Posts Tagged ‘special needs family’
Special Wants Holiday Gift Exchange
Our friends over at Bacon and Juice Boxes, are running the 3rd Annual Special Wants Holiday Gift Exchange and need our help. What is it? This holiday “wish list” was created as a way to help special needs families get some help around the holidays buying gifts for their special loved ones and siblings. We know that there are so many expenses when you are caring for a special needs child or adult. So, we hoped to ease the burden around the holidays and show these families a little holiday…
Read MoreI’m Thankful for My Niece
My husband and I are parents to an amazing, energetic, mischievous, almost three year old boy, Logan. We started to notice speech regression around 20 months, and I brought it up to his pediatrician at our next routine visit. I remember her saying that speech regression is related to autism, but she didn’t really see any other “red flags” that alarmed her. She referred us to Early Steps to see if he would qualify for speech therapy, and then we would see if he started to make any progress and…
Read MoreI’m Thankful for the Ultimate Grammie
I am honoring my mother, the ultimate autism Grammie, Hughena Gear. I am thankful for her for so many reasons. If you look at the definition of thinking outside the box, she defines it. There is not one thing she will not do for her grandchildren. Our eldest son Emmett was diagnosed with autism almost three years ago, he is now six. Mum has been there every step of the way. They relate, she sees things how he does sometimes, stuff that we may not able to see right away.…
Read MoreWithout Autism…
This weekend my son Cooper is spending time with his grandparents. He is getting spoiled, doted on, and loved in that special way only grandparents can do. We needed this break. We just welcomed a new baby into our world. Our five year old Sawyer needed a break. Mom and dad needed it. Cooper needed it. Within 30 minutes of dad dropping him off, I let out the breath I had been holding. The breath I have to hold when I have Cooper. The breath I often don’t know I…
Read MoreCall Out: I’m Thankful For You This November
This November, I will honor the therapists, teachers, doctors, friends, children, spouses, therapy centers, and family members that make a difference in your family’s life. This could range from the friend who sat with your child while you showered (for the first time in weeks!) to the doctor who finally listened to you. Or, the grandparent that took your other child to the park so they could get a break from their sibling’s disability to the therapist who puts in hour after hour teaching, modeling and praising your child. It…
Read MoreAngels on the Seas
On a chilly, blustery day somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, I sat on the deck of a cruise ship watching two young women in orange T-shirts lift a wheelchair-bound teenager out of his seat, carry him up a flight of stairs, and slide down a water slide with him. I watched as his face reflected pure glee at the bottom of the slide. The ladies lifted him out of the water and carefully placed him back in his wheelchair. Then they did the whole thing again. All to give…
Read MoreWe Take Nothing for Granted in our World
Last night, my five-year-old graduated from preschool. It was a super big deal in our world. He wore a cap and gown. He practiced a song for weeks in the car, the shower and before bed. His grandparents came to the ceremony. He stood in front with the other kids and got his diploma. Jamie and I sat and watched. My baby boy. Achieving milestones. Growing up. Now, we prepare for Kindergarten. We will set a day for school shopping. We will pick out his backpack and supplies. We will…
Read MoreYou Would Make a Great Big Brother
Before having children, my husband and I would talk about how many little feet we would like to have running around the house. Many times we would agree on two children…healthy of course. However, every now and I then I would get the urge to want to have three even four. I envisioned them all growing up together, playing sports, sharing friends and even overcoming the inevitable life challenge as a unit or team. After a healthy, uneventful pregnancy, our Jack entered the world. He was perfect. There were some…
Read MoreAge Thirteen
My typical daughter, Sasha was recently in her middle school musical. When we were reviewing the performance I mentioned one of the actresses I thought did a great job. “What grade is she in?” I asked. “She’s in seventh grade. She’s Alaina’s age.” My daughter said casually. She’s Alaina’s age? My face dropped. I felt the familiar feelings. A combination of shock and sorrow. That’s what girls in seventh grade are like? This 13 year old girl..she was so..so so older, so funny, so focused, so verbal. I squinted my…
Read MoreI Dream Differently Than You
Being a victim sounds horrible but sometimes I think we fail to recognize that at times it is self-induced. I can’t go to the store because my son might throw a tantrum. We cannot afford to have a date night because we cannot find a babysitter. I have no friends. I am going to wait to start my business because of my husband’s work situation. We cannot go on vacation because my son does not transition well and we cannot afford it. I have personally said every single one of…
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