Posts Tagged ‘autism’
To My Son with Autism: I’m Sorry Kid
Dear Son, I’m writing you this letter, a letter that I know you will most likely never read, mainly because I will probably hide it from you. I have so much that I want to tell you, but with you being only 7 years-old, I feel like this may be too much for you, so instead, I will share it with other parents, who, hopefully, will understand. There are things that, if I had the power, I would change to make your life better. But my job isn’t to change…
Read More9 Ways to Prepare Now for Your Autistic Child’s Future
A few months ago my autistic, but otherwise extremely healthy child was denied life insurance. I was shocked and confused. When Cooper was born, in preparation for college, Jamie and I started a savings plan for the him that could be converted into dollars for college tuition. Smart right?! Recently, I received a letter in the mail that notified us that Cooper was denied coverage. I was irate. Autism is not a death sentence. My son is healthy. He has no medical conditions. An At-Risk Life After following up I…
Read MoreTen Services Available to Help With Your Autistic Child
When my child was diagnosed with autism I thought the help would start rolling in. I firmly believed that getting the diagnosis would be the hard part. Once we had that we would start helping him. Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones where everything falls into place. In most cases that’s simply not true. Helping your child will feel more like an exhausting game of trial and error. You’ll spend time googling and wondering what your next steps should be. You’ll hear about other families that have…
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 MoreA Letter to My Two Boys
To my boys, It’s December. When I was a little boy I remember December being absolutely magical as it’s the month that houses both Christmas and my birthday. I recall the days leading up to the festivities, being excited and feeling the building anticipation. The snow on the ground, the Christmas decorations and potential school closings would add to the sense of wonder that surrounded the whole season. “Would I get to shovel snow in the morning?” That was seriously a question I would think on the regular. If that…
Read More9 Big Mistakes Parents of Autistic Children Can Avoid
I often think of my son’s autism as a journey. A journey that not only he is on, but our family as well. A journey with many, many challenges. And holes and cliffs. And of course it’s slippery. The hills have jagged rocks and most of the time I feel like I am hanging on for dear life. There is no safety harness or map. I typically don’t know if I am even going in the right direction. And perhaps at times I fear that I might be going backwards.…
Read MoreA Letter to the Mother of a Child With Autism
Dear mama, I want you to know that when you leave your child with me, he will be safe, loved, and encouraged. I want you to know that I see you and you are not alone. I also want you to know mom, that I see behind your smile and want to hug you every day. When you leave your child at my door I sometimes secretly hope that you are going to do something wonderful for yourself and that you don’t forget to take care of yourself. I want…
Read MoreTeaching Play To Children With Autism
At age seven my son has very few play skills and no imaginative play. This means keeping him entertained without technology is a real challenge. What I wouldn’t give to be able to say to my son, ‘go play.’ Right now that phrase doesn’t make sense to him. He needs to be taught the skills first. For years we have worked on puzzles and anything alphabet related. But both of those types of play meant that I was sitting next to him and engaging with him. I had hoped by…
Read MoreWill It Always Be This Hard?
I read a blog post today. It was written by a super exhausted mama for the super exhausted mama. Which obviously caught my eye. That’s me. I work full time. Two kids. One with autism. Three dogs. Home owner. Friend. Daughter. Spouse. I spend my days sharing autism, advocating, attempting to have a social life, trying to drink enough water, playing with my kids, exercising, fighting with Cooper over eating and communication, cooking dinner, cleaning my house, wishing I could walk my dogs, get a good night sleep and pee…
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