Posts Tagged ‘special needs family’
We Aren’t Excluded but we Aren’t Exactly Included Either
I was talking with a friend the other day. I was telling her how summers can be so hard on our family. In a way, part of me actually dreads them. Our friends, family and neighbors are so busy. We hear about it. We see it on Facebook. Pictures. Stories. They are traveling to Disney. Going to summer festivals. Grabbing candy at parades. Attending baseball games. Going for bike rides. Visiting the latest waterpark. On Facebook it seems so effortless. And while I know that everyone has struggles, I’m not…
Read MoreJust See Him and Say Hello
I’ve learned so many things on this journey of parenting a child with autism. I’ve learned that many people get scared of the word autism. I’ve learned that some people think my son is deaf because he’s nonverbal. Or that he can’t answer questions. I’ve watched people get nervous by flapping or his unique sounds. Or by his silence. I’ve watched people completely ignore him. Or they ask me questions for him. ‘Is he hungry?’ Which I respond with, ‘Let’s ask him.’ These aren’t bad people. They aren’t mean. Usually…
Read MoreGod Still Hears Her
I have four kids and I love being a mom, all my kids are so unique and loved! But from the moment I got pregnant with my first child, I felt God let me feel his heart for my daughter in a extra special way. I felt like she was a worshipper and her heart was going to be connected to God in a super special way. I have a memory when I was in the beginning of labor with her, I looked up after a contraction to see tears in…
Read MoreThe Balancing Act of this (Autism) Life
It’s 9 a.m. and my toddlers are eating popsicles. They are content (even quiet?) in their car seats behind me as we drive to ABA therapy. We are going on year three of “potty training” (I could call it a lot of other things) with my son Wilson, who is almost five years old and on the autism spectrum. He really pulled one over on me this morning with the new potty sticker chart by managing to sit and pee in the toilet four times more often than he would…
Read MoreBut, We Kept Trying
We are a beach family. My husband and I met at the beach. For years we have visited different beaches and resorts to enjoy the sun, sand and water. That is…until our little Braxton turned two. Although we didn’t get an official diagnosis until he was 3, I knew from the time he was born that he was different. This diagnosis, autism, robbed our family of the one thing we all loved to do together. The sand felt like glass. The sound of the waves might as well have been…
Read MoreIt’s the Isolation that Got Us
My son is starting to communicate. It’s almost unbelievable to me. If you would have told me a year ago that my son would even attempt to say words I wouldn’t have believed you. If you would have told me two years ago that he would be potty trained I also would have probably laughed at you. Not because he isn’t smart and amazing. But because it just seemed so impossible at the time. But I was wrong. He is blowing us away lately. He has started dressing himself. He…
Read MoreThat Day was the Beginning of Me
My oldest son was diagnosed with ADHD at 4 years old, which I jokingly (well sort of) say he got from his mother. We are both high strung, multi-tasking, over analyzing, high functioning anxiety stricken people. He was challenging as teachers put it but I totally got him. It was not a challenge in that I felt like I was looking in the mirror at myself and I could totally relate. My youngest son began having issues very early on but not in the typical autistic way. And it was…
Read MoreI was the Gloom and Doom Mom
Yesterday, I celebrated my eighth Mother’s Day. I’m not sure how that is possible but I did the math and it is indeed right. I have three boys. Each delightfully amazing in their own way. Cooper is 8. He is the happiest boy you will ever meet. He has taught me more about life than anyone or anything else. He is my shadow. I am his person and he is mine. I have Sawyer who is 6. He is incredible and pushes me to my limits daily. He is smart,…
Read MoreThis World Needed You
This year, we stand on the edge of the end of your 5th year, right on the precipice of you turning 6. It has been over 3 years since I last heard your voice elicit words spoken from your heart as you yelled goodbye to your beloved garbage trucks as they turned out of our neighborhood out of sight. Now, you rarely glance up to watch the garbage trucks when they come by. Most days, I really cannot believe we are here…I thought we would have heard those words again…
Read MoreMy Son will Grow up to be….
There are moments we experience, which follow us, entering our thoughts when we least expect, and weaving together with other pieces of our journey to shape us, give us pause, make us think…evolve…and create purpose as we move forward. When I was pregnant with Leo, I went for a 3D ultrasound session at 27 weeks, hoping to get a sneak peek of the sweet baby I would soon be holding in my arms. Everything about that day remains vivid and clearly outlined in my memory. Watching my boy on the…
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