Posts Tagged ‘autism’
He Must Be Outgrowing It and Other Things Not To Say
One of the challenging parts of high functioning autism is the way its seen and understood by the outside world. Most of the time the child’s diagnosis is not immediately apparent to the people they encounter. You may notice a speech delay, some difficulty with communication and social situations, lack of social comfort, sensory issues, short attention spans, narrow interests, and being prone to tantrums or meltdowns, just to name a few. Every child on the spectrum is different from the next and should not be compared just because you…
Read MoreThe Gift of Perspective
This ‘ten year challenge’ social media trend has me reflecting. There’s a lot of living and learning I went through over the past decade. I finished university, survived my first heartbreak, started my teaching career, gained and lost important relationships, bought and sold two homes, navigated the shock of a miscarriage, found my way back to that guy who broke my heart, had a daughter with and married him, battled through the Autism diagnosis of my toddler and started on an unexpected journey of special needs parenting. Today, I found…
Read MoreWe’ve Never Visited Santa
We’ve never visited Santa. He’s never asked me for the coolest toy. We’ve never baked cookies together. He’s never made a Christmas list. Or sang in a Christmas pageant. No snow mans or Elf on the Shelf. For so many years, Christmas was just another day. He didn’t acknowledge the tree or decorations. He didn’t open presents. Or wake up early to see what Santa brought. I used to get sad. Holidays were hard. I had a little boy who was oblivious. And not only was he oblivious, holidays were really…
Read MoreOur Life is No Different Than Yours
Our life is no different than yours. Not really. I have three boys. One is 8. He doesn’t say much. But he’s always listening. He hears everything. One is six. He never stops talking. He seems to never be listening. Not ever. And the baby, well, he never stops moving. He really loves kids. And fly swatters. And crackers. Our house is loud. And so cluttered. Our toilets all need to be scrubbed. Every counter seems to be sticky. We can’t keep up with the dishes. We start the dryer…
Read MoreThe Therapists Who Take Care of Us
I have always been the caregiver. When I was little, it was for my younger sister. When I met my husband, it was for him, and still is. When we got pregnant with mason, it just came naturally. I went to every doctors appointment, took my prenatal vitamins, tried to eat healthy. I continued to work out and took care of myself, for my buddy that was growing bigger by the day. When he was born, he was perfect. The first time I saw him he looked exactly how I…
Read MoreThank you Mom for Giving me Strength
To the best grandma and mother, Thank You! Thank you for taking your two Autistic grandchildren once a week for 3 years so I could have a break. A break to recompose myself. A break to have a date night with my husband. A break to go to Walmart without screaming kids. A break to sleep. A break from being a special needs mom for a few hours. I could go on and on about the breaks I get to have thanks to you! Thank you for being the grandma…
Read MoreI am Thankful for the Most Amazing Uncle
My name is Corie and I am thankful for the most amazing uncle. I am the mom of two boys with one on the spectrum. My little guy was diagnosed “non verbal” and “low functioning” at the age of three. His name is Dante. He is now 12 and boy is he a firecracker. I would like to give a shout out so to speak to his Uncle Shane…AKA “Uncie”. A quick background on this “Uncie” character. Uncie is my oldest son’s father. So strange sounding but bare with me.…
Read MoreI’m Thankful for the Talking back
Last Saturday, a friend of mine came over. As we were sitting on the stairs chatting, the boys were upstairs with my parents. I heard them jumping up and down on the guest bed. I immediately called upstairs, saying, “BOYS! Come down here, now please!” Immediately, I heard my son Yuri say, indignantly, “NO!” And then, I heard, his brother Aki say, “NO!” Although I immediately said, “excuse me!?” There was still a big part of me that chuckled as my parents said, “they’re pretending to sleep now!” and I…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For Our Therapists
We’ve been doing therapy since my son Nicholas was 6 months old. He was behind from the very beginning, and wasn’t hitting his milestones at all. He was oversensitive to everything, would arch his back a lot, and needed help with most things. It was recommended by his pediatrician that he start seeing an occupational therapist (OT). Those were some hard therapy days. Nicholas was uncomfortable and cried a lot. We worked on tummy time, sitting, feeding, and fine motor skills with little success. Because of his sensitivity his OT…
Read MoreA Thank You Letter To Bubba’s Twin Brother
Dear Braidan, My sweet little buddy… I’m not sure there are words to describe just how truly thankful I am for you and everything you do for your brother…but I’m going to give it a try. Since the day I brought you and Ethan home from the hospital, you have been inseparable. You’d want to be close to each other touching and cuddling. You’d steal each others binkies and giggle at the silliest things. I loved it! Sissy loved taking turns feeding you and helping you both learn new things… …
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