Posts Tagged ‘autism parenting’
As Special Needs Parents…This is What We Hope For And Work Towards
Independence….. Today was the start of more “independence” for our son Alex! We live in a more rural area so we don’t have public transportation or taxis. They are unreliable. We have “Rides”…you call and schedule well ahead of time and they come take you where you need to go. So, today we started this service for Alex for his Day-Hab days. He always loved riding the bus so he was actually looking forward to this. He trotted out there like he’d done it a thousand times. Only potential issue…
Read MoreSome Days I Want More
Some days I want more. Hi there. My name is Kate. I am a mother to four children. I share that because my life is full. Fuller than full. There is very little quiet. There is never a day without laundry. And I get no less than a hundred hugs a day. I am an expert in putting bandaids on owies, blowing on mac and cheese, and finding blankets before bed. Skills I never knew would be so important and vital to life. My first born, Cooper, is ten. He…
Read MoreFinding the Silver Lining
Today was not a good day. Yesterday or the the day before was not a good day. My faith is shrinking. My patience is thin. My heart heavy and sad. And a lump in my throat is persistent. I sit with my head in my hands, holding back the tears. Tears of sadness, anger or frustration..I don’t know, maybe all at once. He is so unhappy. He is so angry. Why does he always scream? Why does he always want to hurt us? His OCD is so severe, it causes me anxiety.…
Read MoreDaddy, I’ve Been Watching You
Today, while driving in the car, we heard these lyrics: “He said I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool…I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you….And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are…We like fixing things and holding mama’s hand…Yeah we’re just alike, hey ain’t we dad…I wanna do everything you do…So I’ve been watching you.” I started to tear up. I got to thinking about our little boy. Nathan is 5 and is non-verbal with autism. He can say some words when prompted but cannot…
Read MoreYou be You
This kid. He has never played with a toy. At least not typically. It sounds funny to say out loud. Maybe almost unbelievable. But it’s important to remember that he doesn’t see objects like you and I do. He could care less about trucks and cars. He has no desire to throw a ball. Building with Legos has never crossed his mind. Make believe food for pretend picnics seems ridiculous. He adores train magazines. The older the better. He loves books about animals. Whales and penguins. Books about things that…
Read MoreWe are Just More
You Must Be Sad… I’ve heard and read that phrase a few times over the past couple weeks. You must be sad your son rides the shorter bus… You must be sad he’s not in the gen ed room at school… And the zinger, the one I felt like a shot was fired and received, you must be sad you will never have a normal life… These statements, they don’t necessarily come from a place of hate or anger. They come from a place of misunderstanding. They simply don’t understand.…
Read MoreThank You for Ordering Forever Boy
Now that the dust has settled on my book cover reveal, I want to say the sincerest thank you to everyone who purchased a copy of my book for preorder. And thank you to all of those who hopefully plan too! Sharing our story in the hopes to help others had always been my dream. I can say for certain that the beginning of my journey into autism would have been entirely different if I had found someone who I could relate to. This book will do that for you.…
Read MoreCar Rides and Autism
What are car rides like for your family? For ours, I would say it’s the area where we have made the most improvement over the years. Back when Cooper was just diagnosis and the word autism felt foreign on our tongues my husband and I referred to car rides H – E – Double Hockey Sticks. We didn’t shine in the car. Cooper was a screamer. And a thrower. He would get upset if we turned the wrong way. Or stopped at a stop light. We couldn’t get gas or…
Read MoreMy Bookends
My bookends. My big and my little. 10 and 3 months. I’ll tell ya this much. They don’t pay too much attention to each other. Their worlds rarely intersect. But if anything comes close to falling (or jumping) on that baby…ahem…like a toddler brother…Cooper is the first to give a holler to let me know. That’s something special if you ask me. Also, see Cooper’s treasures? The items around him? He’s loving brown and white paper right now. He has a whole stack. Those photos? They are from my trip…
Read MoreMy Message to Laura Clery
My message to Laura Clery… Your son has just been diagnosed with autism. Maybe it came as a shock. Maybe not. Maybe like me you already had an idea that something was going on. But you still felt the sting when the words were said out loud. There are so many things I want to tell you. So many important things that I feel you should know. But right now, if you were anything like I was 7 years ago, your head is spinning. You are motivated and paralyzed at…
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