Posts Tagged ‘girl autism’
The Kaleidoscope of Autism: A Thank You Letter to My Kids
A Thank You Letter to My Kids, the “Typical” Siblings I know having a sibling with special needs has not been easy on any of you. Autism is like a kaleidoscope. While it certainly brings a lot of color to our life, each piece is different from the rest. Every twist gives a different view, and the effect is different for everyone. Autism has not only altered your sister’s life but the lives of all of us who love her and walk beside her. It is overlooked how much the…
Read MoreSanta’s Magic in Our Autism Journey
Every year at Christmastime, my older two children either went to see Santa, or we talked all about Santa and wrote lists. I could see the excitement building inside them and the anticipation on their faces on Christmas Eve as they got ready for bed. They would wake up on Christmas morning and run into the living room, yelling out, “Santa came!” and dive into their gifts. Olivia, on the other hand, was nonspeaking, and although I still tried to tell her about Santa and presents, she seemed to have…
Read MoreFinding Inclusion: The Power of a Birthday Invite
A birthday party invitation seems like such a normal right of passage as a kid. I remember getting many growing up.I also remember handing out birthday invitations to all of my friends. Birthday invitations were always a big part of my childhood. I grew up and had three children of my own. I had my oldest daughter when I was 25 years old, and I began throwing parties for her at age one. As she grew up, she was invited to many parties over the years. My son was born…
Read MoreMama’s Here: Finding Connection in the Quiet Moments
My daughter is 15 years old; she is autistic and has sensory processing disorder and anxiety. She is only semi-verbal, and for us, that means she has words to make requests, she can echo words and phrases, and she can answer yes or no questions with about 80 percent accuracy. However, she does not have conversational language skills. I cannot ask her how she feels and get an answer back. Every once in a while, in the wee hours of the night, I am awoken by the sound of my…
Read More“She Doesn’t Look Autistic”
What does autism look like? It looks like mismatched slippers every day. It looks like refusal to comply. It looks like obsession over socks being just right. It looks like dance parties at home but refusing to dance at dance class. It looks like holding her bladder until she is in a ‘safe space’ where she can finally find relief. It looks like fighting sleep even though she is past the depths of tiredness. It looks like food being cut into bite-sized pieces and discarding certain pieces because they don’t…
Read MoreThe Future and Autism: A Million Little Big Things
I was helping my autistic daughter navigate some personal medical issues that she had earlier today. I helped her through the hard parts and just went about my day. As I sit here this evening, thinking about our day, this wave of sadness and fear hits me extremely hard. When I am no longer here? Who will make sure these situations are dealt with in a way that respects and allows her dignity? I have dedicated the last fifteen years of my life to caring for this beautiful girl. I…
Read MoreDismissed at School, Thriving at Home: My Autistic Child’s Journey
My daughter who has autism, Olivia, was sent home from school on May 22nd, just one hour into her school day. It was the day before the last day of school. She was having behaviors they said they couldn’t get under control. They said they tried all things sensory, but nothing worked. I went to pick her up, and she was walking slowly and calmly with her teacher, so she must’ve recovered fairly quickly from those uncontrollable behaviors in the 20 minutes it took me to change my clothes and…
Read MoreAutism and Independence: In Her Own Time
In her own time. Those four words are more important than I can express. I am not sure I can put into words the incredible moment my autistic daughter had yesterday, but I am going to try. Yesterday, Kya asked to “go in the car to the dollar store for Elmer’s glue.” So we headed to the store. While there, she looked at clay but passed on it. We gathered what she wanted and headed to the till. Once there, she said clay, so I decided to let her go…
Read MoreUnseen Struggles: A Mother’s Tale of Parenting an Autistic Child
There have been a lot of ups and downs during this autism life. The highs are so high and the lows are so low. This causes a lot of emotional turmoil within. There have been some really hard times throughout my autistic daughter, Alyssa’s life. The grief period after diagnosis is devastating. The realization that this is the rest of her life. Seeing all the other kids develop and realizing how behind she is, and where she should be, and although that’s not her path, it doesn’t make it any…
Read MoreQuestions of Love: Raising an Autistic Daughter
Does she know she has been fighting her entire life? She fought to get nourishment and to breathe as a tiny baby. Fifteen years later she continues to fight. Fight for comfort, fight for words, and fight for peace within her own body and mind. Does she know she was born into a world that wasn’t built for her? Does she know I will move heaven and earth to find the right tools to give her so she can walk through this world as safely and peacefully as she can?…
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