Posts Tagged ‘nonverbal autism’
My Sweet Boy, Mama is Happy
My Sweet Boy, Last night we went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was supposed to be me, you, your two brothers and Dad. A family walk. But, well, it didn’t go as planned. But what does these days I guess. If autism and a global pandemic has taught us one thing it’s…’hold on.’ I wouldn’t say it’s been all bad though. I would even dare to say that our family has gotten stronger through all of this. Spending 24 hours a day together for eternity will do that.…
Read MoreDon’t Take Mom For Granted
I’ve heard it so many times. “Just wait until they start talking, you’ll just want them to be quiet”. I see memes like this and while I know it’s said in good humor, it’s also a little heartbreaking. Not everyone hears “mom”. Some children are deaf, non-communicative, non-verbal…parents lose children every day, and would give their whole life just to hear “mom” one more time. My daughter doesn’t have a name for me. The last time she said “mama” she was 10 months old. In fact, neither of my kids…
Read MoreThat Little Empty Spot
When your last born loses her first tooth, it is supposed to be a little sad because one realizes that their baby is growing up. And will soon spend long summer days riding bikes and playing neighborhood games. They are learning math facts and reading classic stories like, “If you give a Mouse A Cookie”. With her bouncy little smile she ran to me and grabbed my hand and brought it to her tiny bottom tooth on the left. It was so close to being free. She had been using…
Read MorePlease Remember the Kids Like My Daughter
I can’t catch my breath. Not because I’m sick. But because I’m scared. I know that this is a difficult time for all of us. I’m especially scared though for my daughter Liz and for other kids with special needs. And for their families. Liz’s therapy center is now closed indefinitely. No ABA, no speech therapy, no occupational therapy. I am scared that she will regress and lose much of the progress that she has made without access to these therapies. She has worked too hard and come too far…
Read MoreMom Asks ‘AITA’ For Not Making Daughter Invite Autistic Child To Her Party
Hi. My name is Carrie. I have five kids, and my second son is diagnosed with autism. He is fifteen years old, and his name is Jack. I write a lot about autism—how is affects me, and my family, and my son. Yet I rarely write about current events or news stories, unless it’s about a complicated kid making a buzzer-beater to win a basketball game at the last minute—that’s the kind of inspiring thing I can get behind, you know? Jack will never shoot a buzzer-beater during a game.…
Read MoreI Know People Watch Us
I know people watch us. I know because I see their faces dart away when I meet there eyes. What they don’t know is if they kept looking, if they met my eyes, they’d see I was smiling. They’d see that I was inviting them in our secret world. Cooper and I just went for our first walk of the year. It’s 45 degrees today in Minnesota. That’s practically summer for us. And also a temperature that Cooper has deemed warm enough to venture outside. Typically, it’s like pulling teeth…
Read MoreWhy I Exercise…
The message said something like…‘why are women like you so obsessed with being skinny? I just don’t get it. And I have three kids. I don’t have time to go to the gym.’ It went on from there. They always do. I’ve been thinking about that message for days now. Especially every single time I squeeze my fat ass into jeans that are too tight or feel my bra fat bulge when I pick up one of my kids. Being shamed for exercising. That’s new one. Heck yes I want…
Read MoreThe Silent Moments And The Loudest Thoughts
In horror movies, the silence often lets us know something bad is about to happen. We tense our bodies, pull the covers up in preparation, and anticipate the worst. We do the same in special needs parenting, or in my case, being the mother of a nonverbal autistic son. Sometimes I feel like there is so much silence that it could consume me whole. It’s not just the moments when I look into my beautiful son’s eyes and try with every cell in my body to will him to say…
Read MoreThe Secret to Parenting is to Love Them Through
I have a secret for you. Most of the time I don’t know what I’m doing in the world of parenting. Nor have I ever claimed too. I mean I obviously know to brush my kid’s teeth and feed them fruit once in a while. I know to put sunscreen on them, hug and kiss them a dozen times a day, and not giggle when they say swears, but beyond that, I am mostly just winging it. Especially when it comes to my first born. I joke that my autism…
Read MoreToday, Both my Boys Went to School
Today was a really big day in our little world. Huge really. This morning Cooper went to his brother’s school to have his school photo taken by Lifetouch. See, these two boys should be in school together. They should be in first and third grade and riding the bus to and from school together. But they are not. It is what it is I guess. This was a big deal for both of them. We’ve been talking about it for over a week. A new shirt! A fancy haircut! A…
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