Posts Tagged ‘autistic siblings’
The Secret Club of Siblings
Today is an exciting day. Today, I made a friend. As a young adult in a new city, this is a pretty huge achievement. We met at our apartment complex’s pool after I saw she was reading a book I have been meaning to read and the conversation moved from there. We talked about the places we want to visit when COVID is over, griped about our landlord, joked about how the Midwest is like your annoying sibling — if you’re from there, you’re allowed to make fun of it.…
Read MoreThe Spiral Staircase
Questions filled my mind and I was unable to hear what the doctor was saying. I was sitting in her office listening to all she had to say about my three boys. The journey started what seemed like ages ago. I had been fighting to get to this very moment, but I wasn’t expecting this. It all started in 2017 with our youngest son Sawyer. We finally got a Pediatrician to listen to us and hear our concerns. We had no idea where the first referral would lead us. The…
Read MoreI Don’t Understand Why
I’ve numbed myself now for quite some time. I went from my daughter getting a diagnosis to my son having autism too. When I realized he was on the spectrum it really hurt because I thought he would be the typical child that would help with his sister and that I would be able to relate to on a level I feared my daughter might not be able to. When he began his aggressive behaviors- this beautiful boy I love- that is when it became too much. The whole process:…
Read MoreMy New Dreams as a Mother
I have two amazing daughters. Claudia is 15 and Keira is 13. They both are beautiful. They both have crazy curly red hair. And they both have Autism. A spectrum disorder that affects individuals differently and in varying degrees. They may share this diagnosis but in most ways couldn’t be more different. My Claudia has severe non verbal autism. She didn’t say her first real word until age 7. She still has toileting issues and needs assistance with every aspect of life. She rarely sleeps through the night and is…
Read MoreThe Price of Strength
Raising two girls with autism has made me stronger than I ever imagined I could be. I have found strength at my low points that looking back feels like someone else. The rare times when I allow myself to think about why my husband and I “chosen” for this life, I’m not sure it was because we were particularly strong before autism. We were young, invincible, and soul mates from the start. We were together for 4 years before our fairy tale wedding and knew we wanted to start a…
Read MoreAnd Another Makes Two
Four months after I found out I was pregnant with my daughter J, I began to have concerns about my son PB’s development. He wasn’t answering to his name, he avoided eye contact, and his speech wasn’t where it should have been. After doing some of my own research, the same thing kept popping up. Autism. I fought hard not to accept that. There was no way my son had autism. I just couldn’t fathom that. But several referrals, early intervention appointments, speech therapy appointments, occupational therapy appointments, and an…
Read MoreChanging Flight Plans to Holland
Mission Control has changed our course…again. Some of you may know the poem “Welcome to Holland.” For those of you who do not, allow me to explain. Or, if you prefer, you can follow this link to the poem. Welcome to Holland “Welcome to Holland,” is a poem written by Emily Kingsley about how it feels to have a child with special needs when you had already prepared for a typical child…like planning a trip to Italy. However, when that day arrives the plane changes its flight plan and lands…
Read MoreI Can Feed Myself Mama
It happened today. You told me you can feed yourself. And in full disclosure…this was not the first time you’ve told me, ‘I can do it.’ You’ve been telling me that since you were a baby. ‘I do it.’ You’ve always been so strong willed. So independent. You wanted to buckle yourself. Wipe yourself. Get your own snacks. I could go on and on. You have an independence about you Sawyer that I didn’t know could exist in a child. And then this morning, I was rushing you along. I…
Read MoreTell Her My Name Mama
Yesterday, we had a social worker visit at our house to chat about Cooper’s waiver and complete paperwork for the upcoming year. This is nothing new. We have people in our home constantly discussing Cooper. That’s the world of autism. We used to have friends come over for dinner and drinks and now we have social workers and therapists come over and talk about autism. Oh, how life changes. Anyhow, yesterday was especially chaotic. Even for us. Sawyer wanted to make jello. He wanted a drink and a snack and…
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