Posts Tagged ‘autistic teen’
It’s Time For A Change
I’m feeling conflicted and heartbroken for my autistic son’s future. As I’m getting dressed for work today, I noticed my sixteen year old son, Lawrence looking at all the headlines and stories in the news… My son then makes the comment, ‘I dislike cops.’ Wow. Talk about a feeling of confusion as I’m now wearing my uniform. I am a Corrections Office and a Field Training Officer. I’m also a single mom, doing my best to raise a developmentally disabled son that has huge communication issues. He is not aggressive. He…
Read MoreThe Ebbs and Flows of Autism
Early this morning our daughter came into our room, hopped into bed next to me, and began working on her intricate mindfulness sticker book. I watched as she elaborately and precisely filled out each piece of the picture, quicker than I ever could. A beautiful sight. I said “good morning, sweetie”, but did not get a noticeable response. Craving interaction, I asked her what she was making a picture of in her book. Sadly, again there was no response. So, I re-asked, even more enthusiastically— still no response. Then I…
Read MoreAll I’ve Been Told
Oh, he’s not talking yet? Kids do things in their own time, there’s no need to worry. Don’t rush to label him. A label could hold him back in life. You need to do something to get him sleep. You should let him cry. Maybe try co-sleeping. Oh, co-sleeping is very bad. He’ll eat when he’s hungry. Don’t tell everyone he has autism. People will judge him for it. You look tired. Have you tried essential oils? Have you looked into a gluten-free diet? Have you considered horse therapy? He…
Read MoreHunger
Hello. My name is Carrie. I am married to a man named Joe and we have four boys and one daughter and our second son, Jack, has autism. He is sixteen. Today I’d like to talk about something that can make people uncomfortable. Food. Listen, I love food. Our family loves food. You might say food is our love language. I don’t necessarily love to cook aforementioned food, but listen, everything has its limitations. My son Jack loves to eat. He organizes his day around breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and…
Read MoreA Boy of No
Once upon a time, there was a boy who always said no. When he was very small and didn’t have his words, he learned to sign it with his fingers. When that didn’t work and his mother or his father kept asking him to try a bite of a banana, he simply clamped his mouth shut, and shook his head. No. Later he learned to talk—first one word at a time, then two. After a long wait, he began to string them together like bright lights on a wire. But…
Read MoreNo Talk All Action
The red shirt that Brian has worn everyday for the past 5 years (we have 4 of them) says “No Talk All Action”. It is not just a slogan, it is how he lives his life. My younger daughter Catie was upset one night last week and was in tears sitting on the couch between me and my husband. Brian appeared from the other room and came over to Catie, wiped off the tears on her face, and hugged her until she stopped crying. He would not leave her side…
Read MoreNavigating the Autism Maze
When I first learned our sweet, beautiful daughter had autism I felt as if a tsunami had swept me up, taking with it my family’s happiness and peace. I thought from here on, our life would be limited to therapies and hardships. I was frightened and uncertain about our now shaky future. Would our almost three year old daughter ever be able to fully communicate? What type of relationship could she and I have as she grew older? She blends in now, but what sort of behaviors might she develop…
Read MoreMy Heart Broke Yesterday
My heart broke yesterday. At lunchtime, my boy rang me to ask me if we could have pizza for tea. Wow I thought…he is using his mobile to talk to me during break! That’s great! I promised we could and he sounded happy. Then BOOM I got a phone call on my way to pick him up to tell me he had left the school grounds and told a teacher to “shut up”! My heart began to race as I drove as quickly as I could to get to him.…
Read MoreSkeletons in my Closet
I am so much older and so much wiser these days. And yes, so much more thin and worn out than when our eighteen year old daughter Jazz was given that autism diagnosis at age three. In those early days, I swallowed every book, watched every documentary, attended every autism-related conference in order to get a handle on this thing life had thrown my way. I was puzzled by the old moms I encountered and their silence. As a newbie to autism, I was naïve perhaps as to what changes…
Read MoreReleasing MY Own Doubts and Fears
I stood there sobbing as Ethan stared at me, wondering what was wrong. “Mom why are you crying?” I couldn’t answer. The tears just rolled down my face as the illumination of another glimmer of possibility, of hope, burst through the room like a ray of sunshine bursting through the clouds. “Mom what’s wrong? You’re making me uncomfortable,” Ethan said in his funny quirky, humorous way. I burst out laughing. I couldn’t help it. He always knows just what to say to make me laugh and smile. I’m not only…
Read More