Posts Tagged ‘autism blog’
Teaching Play To Children With Autism
At age seven my son has very few play skills and no imaginative play. This means keeping him entertained without technology is a real challenge. What I wouldn’t give to be able to say to my son, ‘go play.’ Right now that phrase doesn’t make sense to him. He needs to be taught the skills first. For years we have worked on puzzles and anything alphabet related. But both of those types of play meant that I was sitting next to him and engaging with him. I had hoped by…
Read MoreWill It Always Be This Hard?
I read a blog post today. It was written by a super exhausted mama for the super exhausted mama. Which obviously caught my eye. That’s me. I work full time. Two kids. One with autism. Three dogs. Home owner. Friend. Daughter. Spouse. I spend my days sharing autism, advocating, attempting to have a social life, trying to drink enough water, playing with my kids, exercising, fighting with Cooper over eating and communication, cooking dinner, cleaning my house, wishing I could walk my dogs, get a good night sleep and pee…
Read MoreA Letter to My Son Austin
To my beautiful Austin, This time of year is always filled with memories of four years ago. Memories of you, our perfect newborn boy, the final member of our family. When I think back on these few years of your life, my mind often goes back to the very first time I saw you. I was only 12 weeks pregnant; too soon to know your gender. Or, so we thought. I went to the ultrasound by myself that day and was shocked that we were able to see that you…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: The Child Who Defends My Daughter
This December I want to thank and honor the one child that defends my autistic daughter in school. I want you to know that I hear the positive things you are doing. I know you are sticking up for my daughter. And I can never thank you enough. My daughter Lillian was first diagnosed with autism when she was four years old. I had a hard time trusting this diagnosis because there wasn’t much testing done at all. We went the next few years without much help until Lillian was…
Read MoreA Conversation with Sawyer: Is My Brother Coming With?
A few nights ago, Jamie and I attended our four-year-olds first Christmas pageant. I can’t even tell you how excited I was to attend. Sawyer had been talking about it for weeks. I knew it was going to be special. Sawyer nailed it. Just like he always does. He stood, sang, participated and hammed it up. And we watched. It was wonderful. It was pretty special to watch him. My little Sawyer’s first Christmas concert. He’s a star! And also appears to have some emotions midway through. He’s on the…
Read MoreA Letter To My Son Noah
To my Noah-bug, “Sometimes I just stop and thank God, for having different plans for me than I had for myself. I have been blessed with a miracle.” Ten years ago, a sandy blonde hair, slate grey eyed six pound thirteen ounce bundle of all boy was born. Little did I know I was going to be thrown into a ride on a roller coaster I would have never expected. I thought having a child at 16 was one for the books through those moments and growing up way too…
Read MoreThe Conversations Missed
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my son talking. Or not talking. I want you to know that on the surface I’m okay with having a nonverbal son. And by okay I mean I can picture a future where my adult son does not speak to me. I don’t cry about it anymore. I haven’t for years. It wasn’t fair to him or me. I had to move on. I rarely dwell. I am even excited about his Speech Device and am hopeful that one day he will use…
Read MoreMy Son is What? Artistic?
The journey called fatherhood is one that is naturally fraught with many twists and turns. There are no concrete directions that you receive at the beginning, but there is at the same time information and advice coming at you from multiple directions and sources. You hope and pray that everything is going to take care of itself as you work frantically to provide the framework necessary for normal growth and development of your child. Why wouldn’t this occur normally, right? Many of the behaviors I am seeing in my son…
Read MoreA Conversation with a Stranger
Last week I helped a father while his daughter was in the middle of an autistic meltdown. We’ve all been there. As the parent your focus is safety and getting through the meltdown. This man needed an extra pair of hands. And I had no problem offering mine. After she calmed down we had a quick conversation that has stuck with me. Without knowing each other, or saying much more than an introduction, he said, ‘I didn’t know how hard it was going to be. And I really didn’t know…
Read MoreAutism and the Effects on Siblings
I have two sons, Cooper is seven and Sawyer is four. They are both blonde, adorable, strong-willed, and funny. They are both obsessed with their mama. They are loud. They are both snugglers. They have been brothers since Cooper was almost two. And yet, it wasn’t until recently that they even began acknowledging each other. Yes, it broke my heart for years. There are days when it still does. I can almost picture what my life would be like if my boys were able to play each other. If I…
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