Posts Tagged ‘autism blog’
To the Parents who are Nothing Special
To the delightfully ordinary parents. I see you. To the parents who are nothing special. The ones who are just your typical moms and dads. Not superheroes. Not saints. I see you. To the parents who don’t know why they were chosen to have babies with special needs. The ones who agonize over the whys more times than they can count. I see you. To the ones who don’t understand why people say God gives special kids to special people. Because while you know your kid is amazing…sometimes you feel…
Read MoreThanking the Special Fathers
I know the diagnosis was a lot for you to handle at first. I remember you not showing any emotion. I kept wondering how you felt? Did it bother you? Do you accept it? I know at first it made you really sad. Every father’s dream is to have a son. You wanted him to take your passion in football as well. The interest in sports. Helping him at his T-Ball games. Talk about girls. The list goes on. I know that hurt a lot. I know this has been…
Read MoreAm I the Big Brother Mama?
I asked you to watch your brother for a second while I made lunches. Which you gladly agreed too. The first thing you ask for when you come downstairs in the morning or in from outside is your baby brother. I heard you talking to him, like you always do. So sweet. You were telling him all about BeyBlades. And how cool there are. You were hugging him on the couch. Holding him so he wouldn’t fall. Every few seconds you would squish the whoopie cushion. Harbor would laugh hysterically.…
Read MoreSeeing the Delays in Writing
Jamie and I just came from Cooper’s Treatment Plan meeting. We do these quarterly. It feels like monthly sometimes. Today, we discussed his standard diagnostic assessments with cognitive testing. Man that is a mouthful. If you live in our world you know about the Vineland, the Behavior Assessment System for Children, the SDQ, The CASII, the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale and the Weshsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability. All of these are black and white standardized tests that are used to tell you that your child is autistic. In our case,…
Read MoreA Letter to my Son, High School Graduate of the Class of 2019
Dear Sean, Congratulations! You did it! My heart is filled with pride and happiness over all you have achieved and the amazing young man that you have become. Reflecting back as I look through old pictures and letters I have saved for you, brings back so many amazing memories I remember how you knew the names of all the Thomas trains and played with them for hours on end. You even took your favorite train to sleep every night! I remember the elaborate hot wheels tracks that you and your…
Read MoreWould you be so Understanding?
I found myself out today in the community with my six year old son and my baby. We were in a group of people. We were quietly sitting. And by quietly I mean Sawyer was bouncing off the walls and the baby was chatting up a storm. Just as kids should be. Busy and happy. It was lovely. The three of us out together. I’m stretched a little thin these days so it’s nice to get time with my kids. I found myself looking around. I found myself missing Cooper.…
Read MoreSeeing Beyond the Label
Honestly, my husband and I went into the autism clinic thinking that we were going to rule out autism for our twins. I went in with our son Aki and my husband went in with our other son Yuri. For Aki, the doctor wanted to wait to see what the IEP said at the school. She wanted to know a little bit more about the social skills before she made a determination. When I got out my husband was still in the office with Yuri. I already knew. Autism spectrum…
Read MoreRollercoaster of Love
When a friend asks me what parenting special needs is like I always try to be honest but I also hold a lot back. I want to share with them so that they can understand but also know that there are things they will never be able to wrap their minds around. Parenting a child with autism is a rollercoaster. A rollercoaster of emotions, of love, of off the wall stuff we don’t share and sometimes a loop de loop. It’s up, it’s down. It throws you in circles and…
Read MoreJust See Him and Say Hello
I’ve learned so many things on this journey of parenting a child with autism. I’ve learned that many people get scared of the word autism. I’ve learned that some people think my son is deaf because he’s nonverbal. Or that he can’t answer questions. I’ve watched people get nervous by flapping or his unique sounds. Or by his silence. I’ve watched people completely ignore him. Or they ask me questions for him. ‘Is he hungry?’ Which I respond with, ‘Let’s ask him.’ These aren’t bad people. They aren’t mean. Usually…
Read MoreBut She Doesn’t Look Like She Has Autism
I hear these words so many times when I relate to someone that Alana is autistic. I’m so glad she can speak; she has no problem with that. She was able to read any book given her by age 6. We never really sounded out letters too much; just what Kindergarten taught her. But one day she magically just started to read and loves it. But there are behavior issues that will wear me down. Anywhere we go, I constantly watch her. I don’t leave her alone. I did take…
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