Posts Tagged ‘Autism Support’
To The Friend Who Gets It
A friend reminds you of your worth. She knows when you’ve had the max you can take and knows that you can’t go out for a drink, so she comes to you with all the ingredients for a fine Bloody Mary. A friend is one who doesn’t just talk. She doesn’t say a word, she just shows up. She attends your daughters IEP because she knows her support will give you strength to be Mama Bear. She shows up to your chaotic life and takes your kid to a soccer…
Read MoreAn Unsung Hero Whispers ‘I Am Proud of You’
What is an unsung hero to you? Someone who quietly reaches out with a rescuing hand in time or need? Someone who gives you perspective before you have the chance to find it? When we started to have meetings with our son’s Montessori School about how our son wasn’t fitting into the school program, I began to feel something I was unfamiliar with. A feeling that sat and still sits quietly in the background. That feeling that things were on the horizon, as I felt a shift of worry from…
Read MoreBehold, the Autism Mama
My son Jack has autism. He was born on Mother’s Day, in 2004. Over the past sixteen-almost-seventeen-years, I have had to tell and re-tell his diagnosis so many times, I’ve lost count. By now, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard it all when it comes to autism. I’ve heard about the vaccines, and the poor maternal bonding, and the gluten and the horse therapy. One kindly older woman even suggested Windex could be to blame. Windex? I thought. The problem is, can be hard to know what to say, or how to…
Read MoreI Will Sit With You in the Dark
Hello! I see you down there. You must be a fellow special needs mom. We can recognize each other you see. I know where you are right now because I’ve been there, and I’ll be there again. I know that the hole you are in is deep, and it’s dark and it’s scary. I know it feels like you will never get out, like you will never feel the warmth of the sun on your face again. Never feel joy. Hope. I know that you are trying to figure out…
Read MoreYou Don’t Have to Walk This Path Alone
Sitting in the dark, of course I did it too. Too proud or too ashamed to show my tears. I remember my Gran: “You are one of us, we don’t cry, we straighten our back, chin up and smile head high, no matter what.” She told me that when I was slightly younger than my daughter. She was lecturing me because I cried over other kids bullying me. Tough skin, tough love. She was that kind of a woman. It also taught me not to show my hurt…my tears are…
Read MoreHaving a Tribe Can Make All the Difference
“Build your tribe. Find your village. You’re going to need them.” I remember looking up at our pediatrician through tears as she said those words to me shortly after delivering my son’s Autism diagnosis. She explained how dynamic and changing our lives would be and that we would need to find others who understood. The gravity of those words didn’t quite register with me at first. I mean, I had friends. I had family. What did she mean I needed others? At first, I was lost in my grief for…
Read MoreEven in the Dark, You Are Not Alone
I’ll sit with you in the dark, when you know, but you have to wait. Wait for others to believe you. Wait for insurance approvals. Wait for evaluations. Always waiting to hear what you already know. I’ll sit with you in the dark when you feel alone. When others tell you they’ll pray for you. When they tell you stories of how they know someone who knows someone. When they tell you that God gives special kids to special people. When they tell you, “but they’re so cute” or “they’re…
Read MoreWhy I Gave Up Hope
I just changed my six year old’s diaper. It was messy. There was poop dripping down his leg. It was on his jeans. His socks. The poop got on my hand, couch and carpet. As I was changing him he gave me a swift kick to the groin that took my breath away. This is the side of autism that no one talks about. I almost started to cry. I’ve been awake since 3:30 am. I haven’t slept through the night in months. I’m exhausted. And I let myself think,…
Read MorePreparing for an ASD Halloween….
Holidays are an interesting time for a parent of a child with Autism. And each holiday comes with it’s own unique challenges. There is also the fine line of….’how much do we actually participate?’ Cooper doesn’t understand Halloween. Or costumes. Or Trick-Or-Treating. For starters he is the least greedy kid ever….he will get one piece of candy and be great for the rest of the night. He doesn’t like to walk so the idea of walking from house to house is ridiculous. He would need to be carried or put…
Read MoreFind People That Understand. It Will Help You More Than You Know.
I can’t say enough how much blogging has helped me with my Super Cooper journey. Honestly, I can’t even put it into words. But what I can say is there are some pretty amazing people out there. I have to thank Life in the Autism Lane, for her absolutely breathtaking post this morning. She gets it. She gets me and she gets Cooper. And we haven’t even met. Just knowing that she is out there means so much. Click HERE to read her post about her son. It’s powerful and…
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