Posts Tagged ‘special needs grandparent’
The Woman Who Showed Me How To Get Through The Hard
Genevieve Ann. There’s a lot that I can say about her. She’s fierce. She makes me laugh. I know if I call her I’ll feel better. I don’t dare miss a Thursday call from her. It’s been our thing since I was little. There was that one time in college where she called me 3x’s upset that I didn’t call her because it’s Thursday. Then she realized it was Wednesday. She and my Papa made quite a team. I remember I wanted my marriage with whoever I married to be…
Read MoreMy story as a Grandparent of a Child with Autism
When your kids get older and become adults you start to think about what their life will be like. You start asking yourself questions like “who they will marry?”, “how many kids will they have?”, and “did you do a good enough job raising them?” At least these are the thoughts that I had run through my mind as my children began growing up. I had all these thoughts of what their spouse would be like, and how their wedding would be, and if they would always need me or…
Read MoreThank you Mom for Giving me Strength
To the best grandma and mother, Thank You! Thank you for taking your two Autistic grandchildren once a week for 3 years so I could have a break. A break to recompose myself. A break to have a date night with my husband. A break to go to Walmart without screaming kids. A break to sleep. A break from being a special needs mom for a few hours. I could go on and on about the breaks I get to have thanks to you! Thank you for being the grandma…
Read MoreAutism From a Grandparent’s Perspective
My youngest granddaughter is visiting this weekend. I have six of these treasures ranging from ages 10 to 18. I adore them. I drive 3 ½ hours one way to go to a 30-minute concert, only to turn right around and drive back to be at work the next day. I probably have ten thousand pictures on my computer of zoo trips and vacations and holidays and amusement parks and ordinary days. I LOVE being their “Grangie”. However, a visit from my youngest, Grandgirl #4, (GG 4) requires strategic planning.…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Daughter’s Grandma
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Katie McGregory and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This November, I want to honor my mom Julie. She’s my number one partner in this autism journey. Yes, I have a husband, but he works and is not as involved in the autism/therapy/insurance stuff on a daily basis. My mom is the first person I usually call about Addie’s accomplishments, about ABA, speech, etc. She’s been to many important appointments and evaluations with me. She’s read books and educated herself…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: My Son’s Angel Nana
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Kayla Stewart and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This November I would like to honor my Mom Tammy, who is now my son’s Angel Nana up above. My son Dawson is going to be four at the end of this month and was diagnosed with autism on March 6th, 2017 at the age of 3.5 years old. Although he is nonverbal, he can sign a song in a heartbeat. He loves being hugged tight and being held high. And oh,…
Read MoreI’m Thankful For You: PaPa’s Story
(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Mary Samaro and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This November I would like to nominate and honor my Father-in-law; Mike Reedy Sr. Our son Greyson, aka “Goose,” was diagnosed with Autism in January. He will be three in a few weeks. It has been a whirlwind, roller coaster, tornado (and any other adjective you can think of) of emotions and decisions since his diagnosis. When he was diagnosed, I quit my job because I just could not figure out how…
Read MoreHow to Grandparent a Special Needs Child
I called you today, Mom and Dad. You knew today was the day. The day of the appointment. The appointment that would either relieve all our fears or change the future. You knew the doctors and teachers were throwing around words like “autistic” and “developmentally delayed.” You knew I refused to believe it. You refused, too (and I appreciate that more than you will ever know). Our Family Was Changed Forever We told each other for a long time that he was fine. We reassured each other daily. He was…
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