Posts Tagged ‘Special Needs Child’
Can You Feel My Vibe?
My son, who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), was also diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). As part of his profile, he has a heightened sensitivity to light, sound and the energy of his environment. To navigate loud places, or areas that have unexpected sounds, has been challenging. We found bright lights could be over stimulating, making movie theatres, fairs and arcades unpredictable. He would become so revved up, literally bouncing from one thing to another, and his impulse control was non-existent. He also became disregulated by itchy…
Read MoreI am a Forever Mother
All five of my kids have really peculiar teeth. Which is kind of ironic, seeing as my husband is a dentist. Missing laterals, crowding, odd bite patterns—we’ve got it all. My son Jack has what is called a class three underbite, which means his lower jaw comes out much further than it should. He’ll probably need to have a lot of teeth pulled. And there is a surgery to correct the whole thing. It is big and long and complicated, with a very difficult recovery. We could never put him…
Read MoreIt Feels Like the Walls are Closing In
Does anyone else feel like they are standing in a room screaming at the top of their lungs but no one is listening. Or cares. Because I do. Distance learning is really hard. Trying to work with three kids and a husband is really hard. Never being alone is hard. Self care is hard. Motivation is hard. Trying to be happy all the time is hard. Trying to stay busy without leaving the house is hard. Finding Christmas cheer is hard. When everything shut down in March for us I…
Read MoreA War With Hope
My son Cooper has taught me so much about timing over the years. And how we don’t have a set time limit to accomplish things. When he was diagnosed we heard a lot of things. We heard game over. We heard prepare for the worst. We heard he would never talk, or make a friend or ride a bike. We were told he would never live independently or have any type of self care. After kindergarten we were told he would never be able to attend a public school. And…
Read MoreThe Special Needs Sibling Shield
Today we ventured to Walmart for a few things. Eggs. Milk. Nerf gun bullets. And 2 pieces of paper. The essentials. Obviously. Outings as a family are still relatively new for us. And while they are far from perfect, they are real. See, we have a kid who is just learning about waiting and buying and walking and all the parts of the world. While our son Cooper is making amazing progress at stores and by amazing I mean huge leaps and bounds…so much of it is still hard for…
Read MoreWhy We Push
It was only an hour and a half into the first day of my son’s school-sponsored summer enrichment program when my phone began to ring. It was supposed to be math camp – my 6 year old’s first love. Not enough kids signed up so they went with our third choice, farm camp. He does not dig farming so much, but I had viewed it as a chance to be around typical kids in a safe and fun environment.I had no expectations that he would grow even remotely in his…
Read MoreFind Your Tribe
A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about exactly what to do after you have learned of your child’s diagnosis, you can find that post here. It’s a bit overwhelming and once you pull yourself out from behind the curtain of sleep deprivation and emotional exhaustion, you need to do something very important. Find Your Tribe. At first, your friends and family will be there. Emphatically. Supporting you. Hanging on your every word and asking how they can be there for you. You may have friends that will want to…
Read MoreThey Have A Story to Tell Too
I have three sons. Most of you know Cooper. He has two younger brothers. A lot of folks ask about them. They want to know why I don’t share them more. Some are asking sincerely. Some equate photos on Facebook to love. Letting me know that I love my other two children less than Cooper. I don’t feel that’s true but what do I know I guess. I’m not expert in parenting, that’s for sure. Sawyer is 7 and Harbor is 2. They are both exhausting and amazing at the…
Read MoreOur Favorite Time of the Year
These three picked out the absolute best tree at the tree farm today. It was an experience I tell you. As it typically is with these three. The baby found mud. Then we lost him for a second. He was hiding. Sawyer wanted every tree. Cooper didn’t care what tree…he just needed ‘A’ tree in the back of truck. Jamie didn’t swear or yell once! No one threatened to call Santa! And after we went for doughnuts. But they were out of sprinkle doughnuts so it was quite a negotiation…
Read MoreThe Deafening Silence
My son Knox, five, lives each day with non-verbal autism. He has said some words, many sounds, but there is no consistent voice for him. Consistently, there is a deafening silence. A silence that makes my heart drop with each unanswered question I pose to him. A silence that is so loud, it makes me want to scream in pain. Scream in pain for him, for me, and for the voice that our family so longs to hear from him. A silence that is so deafening, it is all I…
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