Posts Tagged ‘nonverbal autism’
You Need to Discipline that Child
I shared a photo the other day of my sweet son with his photos. His treasures. In the picture Cooper was using a photo of his brothers to stim on his Kindle. Pretty cut and dry. The caption read “Cooper and his babies.” Gathered around him were more of his treasures. Mail. More photos. A bookmark. Books. A train magazine. You can’t tell from the photo but Cooper was in his glory. I was making dinner. The baby was in his high chair. Sawyer was playing hockey in the front…
Read MoreTrust the Process
I’ve never claimed to be an expert in child development. Or autism. Or anything related to it actually. But I do know my son. I know his quirks. His triggers. His joys and his fears. I know just where to tickle him to get the best laugh. And that if he sees exposed flesh, on a stranger or not, he will blow a raspberry on it. I know that he likes to sleep with five blankets, photos, mail, books and magazines. And that he won’t go to bed without his…
Read MoreI’ll Never Give Up On Him
I remember attending a speech therapy play session at the start of our autism journey. My son Freddie was 3 years old. He’d officially been diagnosed just over 6 months previous to this. I was excited and nervous. The autism world was all still fairly new. I didn’t really understand what or how severe autism was going to affect Freddie. I’d never heard of low functioning autism, and googling severe autism left me feeling hopeless. I reminded myself that Freddie was still so young. I was in denial. I thought…
Read MoreCan Children with Severe Autism be Happy?
When a child is diagnosed with autism, it can feel like the whole world is collapsing. I should know — I felt that way in 1999 when my son, Lucas, was diagnosed with moderate-to-severe autism just before his third birthday. My younger son, Spencer, was 18 months old and all the dreams I had of them growing up and being best friends disappeared. It makes me sad to think of how devastated and disappointed I felt in those early days, and I wish I could go back and give myself…
Read MoreIt’s Not Okay to Vanish
Hey friend, It’s been a while. A few years to be exact. I know you are still married. Kids are good. I see you travel a lot. And you love your job. You are always doing something. Funny, I don’t recognize any of the faces in your photos anymore. Anyhow, I wanted to reach out and say a few things. Clear the air I guess. We are both grown women. We are mature. We’ve both come a long way. So, I think it’s time. I know that Cooper’s diagnosis made…
Read MoreWhen the Milestone Emails are Wrong
When I was pregnant with my first son, I signed up for all the groups. The Bump. BabyCenter. What to Expect when you are Expecting. I wanted all the information I could get my hands on. I was so excited for his arrival. And I wanted to find moms like me that I could connect with. I also wanted to know when my little dude would reach his milestones. When would he roll over? When would he sit up? Crawl? Say his first word? Be potty trained? These websites were…
Read MoreA Mom to Two Only Children
I’m 7 months pregnant with my second child while sitting anxiously with my husband and 17 month old child in a waiting room of a speech and food therapist office. Every time the door opens to the waiting room I can feel my heart racing faster, and then Zachary’s name is finally called. An hour and a half later our very first evaluation is over. I’m left feeling more empty in my car then when I came into the office there. It’s hard to rationalize and almost defend your child…
Read MoreYouTube Safety and Autism
Most kids love YouTube. And many autistic children really, really love YouTube. My son loves the never ending stream of Barney and Thomas videos. He loves the music and the variety. He can easily move from trains to Daddy Shark. And honestly, I’ve never really worried about it. Jamie or I are always near him. We monitor what he watches. We listen. And even giggle when we hear Barney speaking in German or Spanish. But unfortunately, some frightening news is surfacing about the platform. The same things that make YouTube…
Read MoreBut I Want for Something
Jamie and I had one of those weekends as parents. You know, one that just depletes you. Where you wave the white flag, but quickly realize no one seems to care and that you are the adults and you just need to survive. We have a sick baby. A really, really sick baby who isn’t sleeping. Sawyer had three hockey games. That I had to miss. Which made me feel terrible. Cooper’s anti-anxiety medication seems to be leveling out again. Just like everything else we have tried over the years,…
Read MoreA Quiet Birthday
Dylan, you will be three years old very soon. I can’t believe that. It seems like only yesterday that we were worried we would never even have a child. After three long years of trying, we conceived you! We could not have been more excited to welcome you! The overwhelming love I had for you when you were born was palpable. It was like a ton of bricks and I felt instantly connected to you. You cried when you were born but the moment you were laid on my chest…
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