Posts Tagged ‘severe autism’
Riding the Roller Coaster
Look at this smile. He’s back. We made it through another regression. Another loss of skills and spike in behaviors. This one lasted nearly two months. Which in our autism world is actually short. I don’t know what caused it. Maybe getting a new sibling. Maybe the ear infection he had. Or a full moon, new therapist, or change of season. I’ll most likely never know. That’s our autism world. A mystery. It’s constant ups and downs. Gaining skills. Losing skills. I call it a roller coaster. But we made…
Read MoreBeing Afraid to Talk about Autism
Today, I brought my new baby in for his one month check-up. I asked all my questions and found out that he is as perfect as can be. All 12 pounds of him. As I breathed my sigh of relief, I asked the question I was too afraid to ask when Cooper was this age. ‘When do I worry about lack of speech?’ It felt good to say it out loud. This time I’m not afraid to ask questions. In this video I reflect on the days before Cooper’s diagnosis.…
Read MoreWhen the Differences are Noticeable
When my autistic son was two and three I remember thinking….at least he can blend in. He’s so cute that no one will ever know he is different. Or that he has autism. For some reason that mattered at the time. I think it was a comfort thing. Now, he is almost eight. And he yells, runs, rolls, crawls, flaps, eats anything he finds on the ground, and so on. He has licked strangers. He has eaten snow of stranger’s boots. It’s now apparent to me that we will never…
Read MoreThank You for Believing in My Son
I chose a life of motherhood, but this motherhood chose me. A different one of sorts, a special needs one. And because of this, I have needed more help along the way. A lot more. My son Noah wouldn’t be where he is today without our village, truly. Each person we’ve encountered on this journey has played a crucial role in our lives, and I am so grateful for each and every one of them. There is one person in particular that I have been exceptionally thankful for lately, and…
Read MoreLife Changes
Have you ever had that feeling, like your world just stopped turning? Like you are standing still, but everyone around you is moving forward? So dramatic, I know, but this isn’t like in the movies when your whole life “flashes before your eyes” or when scenes from your past/present go racing by on a fast train or something. When my son was almost two years old, the long road to his autism diagnosis began. This was also the point where my world quickly shifted to revolving solely around autism, and…
Read MoreI Used to Google Nonverbal
I used to google. A lot. Late at night typically. Always on my phone so Jamie couldn’t see my search history. I’d google flapping. I’d google ‘my toddler doesn’t sleep. ‘My toddler has no words.’ I’d google ‘my toddler doesn’t eat any food.’ ‘My toddler has no imaginative play.’ I’d google all the sentences that ran through my head on a constant stream. The sentences I had never said out loud. I’d google nonverbal at age two. Nonverbal at age three. And then eventually nonverbal at age four and five.…
Read MoreMedical Cannabis and Autism: Month Two Update
I promised I would give a weekly update on our journey with medical cannabis for our severely autistic son. We are just over two months in! We’ve seen amazing, huge, gigantic, breakthroughs. I am so excited to tell you all of them. But with that, we’ve also seen a huge increase in behaviors. We’ve learned that while awareness is an AMAZING thing, it can bring issues that we’ve never had before. In week one we saw a reduction in anxiety. In week two we saw improved engagement with his surroundings.…
Read MoreBehaviors are Communication
My autistic son can’t tell me what he’s feeling. He can’t tell me if he’s scared or nervous. The words don’t come out. So he shows me instead. And those feelings usually come out in bizarre ways. We call them behaviors. They are typically frustrating. They usually drive a person crazy. That’s the hard part about severe autism. My message today…behaviors are communication. A few nights ago, Cooper patted the chair next to me. He smiled. And climbed his body up onto my lap. He wedged his way in…in the…
Read MoreMy Husband, Thank You for your Sacrifice
I am thankful for my husband Steve. We’ve had an amazing journey thus far. November 27th will be our families Autism anniversary. The day one of our twin boys, Maverick, was diagnosed. At the time of Maverick’s diagnosis, we were living in central Washington. A peaceful, rural area, filled with apple orchards and wineries. A beautiful place to raise a family, just maybe not our family. Acquiring services in an underserved area is difficult. Maverick was receiving early intervention services through a local organization. It consisted of two speech therapy…
Read MoreThe Parts I Wasn’t Prepared For…
When my son was diagnosed with autism at age three, I was initially devastated. I think that’s normal for a parent. The word was big and scary. It made me feel out of control. It made me feel helpless. I knew nothing about autism. Or where to begin. Or even what the future held. I felt that way for at least a year. But once the dust settled, I dove in. My kid was awesome. He was adorable and smart. He just needed more time. More help. Autism didn’t change…
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