Posts Tagged ‘christmas’
All I Want for Christmas
Dear Santa, Instead of toys, trucks and the usual boy stuff, I wanted to ask you for something a little different this year. All I want for Christmas is to be treated like everybody else. I’m just a regular little boy after all! It makes me sad to miss out on things. I want so much to be welcomed and included in ALL school and church activities. I want to be included in sports teams and clubs at school. I really want to be invited to parties and dances and…
Read MoreIt’s Beginning to Look A Lot like Christmas…
What does Christmas look like for your family? For many families of those with special needs, it may or may not look like your, “Dreaming of Sugar Plums dancing in your head” vision. Christmas for our family begins soon after Thanksgiving with a late night visit from the Christmas Fairy. While I adore my decorations I have collected over the years, planning to set them out is almost like a conspiracy. My son does not do change in scenery very well. A few years ago, as we were getting everything…
Read MoreWhat I Really Want For Christmas…
I find myself having the same discussion that I’ve had every year around this time… Buying presents for my son has always been difficult. I remember going to the toy store and grabbing my basket and strolling through the store excited to buy him something he was wanting or truly looking forward to and then suddenly reflect on the fact that he doesn’t even know how to play with toys. I remember seeing all the parents together excited with their overflowing carts and chatting about how their child wanted this…
Read MoreFinding the Magic in Christmas Again
Christmas is supposed to be magical. When I was young, I spent hours dreaming about the wonderful gifts waiting for me under the tree on Christmas morning. My wish list was long, and my hopes were high. I even convinced myself that an old man with a big, fat belly flew around the whole world in one night to give every good little boy and girl a present. I couldn’t sleep the night before, and I was giddy with anticipation for the morning to come! Somehow as I got older the…
Read MoreHow the Autism Changed Christmas
I took my Christmas tree down on December 10th. Yes, you read that correctly. On a day when the slowpokes haven’t even put theirs up yet, I was taking mine down. I took down the glittery balls. I took down the ribbons. I took down the lights. I stuffed them all in a big tote and dragged it to the basement with hot tears in my eyes. Autism has taken a lot from my family. One of the biggest things it has taken from me personally, is certainty. It took…
Read MoreAutism and Christmas (VIDEO)
For the first six years of my son’s life he didn’t care at all about Christmas. He didn’t care about the presents, or the tree, or Santa. He didn’t care about celebrating with our family, or traditions, or preparing for the holiday. It was so hard on our family. And as he got older, it got harder. There was no making a Christmas list, attending church, baking cookies, visiting Santa or even going to dinner at Grandma’s house. Not only did he not understand, he detested opening gifts, the music,…
Read MoreChristmas Tree Decorating Done Right
We decorated the Christmas tree today! Super Cooper couldn’t have been more excited. His anxiety about the day started early but we were able to talk through it without any issues. We visited the tree farm, he helped pick out the tree and we loaded it up in the truck…in under 6 minutes. No lie. The people selling the trees laughed at how fast we were. Let’s just say our family knows how to do things quickly. Once home we realized the trunk was too big for the tree stand.…
Read MoreCooper’s Guide to Surviving the Holidays with Autism
The holidays are here! And wow are they stressful. Non-stop events, travel, shopping, expectations, etc. As much as I love Christmas time I know I always breathe a sigh of relief when January rolls around. One element that makes it more challenging is having a child with a disability. My son Cooper simply can’t go most places. Restaurants are not an option. Crowds, noise, being away from home and expectations are very challenging for him. Because of all that we had to implement some tough decisions when Cooper was three.…
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