed to myself that if Jd was actually able to hear that…
Read MoreThe Truth About Autism
Autism. You may have heard that word a few times before; although it may not mean that much to you. It probably doesn’t stop you in your tracks when you hear it. It probably doesn’t make your heart drop to your stomach when someone is talking about it. It probably doesn’t relate to you in anyway at all. But to me, it is such a heavy word. It’s a word I will have to carry around on my shoulders for the rest of my life. You see, I have two…
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