Posts Tagged ‘autism’
The Fear We Feel
This is the most fearful time of my life. A deadly virus spreading quickly throughout the country will strike fear in most people. However there is another fear I feel deep down in my soul. A fear most of us special needs parents are feeling during this uncertain time. The fear of regression! The fear of our amazing kids losing skills they worked so hard to master. Social skills, academic skills, social/emotional skills, they all matter. This fear haunts me and keeps me up at night. I am doing all…
Read MoreHow Does He Feel Loved?
This morning I listened to a radio show, where a doctor explained that in times of isolation and fear, we need to feel loved in order to feel safe. He went on to say that something called oxytocin is our happiness hormone, and when it is released throughout our body, we feel a surge of positive emotion, or love. He said the most effective way to release oxytocin is to bond socially. In times of social distancing, it’s important that we each make eye contact, and experience touch. Hi. My…
Read MoreToo Familiar
Doesn’t all of this feel oddly familiar to you? So terrified of the future. Haven’t you felt that before? The fear of the unknown? Continual anxiety caused by the ultimate invisible boogey man we call… time. When will this change? How long will this last? When will this get better? Almost too familiar. So many questions but no one has concrete answers. Actually, let me rephrase. No one has answers that make sense to my non-expert brain. Information is flooding in fast but it is all so confusing and contradictory…
Read MoreI’m Afraid your Daughter will Endanger Us
I absolutely loved my oldest daughter’s kindergarten teacher – I really felt like we were partners in helping my daughter. But, not a day went by that I didn’t get a note, an email, or in the worst case scenario, a phone call. I will never forget the day she told me she was worried my daughter would endanger her class. When Olivia was in pre-K, her teachers seemed to be setting the stage for an ADD diagnosis. But she was only three, and then only four, and…
Read MoreIt’s Not All Sunshine and Rainbows
Times are hard right now. For everyone. And if you’re a parent of a child with a disability, being off school isn’t as “cute” and “pretty” as it may seem across social media. I’m not saying every minute of every day is hard, but it’s not all fun crafts and cookie baking either. As I sit and reflect after a very difficult day, I want to express my feelings and the reality so many families are facing right now. You see, cancelling school doesn’t just mean no school for a few…
Read MoreLove and Marriage and Our Son
I have been married for twenty-one years. My husband Joe and I have five kids. Our second son has autism. He is fifteen. Now, I may not know much, but I do know children exert an extraordinary amount of pressure upon a marriage. They like teeny-tiny constriction workers, yielding jackhammers If you add one in who never sleeps, smears soap on the walls, and screams all day, well, that’s when things get really interesting. You is righteous. You are never home on time. You have to take care of the…
Read MoreWhat They Don’t See
They don’t see how much you are struggling just to enter a room full of people. They don’t see your mom cringing and scanning the room immediately for triggers or danger. They don’t see how bright the lights are or how loud the conversations can be to your beautiful brain. They don’t understand why you cover your ears, bite your shirt, or self injure because the anxiety is too much to handle and your meltdown is not a typical toddler meltdown and you don’t know how to self soothe. They…
Read MorePlease Remember the Kids Like My Daughter
I can’t catch my breath. Not because I’m sick. But because I’m scared. I know that this is a difficult time for all of us. I’m especially scared though for my daughter Liz and for other kids with special needs. And for their families. Liz’s therapy center is now closed indefinitely. No ABA, no speech therapy, no occupational therapy. I am scared that she will regress and lose much of the progress that she has made without access to these therapies. She has worked too hard and come too far…
Read MoreTwo Strangers with One Incredible Thing in Common: Autism
A few years ago, when my daughter was diagnosed with autism, I went down the wormhole of Instagram searching for someone who could understand. I didn’t know a single person on the spectrum, and all of my friends had typically developing children, so I was desperate to connect with anyone who could say, “I get it,” instead of the “I can’t imagines” that were being hurled my way. And then I stumbled upon a beauty queen. A title holder in the Miss America Organization, to be exact. A woman with…
Read MoreThe Unspeakable Word
If you are a parent like me with a child on the spectrum, chances are we both have something very unique in common. Something that most would think is a very simple thing to do, something that is just a part of life. But for us, it’s not. Do I dare say this forbidden word? I don’t know if I can handle to even whisper it…but here it is: “HAIRCUT”. Yes, there, I said it. This word in the Autism world for most is a very, very bad word and…
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