Posts Tagged ‘Special Needs Parenting’
Mama, I Don’t Want my Baby Brother to Have Autism
On Sundays we eat dinner at Jamie’s parents. Often, this is our only trip outside of our house as a family. We treasure it. We look forward to it. They only live 10 minutes or so away but sometimes the trips can feel like an eternity. I of course was sitting in the backseat with both boys. On trips longer than a few minutes, I often sit between them. One of Cooper’s biggest struggles is still vehicle safety. When he gets anxious, or his Kindle stops working to his liking,…
Read MoreWe Choose Joy, But That Doesn’t Mean It Isn’t Hard
This morning Jamie and I sat on the loveseat together at 7 am drinking our coffee. Side by side. We were smooshed in. Cooper had the other couch to himself. He sat dead in the center with his treasures spread out around him. On one side were photos. To us they appear random. To him they are everything. On the other side meticulously arranged is a flyer for a local realty place, a Barney DVD case, a Pet the Cat book and the DVD, Blue Mountain Mystery. Jamie and I…
Read MoreMy Son Doesn’t Have A Special Talent
We had our son Cody’s transitional IEP meeting today. We talked about the program Cody will be attending after High School and if it will be a good fit for him. As we went around the table everyone introducing themselves, I found myself torn with emotion. Here I sit with the teachers, coordinators, OT, speech pathologist, and caseworkers who all were instrumental in helping Cody get where he is today. And it seems with every IEP meeting I always ask myself the same questions. ‘Am I doing the right thing?’…
Read MoreThe Day I Will Never Forget
It was a beautiful Wednesday June 7, 2017 day. Extremely sunny and warm. Our son Kash was in a great mood. My husband and I were not. We were on edge that day. We were headed to get Kash’s evaluation to see if he was on the autism spectrum. Adam was trying his best to cheer me up, but in the end I couldn’t cheer up. No parent ever wants to go through wondering if your child could be on the spectrum. We arrived and got him all checked in.…
Read MoreAre You Going To Try For A Girl?
‘Are you going to try for a girl after this one?’ I have been getting that question almost daily lately. I get it. People wonder when they find out that you are having your third boy. And in no way am I offended. I am a big enough person to admit it. I would love a daughter. Of course. My mind immediately goes to pink tu-tu’s, gymnastics, prom, and being the mother-of-the-bride. My world right now is mud, dirt, Nerf Guns, Legos and poop. Yes, poop. It’s wonderful and amazing.…
Read MoreAutism Dads: The Men Behind the Scenes
I have talked a lot about how lonely this life is. About how isolated I feel. About how no one I know, gets it. I’m not sure when it happened, but one day recently, I told that selfish voice to shut up. I lay down at night next to the one person in this world who gets it. Why does he get it? Because he is going through the exact same thing. When I met my husband, it wasn’t love at first sight. But once he finally convinced me to…
Read MoreWhat Would Cooper Want?
We met with Cooper’s social worker yesterday for another 6-month evaluation. If you follow our journey, you are probably noticing the uptick in medical appointments and evaluations. It seems to always work like that in our world. It is all or nothing. We will have a few quiet months and then boom. It feels like every day there is something. Evaluations are inevitable when you have a child with needs. We meet every three months for one area, every six months for another and bigger, more meaningful evaluations are yearly.…
Read MoreI Can’t Dwell On The Fears
It was no surprise to me. I mean, I didn’t even cry. Maybe I even zoned out a little bit. I heard him say, “What we are looking at is Autism Spectrum Disorder.” In my mind I was still thinking about why in the world playing with a baby is an important part of these assessments. He went onto say, “I am writing his prescription for 10 hours of TSS and 3 hours of BSC weekly.” I mean my son has never even played with a baby doll. Why would…
Read MoreTo the Parents of Children with Autism
We write this blog and share our story, not to get sympathy from others, but to educate others on what autism is, how different it can look from one person to the next and to offer support to others who are walking the same road. We don’t write it to complain about our life, but to celebrate life and our sons. The support for others is a big reason why we do this. To all the autism moms and dads out there: We see you, we know your struggles and…
Read MoreI am His Person and He is Mine
My son Cooper is always with me. Always in the same room. Always near me. We move throughout the house together. He’s my little shadow. Never doing what I’m doing. Just always near. He sits outside the bathroom door. He waits for my shower to be over. The kid that seems to be oblivious to almost everything knows where I am at all times. When I’m gone he asks for me. He waits on the porch. Or near the door. He asks for me with his speech device…’I want mom.’…
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