Posts Tagged ‘autism blog’
Autism Saved My Son’s Life
I first met my son when he was 11. It was in a group session I had been invited to as a teacher because I would be getting the kids the following year. It was a chance to meet everyone and for the group to get to know me. I was immediately drawn to one student because he certainly had a lot to say! I quickly learned that he was in foster care and that he had a twin brother who was also in group with us. One talked, one…
Read MoreThe Skills We Have
When you were about six, we had a party at our house. By this point, you talked pretty well. You were still behind other kids your age, but you could get your point across for the most part and ask for juice and tell us which DVD you wanted to watch. Jack-a-boo, language has always been hard for you. You didn’t say a word until you were well past three. Sentences were slow to come. Even now, as a teenager, you hesitate for a few beats when someone asks you…
Read MoreMom, What Happens When You Are Gone?
My daughter Isla is 11 years old and has a unique subset of autism that has broken me and put me back together in ways I never could have dreamed. You always assume you will have so much to teach your children and then God giggles a little bit and sends you your greatest teacher in the form of a 7lb 14oz bundle of curls who will eventually be diagnosed with something that is forever. Interestingly enough I have recently been reflecting on the lessons that motherhood has taught me…
Read MoreThe Spiral Staircase
Questions filled my mind and I was unable to hear what the doctor was saying. I was sitting in her office listening to all she had to say about my three boys. The journey started what seemed like ages ago. I had been fighting to get to this very moment, but I wasn’t expecting this. It all started in 2017 with our youngest son Sawyer. We finally got a Pediatrician to listen to us and hear our concerns. We had no idea where the first referral would lead us. The…
Read MoreHope, Grief, and Grace
My son Jack was diagnosed with autism when he was eighteen months old. It was a cold, gray afternoon in November. He was wearing a blue jacket. He’s fifteen now. A lot has happened since that day in November. I had three more kids and Jack learned to talk and then he learned how to pick the locks and run out the front door. I chased him like my life depended on it, because it did. Finally, we taught him how to hold our hand in the parking lot and…
Read MoreThe Little Brother with the Old Soul
Today is Sawyer’s seventh birthday. Which is a really big deal. But honestly, what he said to me this afternoon makes it even more special. We had arrived at Cooper’s school to pick him up for the day. It was Jamie, Sawyer, the baby and I. Cooper came running out. All excited. His therapist said we have something to say to Sawyer. Cooper was jumping up and down and clumsily pushed a button on his speech device. ‘Happy Birthday!’ the automated voice said. Then he giggled and clapped. ‘Thanks buddy’…
Read MoreDear Mom, I Turned Out Okay
Dear Mom, I know raising my brother, who has a disability, takes a toll on you in more ways than one could imagine. Being your child without the disability, I know you struggled with if you were doing right by me. If your time devoted to my brother, affected me in a way that judged you as an inadequate mother. How do I know you struggled with these roller coaster of emotions? How do I know it was hard for you to manage being both my brother’s caretaker and a…
Read MoreHow We Show Love In Our House
Cooper has always communicated by touching faces. I like to believe it’s a nonverbal thing. And a Cooper thing. In my mind it’s a way to feel someone’s emotions when it’s hard to understand the words. Or facial expressions. It’s a way to say ‘I love you’ or ‘I am mad’ when the words can’t come out. It’s a way to get someone’s attention too. If Cooper really likes you, he will touch your face. This morning, and every single morning for the last six years, he has woke me…
Read MoreHe Never Gave Up On Me
I have a son. Three actually. They are all very different. My oldest is 9 years old. His name is Cooper. He was Cooper from the second I found out I was pregnant. There was no other name. Although we don’t really call him that anymore. We call him Snoopy. And Snoops. And Snoopy Joy. And sometimes even ‘turn it down.’ He is the most complicated, easiest, and interesting person I know. He doesn’t say much. But yet never, ever stops making noise. He moves really fast sometimes. And other…
Read MoreWhat Got Me Through As A Mother
If I could go back in time to the day before my oldest son Conor was born I would in an instant. I would give myself the biggest hug and tell me it would all be alright, that it was going to be an incredibly painful few years ahead, that I would spend nights bawling my eyes out with worry, stress and loneliness but in the end it would be alright. I would tell me that I would stand at the water’s edge one night, ready to jump in, to…
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