Posts Tagged ‘autism in girls’
Welcome to Our World
Welcome to our world. I have said that a lot lately. While the world has stopped in its tracks not much has changed in our world. This is our life. Isolation. I was thinking about it yesterday and, the special needs community is far more prepared for this. We have been preparing for this for years. We are isolated all the time. For years, the only time we left our home was for work school or therapy. We worked hard on leaving our home. There was a time when Kya…
Read MoreDon’t Take Mom For Granted
I’ve heard it so many times. “Just wait until they start talking, you’ll just want them to be quiet”. I see memes like this and while I know it’s said in good humor, it’s also a little heartbreaking. Not everyone hears “mom”. Some children are deaf, non-communicative, non-verbal…parents lose children every day, and would give their whole life just to hear “mom” one more time. My daughter doesn’t have a name for me. The last time she said “mama” she was 10 months old. In fact, neither of my kids…
Read MoreI’m Afraid your Daughter will Endanger Us
I absolutely loved my oldest daughter’s kindergarten teacher – I really felt like we were partners in helping my daughter. But, not a day went by that I didn’t get a note, an email, or in the worst case scenario, a phone call. I will never forget the day she told me she was worried my daughter would endanger her class. When Olivia was in pre-K, her teachers seemed to be setting the stage for an ADD diagnosis. But she was only three, and then only four, and…
Read MoreThat Little Empty Spot
When your last born loses her first tooth, it is supposed to be a little sad because one realizes that their baby is growing up. And will soon spend long summer days riding bikes and playing neighborhood games. They are learning math facts and reading classic stories like, “If you give a Mouse A Cookie”. With her bouncy little smile she ran to me and grabbed my hand and brought it to her tiny bottom tooth on the left. It was so close to being free. She had been using…
Read MorePlease Remember the Kids Like My Daughter
I can’t catch my breath. Not because I’m sick. But because I’m scared. I know that this is a difficult time for all of us. I’m especially scared though for my daughter Liz and for other kids with special needs. And for their families. Liz’s therapy center is now closed indefinitely. No ABA, no speech therapy, no occupational therapy. I am scared that she will regress and lose much of the progress that she has made without access to these therapies. She has worked too hard and come too far…
Read MoreThe Battle of the Winter Festival
You don’t get to choose when it comes to Autism. A meltdown can happen at any time…be it in the privacy of our home or in the middle of a hallway at an elementary school crowded with people attending the annual winter festival. We can do everything within our power to prepare for each different situation, but variables beyond our control always seem to find a way to slide into our path, and cause us to stumble. As a parent of a child with Autism when I hear events…
Read MoreThere is No Summer Vacation for Working Autism Parents
February is over and the pressure is on. What are we going to do with our daughter Ally this summer—the void of endless time and childcare needs? Ally is on the autism spectrum and will be 6-years-old this summer. The part of parenting I never expected to hate the most is summer. I always imagined we would plan trips, go on adventures, and spend a few weeks together each year making memories, the way families should. But for our family, there are no vacations and trips as we juggle to…
Read MoreWhen Family Isn’t Best
It’s been a year. A whole year. My son, Tucker, and I just got back home from his open heart surgery. My daughter, Hazel, was in the throes of her worst regression to date. And my husband Sam, and I just decided to move to Texas for a new job; more or less on a whim. That was the day I found out that Hazel had been hurt. Sam left early from the hospital, we just couldn’t afford for him to stay in Rochester with us, and Hazel needed her…
Read MoreHe Stayed While I Loved Her More
The moment I laid my eyes on her, I knew she would alter my life in ways I had no ability to perceive just yet. It would have been impossible to know that her love would beckon me to pour myself into her all day, every day for years at the risk of losing my husband. I was already in love with her, and we had just met. My husband, Greg, was the whole package. From the beginning, I knew he was out of my league, but that didn’t scare…
Read MoreWhen the Birthday Invites Stop
Every time I see a mama happy and hopeful because their kid was invited to a birthday party it floods me with memories. And I want to tell them to enjoy them now because the invitations will stop. Kya was invited to every single birthday party in kindergarten. Birthday parties were incredibly stressful. And I went over the top on her parties. I thought if I made them amazing then maybe the kids would include her. I spent $1500 on her 5th Birthday and that was ridiculous. I realized I…
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