Posts Tagged ‘autism blog’
Cooper is Eight
Eight years ago my world was turned upside down with the arrival of my first born son. My Super Cooper. The one who made me a mom. As I sat down to type this post I let myself think back over the last eight years. And I thought about all of the words I could type. The stories I could share. The highs and the lows. The amazing joy he has brought me. And of course autism. I’m struggling finding the words right now. Birthdays are hard. They are a…
Read MoreThank You to the Best Aunt and Uncle
After our son Emmett’s official Fragile X diagnosis we told all our family members about it and posted about it on social media. Everyone told us or wrote to us telling us how much they care and how it will be OK and if we needed anything to let them know. But after the Fragile X diagnosis their was a quiet pause from these individuals. No one says anything or asks us about Emmett. They don’t ask about the multiple diagnosis’ he received after the Fragile X diagnosis. I have often…
Read MoreAt Least He’s Not Dying
“My coworker says to me “Well at least he’s not dying.” She meant it with good intentions I’m sure. But it stung. I was in fact mourning the loss of the life I thought my son would have. Would he ever talk to me? Would he ever go to preschool? Would he ever make it to high school? Would he drive? Fall in love? Have a family of his own? “At least he’s not dying” it still burns. Maybe I’m being selfish. Maybe I am being ungrateful. My son is…
Read MoreOnce Again, I Go Numb
A few days ago I received some validation. Validation I didn’t want to receive. And as I processed it, I realized how numb I must really be to all the emotions that go into special needs parenting. Every time I chat with a 7 year old boy or listen to a 2 year old speak in full sentences. Or watch my 5 year old growing up, achieving every milestone and becoming more independent. Or when my autistic son yells at me and melts down repeatedly. I must be numb. And…
Read MoreWe’d Become What I Was Most Afraid Of….
When my son was diagnosed with autism over four years ago, I remember not being able to picture him as a teen. And not one person in my life, not doctors, not therapists, could tell me what the future held. The unknown is very, very hard. I think it’s harder than knowing. I so badly needed a glimpse of the future. I needed to know what nonverbal looked like at age 15. Or 20. But I was scared too. I am big enough to admit that I wasn’t ready to…
Read MoreIf I Had It My Way
I’m someone who copes very poorly with the unknown. I like to KNOW what is going on and especially what is going to happen. This is true to a much lesser extent with having MS (whose hallmark, as we know, is unpredictability) but I suspect this is because I’ve been doing so very well for the more than seven years since my diagnosis—it’s something that has faded into the distant background of my life as the more time passes without incident. But ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that…
Read MoreThank You to my Son’s Best Friend
I would like to recognize my son’s aide and our respite care provider, Hunter. Hunter is a college student who we first hired in the summer of 2017 to spend time with my son, Nathaniel, and give him some variety to his day. My son Nathaniel is 9 years old with moderate Autism. He is very smart, but struggles with social communication, following directions, and getting along with others. I was having trouble finding summer activities that Nathaniel could do independently. It is difficult to take Nathaniel to unfamiliar places.…
Read MoreI’m Thankful for You: My Son’s ASL Tutor
“Heather, if sign language isn’t working for Milo, I don’t care. I’ll teach him something else. I just want him to learn how to communicate.” I looked at my son’s sign language tutor, Hannah, whose eyes were glistening with tears as we watched my six-year-old nonverbal son press his stomach onto the swing in our living room. Anyone who knows Hannah knows her passion for sign language. We’d hired her to teach our nonverbal autistic son how to sign, but he wasn’t getting it. He was defaulting to signing “more”…
Read MoreControlling the Hoarding
A few days ago, Jamie and I spent the day, 10 hours to be exact, going through our son’s hoarding piles. We were absolutely shocked by the amount of stuff we found. Honestly, we had no idea it had gotten so out of control. We found piles under every bed, in every closet, under dressers, couches, bookshelves, entertainment centers and even the fridge. Almost every item was damaged and couldn’t be salvaged. By the time we were done we had thrown four garbage bags. In this video I touch on…
Read MoreThe Friend who is My Son’s World
I am honoring and so incredibly thankful for my best friend Regina. In 2014 we were pregnant at the same time. Our kids would be five months apart. We would do everything together and we were going to make sure that our kids did everything together. That was until things changed. I started to see the differences in our kids as they got older. I ignored it. I was overreacting. Everyone says boys develop slower anyways. “I have nothing to worry about” I would tell myself. I remember at his…
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