Posts Tagged ‘autism blog’
We’re Having Fun and We’re Doing It Together
Hear me out… This phrase is our family’s unofficial motto. When you live with severe autism you work so hard every day to make even incremental progress. When you’re at the end of your short rope and sweating from the preparation and execution of the simplest task to enjoy a teensy slice of normal, you can hardly believe it all came together for one shining moment. An autism diagnosis is like having the wind knocked out of you. You know you’re likely to take a deep breath again, but when?…
Read MoreSon, My Promise to You
Hey there, kiddo. It’s me, your mom. Today you turn nine. Nine. In some ways, it seems like just yesterday I was sitting at our family’s summer camp with a positive pregnancy test in my hand. So excited, waiting to call your Dad to tell him the good news. Wondering, when I could tell your Grandma and Grandpa they were going to become first-time Grandparents. And, to be honest, worrying and hoping that that vacation margarita wasn’t going to be a problem. In other ways, it feels like these past…
Read MoreLiving in the Present as an Autism Mom
“Is he going to be like this forever?” My seven-year-old niece was quiet and hesitant with her inquiry. Her mom and dad have talked to her about my son’s autism and I was thrilled when they told me that she had some questions for me. I love spreading autism awareness. I especially love talking about my sweet boy and all of the unique, wonderful and challenging pieces that come together to make him so very special. I could barely contain my excitement that someone so young was taking an interest…
Read MoreI Should have Known
As a parent of a child with autism, or in my case two children, I’m sure most of us have had plenty of hard moments. This was my very first hard moment, and also the hardest one. I’m a mom of twin girls born in June of 2014. Let’s call them L and T. They were born 11 weeks early and we stayed in the NICU for six weeks. Dramatic yes, but we had a good outcome. No damage on any organs, scans looked good and so on. I was…
Read MoreIt Will Be Okay
Today I watched my almost three year old run into the street in front of a car. It wasn’t how I planned. It wasn’t what I THOUGHT was going to happen. But it happened. I will literally never forget that moment, for as long as I live. Deep into a meltdown, he ran. I’m grateful to the driver who was (luckily) paying attention and spared my sons life. Backtrack- Dylan was diagnosed at 2 years and 3 months, which was 10 months ago. He’ll be 3 in February. We knew…
Read MoreWhat a Stranger Sees
I saw you walking your dogs. You had arrived at the deserted park the same time we did. Me, Cooper, Sawyer, the baby and Jamie. A family of five. We park, the doors spring open, and immediately Cooper’s squeals of joy fill the quiet, cold air. I smiled at you. You and your two dogs. You are young. Out for a hike. I imagine you don’t have kids yet. You are a dog mom. That used to be me. Now I have three boys. We are so loud. It’s safe…
Read MoreYou Were Always Special
“Hi Mrs. France, we wanted to call and let you know that everything was fine with Jack’s X-rays. There are absolutely no abnormalities.” As your mother, you would think this would have been a phone call that I was elated to receive. Instead, I hung up in tears. It’s not that I want anything to be wrong with you, my sweet boy. I was just hoping that what was going on was something that could be “easily fixed.” I thought that maybe you just couldn’t hear the world around you…
Read MoreA Letter to the Snow Day
Dear Snow Day, You suck! Yes, you are beautiful! Yes, the kids are excited and the teachers are excited but you are reminding me that my son has autism. I always dreamed that my kids would go play in the snow and build snowmen but you are a reminder that my son cannot do that. You are a reminder that my son cannot even handle a day when his routine is changed. You stress him out. He likes his routine and he likes going to school. Then you come and…
Read MoreYou are so Lucky
So often we forget the power of our words. We will say something and not realize that what we said could have a lasting impression on someone. Positive or negative. I received notification earlier this week that Sawyer’s class enjoyed a lesson from the school’s autism program. Each student had the opportunity to experience what it is like for some students to learn when there are constant distractions affecting their five senses. As soon as I read the message I was curious. Sawyer lives autism. It is his everyday life.…
Read MoreWhen Saying “Enough” is OK
“So your saying that Hudson was recommended for speech therapy…but he isn’t currently receiving those services?” My eyes dropped down to the table in front of me. Without making eye contact with the therapist, I responded “No. I just couldn’t get him to one more appointment during the week.” Boom! Immediate mom guilt set it, and along with it came a flood of emotions that I wasn’t prepared for. First: GUILT How could I as a mother not provide my child with a therapy service that he was recommended for?…
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