Posts Tagged ‘autism vlog’
Looking Back, Looking Forward (VIDEO)
Hey everyone! Happy New Year! As promised, here is a video with Jamie, my partner in crime, and an appearance by Cooper. This video would have been up earlier but Sawyer needed an apple cut a certain way, the baby needed to eat and Cooper needed to dance. Essentially, life happened. In this video we discuss why we share our lives, how it impacts us and the kiddos, our 2018 accomplishments and goals for Cooper in 2019. I want to thank every single one of our supporters for being with…
Read MoreOur 2017 Year in Review
I often find myself talking about all the things my autistic son can’t do. I don’t mean too. I’m not negative. I’m just human. And when you get together with a friend who also has an autistic child you start listing out where they are at. Yes, they are nonverbal. No, this and yes, this. And before you know it the things they can’t do outweigh the things they can do. I worry about where he is at. I get overwhelmed by how far he has to go. Sometimes I…
Read MoreI Changed My Way of Thinking and it Changed My Life
As a mom to a little boy with autism I live by the quote: ‘I changed my way of thinking and it changed my life.’ I haven’t done a video in over a week! In this (long) video I give an update on our life and then discuss my evolution as a mom to a child with a lifelong disability. I get asked daily if I really am as happy and positive as I appear in my videos. The answer is yes. 95% of the time my sons disability motivates…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: The Child Who Defends My Daughter
This December I want to thank and honor the one child that defends my autistic daughter in school. I want you to know that I hear the positive things you are doing. I know you are sticking up for my daughter. And I can never thank you enough. My daughter Lillian was first diagnosed with autism when she was four years old. I had a hard time trusting this diagnosis because there wasn’t much testing done at all. We went the next few years without much help until Lillian was…
Read MoreThe Conversations Missed
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my son talking. Or not talking. I want you to know that on the surface I’m okay with having a nonverbal son. And by okay I mean I can picture a future where my adult son does not speak to me. I don’t cry about it anymore. I haven’t for years. It wasn’t fair to him or me. I had to move on. I rarely dwell. I am even excited about his Speech Device and am hopeful that one day he will use…
Read MoreA Conversation with a Stranger
Last week I helped a father while his daughter was in the middle of an autistic meltdown. We’ve all been there. As the parent your focus is safety and getting through the meltdown. This man needed an extra pair of hands. And I had no problem offering mine. After she calmed down we had a quick conversation that has stuck with me. Without knowing each other, or saying much more than an introduction, he said, ‘I didn’t know how hard it was going to be. And I really didn’t know…
Read MoreAutism and the Effects on Siblings
I have two sons, Cooper is seven and Sawyer is four. They are both blonde, adorable, strong-willed, and funny. They are both obsessed with their mama. They are loud. They are both snugglers. They have been brothers since Cooper was almost two. And yet, it wasn’t until recently that they even began acknowledging each other. Yes, it broke my heart for years. There are days when it still does. I can almost picture what my life would be like if my boys were able to play each other. If I…
Read MoreHow Does My Autistic Son Fit Into The Real World?
We spent the weekend at a water park. I will be honest when I say I was very worried about it. The trip involved a long drive, a hotel stay, waiting, walking, crowds, chaos, etc. You get it. Bringing Cooper somewhere like a water park would traditionally threw off his schedule for weeks. We’d go, have a really tough time and then come home thinking it would be better once we got him back into his routine with his things. Except we were wrong. Cooper, and our family, felt the…
Read MoreFour Pieces of Advice from the Mother of an Autistic Child
I’m often asked what bits of advice would I give to parents of newly diagnosed children. Or, what would I say to my younger self to make the autism journey easier. That question always makes me think. What would I say? It’s hard because I feel that so much of it we just have to go through. It’s almost a right of passage and a journey of self discovery. These are the four things I wish I could’ve told my younger self about relationships, behaviors, hope and challenging my child.…
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