Posts Tagged ‘autism dad’
I Blamed Myself For My Son’s Autism
When I found out I was going to be a father, I was beyond excited. My wife and I had been trying to conceive for years before she got pregnant. So when she told me I was going to be a father, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! I made sure to call my wife everyday at work to make sure she ate lunch… I’m sure I annoyed the heck out of her. When we found out that we were having a boy, we started to plan everything.…
Read MoreThe Autism Dad
I’d like to talk about The Autism Dad for a moment. You’ve probably come across him once or twice. It’s not always obvious at first. He’s the guy attempting a smile while his son screams. He is the man who holds his teenager’s hand as they walk down the street, oblivious to the stares. He is the father whose vision of coaching Little League and relaxing on Sunday afternoons sprawled in front of the football game have been replaced by sessions of Applied Behavior Analysis, and speech therapy. This…
Read MoreWhen You Don’t Feel Like Yourself
Last week I posted a selfie of my son Tommy and I happily snuggling up on the sofa on Facebook and received some lovely comments and messages. Some of my followers on my blog, Stories About Autism, mentioned how happy I looked, how content, as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. In fact it couldn’t be further from the truth. Whilst yes, in that moment I was definitely happy, the last few months have been increasingly tough, and I just haven’t felt myself. I thought that once…
Read MoreAn Apology to My Children
To my children – my little marvels, I am writing you this letter to tell you how sorry I am. But first and foremost I want you to know that I love you. You may already know by the time you read this that I am not the best communicator. I am generally quite articulate, I use long words and I can talk about complex issues. However, I am not good at making general conversation and I do not find it easy to talk about my feelings. Both of these…
Read MoreA Father Who Stays
I made a list once of all the great qualities and traits the perfect boyfriend would have. As a middle schooler the most important thing to me was personality. I loved to laugh so he needed to be funny. The list also included blonde hair, green or blue eyes, tall, good looking, nice, romantic, outgoing and other superficial things. As I matured, the shallowness of my list dwindled and I realized the qualities that truly mattered in a partner. Hair and eye color wasn’t a big deal anymore. He didn’t…
Read MoreAutism is a Mirror
You may be surprised to learn that, for me, as the father, the most challenging part of having a child with Autism, was neither the financial strain, the disruption of my family’s social dynamic, nor the isolation. No. It was none of the common challenges we all share as the parents of Autistic children. But, please, allow me to digress. It’s no exaggeration to say that when Finn was born, it was one of the four absolute greatest days of my life. His beautiful face. Those curious eyes. His mothers…
Read MoreA Dad’s Words: It’s just Different
We headed over to the ribbon cutting. Less than a mile away. Through the neighborhood and onto the new road. You could see the firetruck waiting to spray the kids from our house. Teenagers in band uniforms, unloading their instruments, waiting to play some upbeat song. I was on my bike, surrounded by a dozen kids. Almost all boys. Sawyer and his friends. Ages ranging from 5 to 13. They were talking about the free ice cream. Apparently that is the draw to get people to come out on a…
Read MoreMy Son, Keep Being You
My son, It’s been over 4 years since your mom and I found out we was going to have a baby. I remember when she told me. I was excited, but I was freaking out too. I always wanted a son or daughter. That was what I was excited about. I was nervous, because of the troubles your mother and I have had trying to have a baby. We had miscarriages, and we done testing. We did not know if having a child was in the cards for us. You…
Read MoreTo all the Superhero Dads — Thank You
Adam, remember when Noah was born, and I gave you a gift. It was a “new daddy kit” and it had a parenting book – a humorous one of course. And I honestly can’t even remember what else I threw in there. Just goes to show you we really didn’t need or use any of the so called necessary tools. I honestly feel there is nothing that can prepare you for what being a parent really entails. Because even what you’re told to prepare for, chances are that won’t be…
Read MoreThe Calm to our Crazy
Autism has taken our family on quite the adventure the last six years and right in the beginning of it, I gave birth to our second son. But through it all, you have been the calm to our crazy. It quickly became apparent the you are Jayden’s person, what a huge job that really is. It is never-ending and always demanding. The connection you have with Jayden is so hard to describe it is like you two have a magnetic force drawing you to each other whenever you are in…
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