Posts Tagged ‘autism support group’
Each Day I Am A Little Bit Stronger
Each day I am a little bit stronger. After the drive home from diagnosis day. I am a little bit stronger. After crying all night long about a different future. I am a little bit stronger. After each and every meltdown my child has. I am a little bit stronger. After each appointment where I am told you have once again not met a milestone. I am a little bit stronger. After another Diagnosis. Autism, Apraxia and ADHD! I am a little bit stronger. After being told you would be…
Read MoreLove Needs No Words
There are many challenges when a little one can’t speak. Is she sick or tired or just having a rough day or week? What is she thinking or feeling right now? I know there’s more inside, but how do I reach her? How? Will she play and interact with me? Or is she just content flitting to and fro like a bee? Then I think of things that need no words, She knows I’m Mom, and I know I’m hers. I’ll be there for her, To advocate, teach and pray.…
Read MoreThe Measurement of Milestones
Measurement – it’s a natural human instinct. We measure time, distance, capacity, success, and achievement. Many forms of measurement I understand; time and distance for example facilitate civilizations’ successful functioning. There are however some forms of measurement that lack the same definition and purpose. Parents worldwide often over analyze a measurement: the measurement of milestones. From the moment you become a parent other, often well intentioned, people question you with regards to your child’s development. Your email inbox highlights notifications of what abilities your growing baby should have. Mothers’ groups…
Read MoreMy Fears for My Autistic Daughter
There are so many things I worry about when it comes to my autistic daughter. Raising a vulnerable child comes with so many fears. Some of these things are things we all worry about. I have four children and I worry about them all. The intensity and degree of worry when it comes to Alyssa is so intensified. My biggest fear is what will happen when I’m gone. This brings me to my knees, it terrifies me. Me and autism have long battled with control. I like control and so…
Read MoreAutism Times Two
On September 1, 2022, our youngest daughter Lucy was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Almost exactly two years after her big sister, Opal. It may come as a shock to some, but I have tried to talk openly about how we had concerns that Lucy may be autistic too. Lucy and Opal are complete opposites, and I know to some people that would seem to mean that Lucy couldn’t possibly be autistic, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Autism is different for everyone. You will never meet two…
Read MoreOur Seasons of Life with Autism
In life we all go through different seasons. These seasons come and go as time goes on. Sometimes we even live in these seasons without even realizing we are in them. When Charlie was younger we lived through a season of train obsessions. He loved trains to no end and would sometimes stay up until the wee hours of the night because he just HAD to play with them. He still loves them now, but the obsession has died down. The train obsessed season has passed. There was a season,…
Read MoreThe Caregiver Retreat I Didn’t Know I Needed
I really was anxious about the carpool ride that was arranged to get to the More Than a Caregiver Respite Retreat this past weekend. I was desperate to drive, convincing myself that I probably needed five hours each way to decompress. Even that the silence may help me more than friending. Turns out, I was so anxious about it that my breakup the carpool text never got sent. Then it was too late, these three were on the way, they showed up, we hugged quickly and I piled in. As…
Read MoreCoop’s Troop Changed My Life
A few years ago I created a space…a space that I needed. A space for families like mine to come together online. We chat, laugh, cry, and support each other. Coop’s Troops has changed my life. I’ve made so many friends and met the coolest kids. And tonight we had our second family meet up at edinborough Park. It was so fun to watch our kids play and be themselves and for the parents to relax without worry. Because we all get it! Thank you to everyone who came. I…
Read MoreCoop’s Troops: Friends You Haven’t Met Yet
I’m a firm believer in finding your tribe. For me that is the autism parenting community. In the middle of pandemic this has been an extra challenge. But I never imagined that I’d find my tribe all across the country. I wasn’t in a great place last year when Covid happened. So many things were happening and then all of a sudden the world stopped. During that time I enjoyed the extra hands of help that my husband brought. But being unable to go anywhere made life hard. Luckily, while…
Read MoreI’m Not Like Most 25 Year Old Moms, My Son has Autism
I’m a young mom, 25 now to be exact.When you become a mom in your early 20’s the pressures are different then I feel like those in their 30’s. Girls night’s are mandatory and happen probably way too often. We’re praised for the simplest things like keeping our children alive. There’s no pressure to be the perfect PTA mom driving around in our minivans, because truthfully in a lot of ways we’re still kids ourselves trying to navigate adulthood. We are the first in line for our Pumpkin Spice Lattes…
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