Posts Tagged ‘autism in girls’
A Morning in the Life of a Girl with Autism
Most mornings she wakes up around 6am. She enters the playroom and turns on all the lights. She turns them all back off. She turns them all back on. Then she comes to my room. The door is locked with a keypad. She enters 4 numbers. I don’t know which 4 numbers because I’m on the other side of the door. She enters the same 4 numbers again. I know because the pitch of the numbers is the same. And again. Then she knocks. 4 times. Bang, bang, bang, bang.…
Read MoreMy Daughter’s 18th Christmas
This is Casadee’s 18th Christmas. I still make her a calendar every year so she can count down the days and quite honestly to reduce the number of times she asks me “Christmas tomorrow?” This year her number gift request is a desktop computer. She is typical in that regard, like most teens the price of the present goes up. This year I can use her newly awarded SSI money to purchase it. She doesn’t read or write but she has been using computers at school for as long as…
Read MoreA Daughter’s Letter to her Mother
Dear Mom, I see you. I just want you to know that I see you. I see everything you do for my sister and acknowledge everything I don’t see. I see the pain when you are trying to help her but nothing seems to work that day. I see the helplessness when my sister is way too overstimulated in public and you doing everything you can to get her through it but it’s just enough for her. I see the warrior in you as you fight for what she needs…
Read MoreThe Gift of Perspective
This ‘ten year challenge’ social media trend has me reflecting. There’s a lot of living and learning I went through over the past decade. I finished university, survived my first heartbreak, started my teaching career, gained and lost important relationships, bought and sold two homes, navigated the shock of a miscarriage, found my way back to that guy who broke my heart, had a daughter with and married him, battled through the Autism diagnosis of my toddler and started on an unexpected journey of special needs parenting. Today, I found…
Read MoreI’m Thankful for the Way You Take Care of Us
Meet Ted. His name suggests exactly what you’d think it does. A simple guy. A good ole boy. A guy who can fix your brakes or loan you his trailer. A guy who chops wood and knows how to do drywall. A guy whose humor is subtle, but hysterical if you catch it. A guy who loves any meal you cook for him. A guy who loves to hunt, but rarely gets to go. A guy with a strong handshake and even stronger integrity. A quiet guy, but great conversationalist.…
Read MoreA Crystal Ball
Most parents would enjoy looking through a crystal ball to see what their child’s future looks like. What will your child’s life look like in 10 years? 15? Their wedding? The day your first grandchild is born? And finally how your children are doing when you are no longer around. You don’t want to wish the days away, but getting a peak would be so fun! Maybe 10 years from now they will be turning 18. Will they be heading off to college? trade school? getting a full time job?…
Read MoreBattling Anxiety and Depression When Birthday’s Come
I think it is very safe to say that most parents of children with autism are battling anxiety or depression…or a bit of both, depending on the day. How couldn’t we? From the time our children were tiny and specialists noticed they were ‘different’, we have been fighting every day of our lives. Fighting for them to receive the therapies they need. Fighting to have them included in this world. Fighting to teach them all they need to know so that hopefully…one day…they ‘might’ catch up. And this is where…
Read MorePlease See The Whole Picture
I share a lot of our struggle. I need it to be seen. It cannot be the part of autism that gets ignored to make others more comfortable. And I feel like so much of severe autism gets minimized. It has to have a voice! I don’t just want people to be aware or accept, I want you to be a voice, an advocate and see the whole picture. You have to see the dark, because it is there whether you want to see it or not. However, with that…
Read MoreWhy I am Thankful for my Special Needs Daughter
I am thankful for my special needs daughter. I should probably clarify. I’m thankful for my daughter…not the special needs. I’m not a parent who says that I wouldn’t make life easier for her if I could. I would. But that’s a topic for another post. Today is about a golden birthday and it’s about being thankful. It’s a lesson that I’ve learned over the years about perspective. Today, November 12th, is my daughter Liz’s 12th birthday! Liz has a rare genetic mutation and along with that has come a…
Read MoreParents, I have a Plea from the Bottom of my Heart
To explain, this week there were two incidents that tore me up inside. I met a beautiful little 4 year old who I found out is in my daughter Evangeline’s class at school. When I asked if she knew Evie, she said with wide eyes ‘Yes! Evie just cries all the time!’ She was a sweet thing and meant no harm, but it hurt hearing that as her description of my daughter. Then, I was told by her caregiver that when they were leaving school this week, another classmate pointed…
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