Posts Tagged ‘special needs family’
They Say it Takes a Village
They say that it takes a village to raise a child. I have wondered where you get this village. When my son was first diagnosed with autism I did not want to tell anyone. I knew that he would beat the odds and recover from autism. Maybe it was ignorance, denial, or wishful thinking. I thought that if I worked with him hard enough, provided him enough ABA therapy, changed his diet, gave him supplements he would return to the little boy that he had been before his regression. But…
Read MoreOur Holiday Break in Photos
Taking photos of my beautiful boys and crazy, wild life is one of my favorite things to do. Part of me wishes I would have became a photographer. Photos show our life in a way that my written words never could. When Cooper was 3, I was asked on a questionnaire if he had any behaviors. Does he stim or flap? Does he line objects up? Does he hum? At that time, he didn’t do any of those things besides flap his arms. I remember thinking, we must be really…
Read MoreDo you think that Elf knew that Brayden has Autism?
I heard excited footsteps on the stairs. Zachary was standing in the living room. His little body jumping up and down. “Santa came, Santa came.” His enthusiasm radiated through the house. I watched as my older kids excitedly watched him. Despite the fact that they are “too old” to be excited the joy that exuded from Zachary was contagious. I look to the corner of the room. Brayden is sitting on the kitchen table. He is rocking back and forth. His hands covering his ears and a sad cry escapes…
Read MoreTips for Holiday Survival
This is a quick list of the things that I have learned as an autism mom to make the holidays a whole lot easier for our family. My son Noah is going to be four next month, is nonverbal, and is considered a huge sensory seeker. My first and foremost suggestion is if you can host the party in your home, do it. Your kid is always going to be more comfortable being in their own environment with their own things. This will be our second year hosting Christmas in our home, and I believe it…
Read MoreChristmas Cards with a Side of Faith
I am so excited to share our 2018 Christmas card with you. Christmas cards are one of my favorite holiday traditions, and I love documenting the end of our year with a new card. Every year I include a quote about autism and hope on our card. I think people get the subtle reference and hopefully smile. My favorite: ‘Anything can happen child. Anything can be. Never stop believing.’ I also love receiving cards from our friends and family. I typically hang them all over my kitchen and leave them…
Read MoreMy Son is Not Less
The hardest parts of autism, of special needs, of disability, of parenting a child with significant and complex needs…Well, they aren’t the parts you would think. The practical parts of parenting a child like ours, the trials and tribulations, well, you could write a book. He’s a wheelchair user. He requires all of his cares to be done by an adult, and when we go for dinner you best be sure to move all of the crockery out of arms reach, unless you fancy being speared by a fork or…
Read MoreTelling My Daughter her Brother has Autism
My daughter was six when my son was born. We spoke about what it would be like when the baby was born We talked about how things might change for a short time and that it doesn’t change how much I love her and that my time may be a little bit unfairly split for a while as babies need a lot of attention. He came along and she was in love with him. From the moment she got in the car from school she always asked how he’d been…
Read MoreThankful for the Grandmothers in my Life
I would like to honor my mom and mother-in-law this November. I’m thankful for everything they’ve done for my family in the past three years. I have three kids with special needs and they both have been there since the beginning. They’re our biggest support system. My first son Nicholas was recently diagnosed with Autism. He’s 3.5 years old, non-verbal, has global developmental delay, and sensory processing disorder, among other things. Daniel, my second son, is 2 years old and was born with an association that affects many body systems,…
Read MoreThe Therapist that Changed Our Lives
We have been blessed with literally dozens of amazing people since starting this special needs journey. They all love my son and want him to succeed as much as I do. But for today I want to say how thankful I am that Kayli came into our lives. Max was six months in to his Autism diagnosis, after years of trying to get answers. We were four months into ABA therapy. Our family was going through so many changes. We bought our first home, Max was transitioning to full day…
Read MoreHusband, It Might Always Be This Hard
My husband and I are, in a sense, new to this role of being special needs parents. Both of our children have fragile x syndrome and although our boys were born with this genetic condition, we didn’t know how significant our 2 year old son’s delays were until this past summer when Caleb’s genetic results came back. A few months after receiving Caleb’s results, we got news of Ben’s diagnosis as well. Both of our boys have full mutations of fragile x syndrome which causes them to have significant developmental…
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