Posts Tagged ‘autism parenting’
Being a Light for Others
This newspaper article has been hanging on my fridge since my son E was five years old. And it will stay there forever. It is the fourth interview I did with our local newspaper and has my favorite title: “Autism doesn’t change children’s core”. This aged paper, changing with time, is part of us. We age and change along with it. To me it is a reminder of where we were and how far we have come from the darkest times of our Autism journey. The times of loneliness and…
Read MoreLittle Adventures
We just went on our first outing as a family of six. We actually planned to go on Friday. And then Saturday. And finally we made it today. It took us well over an hour to get out of the house. There were babies to nurse and diapers to change. Kids to dress. Snacks. Negotiations. Teeth to brush. Missing shoes. Someone wasn’t wearing shorts at one point. But we did it! A nice hike in the woods. We saw turtles and ducks and got outside in the fresh air where…
Read MoreHelping Your Children Find Their Way
When your son shouts “Shopping!” at 6:50am, you forget about a lie in, pull on yesterday’s joggers, and get your son dressed. You react to a verbal request with no hesitation. You do it because you have spent years waiting for your son to talk. Years crouching down, holding up picture sequence cards and trying to work out what your son wants. Years praying to hear his voice, the tone, the amplification, the bit of his personality that you have waited to get to know. As you turn into the…
Read MoreA Life Without Words
Six years ago, a therapist tough loved me. My son had recently been diagnosed with autism. On paper he was what they call nonverbal. There are lots of ways to explain what that means. It’s not black and white. It’s a complicated, unique, description. For him, it meant he had no spoken words. Not one. He had no consistent sounds for certain words either. He didn’t use sign language. Or a speech device. He couldn’t type his wants or needs. It meant if his sock was bunched or his head…
Read MoreA Family of Six
Well, we survived our first day and night as a family of six! Some things were as we expected. Some were a surprise. Sawyer is an amazing big brother and he fell in love instantly. Cooper is taking his time to get to know her and we are in no way rushing him. He acknowledged her at first and is now keeping his distance. Harbie is obsessed with her. At age two we didn’t quite know how he’d respond to her. Well, it’s all love. She is his baby and…
Read MorePerfect Night
Tonight was one of those perfect nights. Beautiful weather. Sunshine. Heat. To get this baby out we went to the park. Our park. The one we’ve been going to since we just had Cooper. And now three boys. And soon one more. We moved slower than snails. Backwards sometimes. Any animal that may have been near retreated at the sound of us coming. Cooper looked for whales and penguins. Sawyer asked me questions about how said baby is coming out. And about hospitals and labor. He’s a little nervous about…
Read MoreDoing Our Best
Tonight, my middle son and husband had their first baseball game of the season. It was a big night for both of them. Jamie coach pitched and Sawyer was the catcher. Double trouble if you ask me! At 39 weeks pregnant I knew if I wanted to see our team play I was going to need some help. My oldest and my youngest keep me on my very swollen toes. Thankfully I was able to call in some help. On the way to the game, Cooper began playing an episode…
Read MoreIt Will Always Be You and Me
You and me Murph. We’ve been what each other need throughout this journey of Autism. On the good days we celebrate together. On the bad days we survive together. On the average days we manage to find something extraordinary together. On the days you slip away, I wait for you, and on the days when frustration and self doubt cause me to disappear, you manage to show me it’s going to be okay. You wait for me too, Murph and never think differently of me, even on my worst days.…
Read MoreHope is Just a Dream
I spent the first four years of my son’s life in a frantic state of hope. A hope that he would be “healed” like so many of the stories I had been incessantly devouring. Such as the story of the boy who spent his early childhood spinning disks on the floor–unable to connect with his mother sitting directly across from him–who later went on to be a successful CEO. Like the girl, full of quirks and disconnect, who went on to be the cheerleading captain of her high school. And…
Read MoreBig Things in Our World
So today, we did something really brave. Something that’s been on our goal list for years. We took our son Cooper to a restaurant. Now I know to most folks that’s not a big, huge deal. But to us, it is. Cooper went to his last restaurant at 18 months old. We were basically kicked out. It was humiliating. We tried one other time years later but had to leave mid meal. So it’s been 8 long years. And been a goal for the last few. Sitting. Waiting. Eating. Noise.…
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