Posts Tagged ‘autism family’
Special Needs Behaviors Can’t be Fixed With Traditional Discipline
We need to talk about discipline. Particularly discipline and special needs children. My oldest has Autism and a handful of other diagnosis. For most of his younger years he simply did not have behaviors at home. His behaviors occurred at school and I strongly subscribed (past tense to some extent) to the ideology that kids should not be double punished. That if something happens at school, and the child receives a consequence, that the child should not be double punished at home. Then my life exploded. A handful of close deaths.…
Read MoreA Crystal Ball
We are packed up and headed home after a wonderful adventure up north. We stayed in a hotel which is a huge deal for us. No restaurants yet but it’s definitely are biggest goal. We went to Adventure Zone and the Great Lakes Aquarium successfully! Swam three times. And visited Two Harbors, MN, where Jamie and I lived when Cooper was born 10 years ago. So many memories wrapped up in one little city. Getting married. Buying a house. Becoming first time parents. An autism diagnosis. Moving to a bigger…
Read MoreAll I Can Do Is Hold Him
This is the face of a child who has suffered so much during this lockdown. And yet, he still smiles. He doesn’t understand why things are closed, or why he cannot go to school. He doesn’t understand why his favorite places are closed or why we stay home all the time. He doesn’t understand why we need to wear masks. I have tried, but he cannot wear one. It’s hard to explain to people why. No, he can’t wear a visor instead, trust me we are still working on it.…
Read MoreHe is Doing His Best
Last night we visited an arcade. It was a big adventure for our little family. Our middle son loves all things game. The baby loves tagging after his older brother. And Cooper, our eldest son, he is just starting to take in the world outside of our home. He is ten years old. He loves trains and postcards with animals on them. He also has autism. He is autistic. And nonverbal. Those are his descriptions written on the piece of paper in my drawer in a file marked, Cooper’s Med…
Read MoreThe Importance of Being Present
Last week I brought my son to his hockey practice. It had been a long day and honestly I was so excited to sit in the bleachers, put my feet up, and relax. And of course I was happy to watch my son. For the next hour I watched him do drills, scrolled through Facebook, answered work emails, and peeked at Pinterest. When I met him after to take his skates off, the first thing he said to me was…’you spent the whole time on your phone doing your job.…
Read MoreTrying to Stop Time
My son, Your birthday is in 8 days. You have been counting down since mid December. You love your birthday. And you love being older. So much so that you are already telling people you are 8 years old. I lovingly correct you every time, reminding you that you are still my 7 year old. I also threaten you with a potion that will keep you little forever. But you have no time for that nonsense. You want to grow up. I want time to stop. Last night you snuggled…
Read MoreWhat Autism Brings Us
Hi. My name is Carrie. I have five kids, and my second son has autism. His name is Jack. He is sixteen years old. For me, autism brings a trifecta of hope, grief, and peace. Hope is the bundle of rocks I carry everywhere I go. Grief is the small box of feathers I let myself open every once in a while. And peace? Well, that is the long, jagged mountain I climb, clutching my bundle of hope and a box full of feathers. Jack and my firstborn, Joseph, are…
Read MoreWe Figured it Out
I don’t consider myself to be an expert in parenting. Or an expert in anything really. I don’t always do the right thing or handle every bump in the road perfectly. I didn’t fall gracefully into autism when my first born son was diagnosed at age 3. I more so crashed. Head first. With zero guidance. They say help is readily available for families like mine. Let’s be clear here. It wasn’t. We figured it all out on our own. Maybe it’s different now. I pray that it is. Because…
Read MoreRaising a Child With Autism; You Are Not Alone
During the years surrounding my son’s autism diagnosis, I could barely say the word “autism” out loud. I thought I would just break down every single time and, frankly, I didn’t have time for that. To be clear, this had nothing to do with shame. Not one day has gone by that I am not immensely proud of this boy. It was about fear, worry, the unknown, and all the other bumps along the road to acceptance. All a parent could ever want is for their child to be…
Read MoreSupport Small Business
Are you all continuing to support small business? In Minnesota, our restaurants are all still closed for in-person dining. So take out it is! Which, in our world, isn’t all that different. Eating dinner at a restaurant is still on our bucket list! Anyhow, North Pole Restaurant in Newport, MN has the best breakfast ever! All three of our boys will dive into this pancake and even ask for seconds. Keep supporting your local restaurants as much as you can! They need us! Good morning from these three! Finding Cooper’s…
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