Posts Tagged ‘severe autism’
Trust 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 MoreI am the Lucky One
I get to see and hear the world through his eyes. We dance to our reflections in windows. We twirl to music. We lay on the ground just to feel the carpet on our cheeks. We laugh at a sneeze or a hiccup. Over and over again. We make funny noises. We run. We roll. We don’t care what anyone thinks. We laugh. Only his laugh is way better than mine. It’s the best noise I have ever heard. Deep from the belly. We eat cupcakes. But only the frosting.…
Read MoreA Family of Five
‘I think it’s terrible that you go places without Cooper all the time. I think you are awful, awful parents. And you are teaching your other children that Cooper doesn’t matter. Shame on you.’ -An excerpt of a recent email from a super fan. Very little amazes me on this blogging journey anymore. Even an email like this one. But what does amaze me is how people still don’t understand the agonizing decisions that special needs parents have to make every day. And that even though we make the tough…
Read MoreThe Price of Strength
Raising two girls with autism has made me stronger than I ever imagined I could be. I have found strength at my low points that looking back feels like someone else. The rare times when I allow myself to think about why my husband and I “chosen” for this life, I’m not sure it was because we were particularly strong before autism. We were young, invincible, and soul mates from the start. We were together for 4 years before our fairy tale wedding and knew we wanted to start a…
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 MoreThank you for being You
I want to thank you kid. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. I want to thank you for being you. This morning I dropped you off for your first day at an all-day play program. You had never been there before. You didn’t know what to expect. I promised games and kids and fun. But I could tell you were a little nervous. On the drive over you were so excited to have a lunch packed. That was a huge deal to you. As usual you were peppering…
Read MoreWill I be Sad Forever?
Dear Kate, I’m writing you because I don’t know who else to say this too. It’s late. 2 am actually. Everyone is sleeping. Although I know my son will be up in a hour. I should be sleeping. But I can’t. My son was diagnosed today with autism. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. I mean, I knew. We all knew. He has no words. He doesn’t even try to communicate. I overhead one of the aides in his preschool say she has never met a boy quite so autistic.…
Read MoreA Tale of Three Brothers
This morning my six year old was talking to his baby brother. I was running around getting lunches ready. We were running a bit late. And after a night of no sleep the morning felt never ending. I peeked over and saw Sawyer head first in Harbor’s car seat. He was talking to him in his loving, brotherly voice. ‘It’s your brother Harbor. Your big brother. I just love you baby.’ My heart absolutely melted. I watched Harbor stop fussing and grin at Sawyer. Those two. Already two peas in…
Read More11 Things I Learned about Autism at Target
My son has been having some pretty big breakthroughs lately. He’s been trying new foods. An apple, a grilled cheese, a hamburger and even his first French fry. He’s been more vocal. Calmer. Happier. His anxiety seems to be going down. All huge wins in our autism world. So, yesterday I asked him if he wanted to go to Target, like I have before. For the last 6 or so years when I ask him if he wants to leave the house the answer is always no. Well, he immediately…
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