Posts Tagged ‘Special Needs Parenting’
I Thought I Heard my Nonverbal Son Call for Mommy
I can count on one hand all the times that I have dreamt of Zachary talking in my dreams. You would think since my son is four years old and has nonverbal autism that I would be constantly dreaming of his little voice. At this point I think I subconsciously put a wall up in that area. Those dreams are so vivid, so beautiful, and feel so real. As I start to wake up from those dreams I sense myself being so unbelievably happy, and then I become fully awake…
Read MoreChanging Flight Plans to Holland
Mission Control has changed our course…again. Some of you may know the poem “Welcome to Holland.” For those of you who do not, allow me to explain. Or, if you prefer, you can follow this link to the poem. Welcome to Holland “Welcome to Holland,” is a poem written by Emily Kingsley about how it feels to have a child with special needs when you had already prepared for a typical child…like planning a trip to Italy. However, when that day arrives the plane changes its flight plan and lands…
Read MorePieces in Our Puzzle
Our little family has three children. We have twins (a boy – Nolan and a girl- Harper) who are five and another little girl, Mia, who is almost three. It took us three years, three miscarriages and two rounds of IVF to finally have our twins. I thought that would be the hardest part of our parenting journey. I thought that we had made it to the other side and now we would just be a “normal” family. I was wrong. When Harper, our oldest daughter, was 15 months old…
Read MoreAutism is Messy – The Cost of Independence
In these two photos, the photo on the left is a photo of the chair cushion where our autistic kid sits for his meals. The picture doesn’t come remotely close to showing the extent of the abuse this chair has taken. To give you a comparison, the photo on the right is another chair at the same table where others in the family sit. Yes. The two chairs are from the same set. And yes. The damage is clearly permanent. Our boy is thankfully a pretty good eater (praise God…
Read MoreYou are Not Lesser of a Mom (VIDEO)
I want to tell you about a feeling that I had for years. A feeling that still creeps up now and then if I let it. It’s the feeling that I am lesser of a mother because my child isn’t typical. It’s that feeling of missing out. It started when my son was very young. Right as it started to get really, really hard. I’m not entirely sure what made me feel that way. Maybe it was society telling me what a mother son relationship ‘should’ be like. Maybe it…
Read MoreAnother Adventure in Motherhood
To my wonderful son, When you were born, I knew I was going on another adventure in motherhood. I didn’t know that you would make me a much different person than I was then. You learned how to talk at 15 months, gave the best hugs and kisses ever, and started getting into everything you could. By the time you were four, you had already broken your right foot and left arm, had stitches and a small concussion. Your pediatrician called it the “trifecta of childhood”. Along with the adventures…
Read MoreThe Lessons We Learn Along the Way
I read a quote today by Shakespeare. “I cried when I had no shoes, But I stopped crying when I saw a man without legs…” Wow, did that hit me hard. I want you to know that I was devastated when my son was diagnosed with autism. I am a big enough person to admit that. I couldn’t understand how or why. Why him. Why our family. Why. And, I even knew it was coming. I’d done my research. I saw the writing on the wall. He wasn’t talking at…
Read MoreHard Days are Allowed
When I think about my experience with autism so far, there are a few moments of awakening that really stand out. One of those was Johnny’s second birthday. We had known about his autism for four months and, naively, I thought that the ups and downs we had experienced since that time meant we were “through” the acclimation phase. I thought that we were already prepared to settle in to our altered version of normal. That day, we drove over an hour to meet with most of our family and…
Read MoreA Story About a Boy
Max Richard is my son. On November 7th, 2012, he was officially diagnosed with Mild Cerebral Palsy. At the time, it was like the life had been taken from my body. Like a dream I couldn’t wake up from. Max began to make improvements with therapy but as of August 16th, 2013, he was not talking. Flash forward to today. He is still not talking. Things have changed in our life. I got new job. We moved. Max has a baby sister Samantha. Still no talking. I’m not going to…
Read MoreThe Second Guess
Most of autism has been a guessing game. I don’t know why my daughter has autism. I guess if could be: Genetics Environment Early birth Or the crop duster that used to fly over my house I haven’t the faintest idea why some days she is so happy and other days crazy with rage. I guess it could be: Hormones Inflammation Weather changes Who knows why she can sleep for four nights and then is up again for three? I guess it could be: Something she ate Something she dreamt…
Read More