Posts Tagged ‘special needs family’
Our Autistic Son’s Audition Experience
A while back, a local modeling agency reached out to our family. They were looking for autistic children to take part in an ad for a cell phone company. They invited Cooper to audition. First, I will tell you we were honored. I mean, seriously, how cool. Representation for one. And knowing how cute and cool our kid was for two. But, I was also very hesitant. Cooper is a autistic and nonverbal. He can get overwhelmed. He struggles to sit and wait. He can be a runner. Not everyone…
Read MoreInvisible Disabilities: How You Can Help Kids Like My Son
People ask me all the time how they can help. Kind people. Loving people. Strangers. Friends. Family. People on this page. I speak about that out of control feeling that happens when my son starts struggling. When his big feelings about waiting or sitting overwhelm him. Or when the noise is too much and the lights are too bright or he smells something in the air that you and I can’t make out. Maybe we are in line at the grocery store. Or at a park. Or in the paper…
Read MoreUnforeseen Paths of Motherhood
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I’m ashamed to admit that this is how I feel somedays. Don’t get me wrong, I never expected parenthood to be easy, and I know we don’t have it the hardest. But when I get the rare chance to reflect, I feel it. The exhaustion of living at a heightened level. There’s always something in life with a child with autism. It may be a new behavior that has popped up or resurfaced, or a program that requires hours of paperwork, or never-ending…
Read MoreA Tired Mom: Embracing Support and Asking for Help
Today I had an interesting thought cross my mind. It was in passing as I was pouring coffee and starting my day. It was “I am tired of taking care of myself.” What does this mean to me? Every day I have to work hard to recognize what I am feeling. To be conscious about not shutting off, to add in moments that light up my spirit, to share with others, to eat and exercise for my brain, and to just keep standing in it all. It has taken a…
Read MoreI’ll Hold Him Mom. I Have Him.
Back in the beginning, when the folder was slid across the table, and the words ‘severe nonverbal autism’ were said out loud… I remember wishing for a crystal ball. I wanted to know what the future held for my boy. His brother. Our family. I begged. I pleaded. I bargained. I prayed. For a glimpse. This is the one I wish I could have seen. Right here. A moment in time. Peace from the chaos. Two brothers. Two years apart. One verbal. One not. One on track. One proudly marching…
Read MoreHe Loves When We Are Together
Last night my son Cooper was listening to a song on his iPad. The tune was familiar. In fact, I bet I’ve been hearing the same song on and off for eight plus years. I was doing something in the kitchen when he came in. My four year old was hungry. My toddler wanted bubbles. My kitchen was dirty. And here comes my son, dancing. He touched my arm for a second. Then a second longer. He forced my attention. He smiled. A smirk really. And he touched my ear.…
Read MoreShe is His First Friend
She’s sits by him. I’m not sure if I can convey how much that means to me. This little girl. She waits for my son to arrive. She greets him. She grabs his hand. She leads him. She talks to him. And she sits by him. She is his first friend. I do not have autism. In fact I know very little about it. But I do know my son. He is 12 years old. He has blond coarse hair. His eyes are hazel. And he has a mole in…
Read MoreSensory Experiences: How My Autistic Daughter See the World
My daughter is autistic and she has sensory processing disorder. She experiences the world around her differently than most people. You see the beauty in the smallest things. Tiny flower petals, a speck of sand, a ray of sunlight shining through your fingers as it casts itself onto the wall in front of you. When we take a walk together you notice the trees, the wind on your face, and the way the sidewalk cracks and breaks into different colored pebble textures on the ground beneath your feet. Kinetic sand…
Read MoreI Don’t Want These Little Days to Be Over
My son Sawyer is 10 years old. He is a younger brother and and an older brother. Sandwiched in between 3 siblings. A few days ago we took some time together. I got a babysitter for the other three and we went to the river. We got Takis and Prime and worms. A ten year olds dream. We fished for an hour. He caught a dozen and a turtle. We talked about baseball and hockey and a girl with blonde hair. We walked to dinner. We went for a boat…
Read MoreTethered Together: A Mother and Son’s Unbreakable Bond
He is tethered to me. This son of mine. It connects us at all times, his lifeline. As he’s aged the rope has started to reach farther. I can move throughout the house without him following me from room to room. But he knows. He always knows where I am. I can go in the front yard and visit with neighbors. He waits for me, typically on the porch or just inside the glass storm door, watching. The tether seeming to expand and contract. I can go on my nightly…
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