Posts Tagged ‘bullying’
We won’t be Silenced
Severe autism, level 3 was my son’s first diagnosis. But I’m not supposed to talk about it. Severe learning/intellectual disability was my son’s second diagnosis, I’m allowed to talk about this one. Most children with this level of autism have very complex issues and learning disabilities. You can talk freely about most disabilities and special needs without being shamed. Autism is not one of them. Some severely autistic children will live at home forever, or in a residential home. Some severely autistic children will still need help with all of…
Read MoreWhen People Stare at you
I used to get so upset when people stared at you. You’d be flapping. Or making happy noises. Screeches. Grunts. High pitched screams. One second you’d be on the floor and the next running only to drop to the ground, roll, laugh and pat the ground. Or you’d be melting down. Screaming. Either way it almost sounds the same. Loud. I’d look around. Make eye contact. And look away. I’d think in my head, stop. Stop Cooper. Stop drawing attention to yourself. To us. Everyone knows. But it’s not for…
Read MoreTeacher Gives Boy with Autism ‘Most Annoying’ Award
As a mom to a child with autism, I have many fears about the world we live in. I worry about children bullying him. I worry about his safety. I worry about him being targeted for emotional, physical or even emotional abuse. I worry about so many things. I’m his mom. That’s my job. But honestly, never have I worried about something like this story. A father is expressing disbelief this week after his fifth-grader, who is autistic, was given a trophy dubbing him the “most annoying male” for the…
Read MoreWhere is Cooper?
Lately, I have been getting a lot of questions from followers wondering why I haven’t been sharing any videos of Cooper. Well, the answer is quite simple. I’ve been a little nervous. Lately, I’ve been receiving an abnormal amount of bullying. Some of it’s to be expected. I reach millions of people so of course not everyone is going to like me. I get that. But, lately, it’s been targeted at Cooper. About his looks. About his personality. About him in general. Name calling. Threats. Scary stuff. I’m not okay…
Read MoreMy Son makes Fun of the Autistic Kid in Class
I know bullying happens. I am not naïve to that. But what I didn’t know is that sometimes parents think it is funny too. They promote it. They laugh about it. They condone it. And they even brag about it over a cup of coffee. I was sitting with a few co-workers the other day having a cup of coffee and we were sharing stories about our kids. We were laughing about the drama around little girls and the laid back personalities of little boys. I was hearing about dance and…
Read MoreThey Call him a Monster
When you share your world like I do, you see, read, and hear things that are unbelievable. Things that make me physically ill. Evil finds us. Hate finds us. Which is hard to believe. I just share my kids. Our life. Our funny, beautiful life. And yet they call him a monster. They say he’s a waste. That he’s dangerous. That he’s much worse. Just because he has autism. A diagnosis. A label. A word. An explanation. Not an excuse. Something he was born with. He thinks a little differently.…
Read MoreMy Dear Friend Sally
Hi Sally Yes, that’s your real name. You are a real person. A middle aged woman. Honestly, it’s easier for me to respond to you when I think of you as a human being. A real person with thoughts, feelings and emotions. A grace that I’m not sure you granted me. I also won’t share your last name. This group of special needs parents is pretty fierce. When I share your comment I’m sure many of them will want to hunt you down and comment on your perfect life. I’m…
Read MoreWhy did this happen to us?
My husband and I often ask ourselves, “Why did this happen to us?” Is there a lesson that the universe is trying to teach us by giving us two children on the autism spectrum? Tonight, I think I figured it out after I attended two holiday parties. At the first party, I finally got closure about losing a friend after she made explicit comments. She thinks my child doesn’t have autism because she is not intellectually delayed and makes eye contact. My child has behavior issues (not autism) and needs…
Read MoreWhen You Feel Like You Don’t Belong in Society Anymore
There have been many “hardest” autism moments, and the truth is, when I think it can’t get harder, there is always a next time that makes it harder. I hope that makes sense. There have been many “best moments” too, but let’s talk about the hard times, because we currently just had a horrible moment. The first hardest autism moment came before I even knew he had autism. We had just dropped Dad off for a year long deployment at the airport. I wouldn’t have even attempted the store, but…
Read MoreAlways Be You Little Man
My Little Wild One, Some days aren’t easy, and some days the unknown future can get me down, but I want you to know something. It’s never you. It’s never your fault. You are perfect the way you are. You might always be the oddball, the odd one out. You may be called names. You might get left out, and overlooked, ignored and maybe picked on, but I want you to know something. It’s never you. The sad thing is people are too busy. The world moves too fast. People…
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