Posts Tagged ‘Thankful’
I’m Thankful for the Kindness of a Stranger
Have you ever felt a tug on your heart. An idea that was placed in your head. Often it seems as though it has come out of nowhere but it gnaws at you. It often seems so crazy. Your try to ignore it. You continue to pray for guidance, friendship, and help and wonder why you aren’t getting any answers? I am sure that God it thinking that I am so dense that 2X4 over the head wouldn’t even get my attention at this point. So, God took it up…
Read MoreThank You to the ‘Original’ Member of our Tribe
We want to honor our son’s speech therapist Jacqui. She started as a person that came to our home on Saturday’s to give Carter extra help with speech, but she has become a part of our family and our Autism journey. She is the “original” member of our tribe. Our family lives in the Tampa Bay area, as well as almost our entire extended family. We have a huge support network and Carter’s tribe is the most amazing group of people that I have ever gotten to have the pleasure…
Read MoreI Don’t Have Children, I Have Penguins
Last year, I felt more worried than usual that our program numbers were going to drop. I’m a choreographer for a theatre program for kids with disabilities who are partnered by peer mentors, a unique program called the Penguin Project. We’d been running our Penguin chapter for 4 years, and I knew the day would come when Artists and Mentors who had been with us from the beginning would start to move on, to jobs or high school activities or dance or sports. I was preparing myself for it. Seeking…
Read MoreThank you Grandma, Love Your Nonverbal Grandson
Dear Grandma, Grandma! Grandma! Grandma! I know that’s what you so badly want to hear me say. I want to say it too! Thank you for waiting patiently to hear it. Just know when I grab your hand and pull you to the couch that is my way of calling your name. Thank you grandma for waiting for me to get off the bus from school everyday. I know somedays I’m so tired after school and I’m not always easy to handle. But you still greet me with the biggest…
Read MoreI Am Thankful for My Family
I am thankful for so much. I am thankful for my job, my health, and my sense of humor. Which really helps when we are stressed out!) But most of all, I am thankful for my family. My family consists of my father, my mother, my brother, my husband and my boys. My husband’s wonderful family (his father, mother, brother, and sister) are absolutely wonderful and we love them to no end, but they are very far away. Let me start with my mother… My mother and father live about…
Read MoreTo My Husband, My Daughter’s Advocate
Saying that I am ‘thankful’ for you, my husband, doesn’t quite feel right. I am thankful, but I am much, much more. I am indebted. I am awed. I am overcome. You are our most valuable resource. Shortly after receiving our daughter’s autism diagnosis, without much discussion and no hesitation, you agreed to quit your job. You said, “I want to do whatever is best for Stella.” You never wavered. I’m sure that staying home with her and driving her back and forth to therapies all day, six days per…
Read MoreThank You to the Best Aunt and Uncle
After our son Emmett’s official Fragile X diagnosis we told all our family members about it and posted about it on social media. Everyone told us or wrote to us telling us how much they care and how it will be OK and if we needed anything to let them know. But after the Fragile X diagnosis their was a quiet pause from these individuals. No one says anything or asks us about Emmett. They don’t ask about the multiple diagnosis’ he received after the Fragile X diagnosis. I have often…
Read MoreThanking Those that Brought us Answers
Imagine not being able to express every day needs and wants. Behavioral issues become a concern because the child is feeling frustrated. The parents are equally frustrated and concerned as to why their child is unable to express their wants and needs that are appropriate for their age. This scenario was what my daughter, myself, and my husband experienced. At 18 months old our daughter was referred to Early On Intervention. After being evaluated a speech therapist diagnosed Haley with Expressive and Receptive Language Disorder. As time went on, we…
Read MoreThank You to my Son’s Best Friend
I would like to recognize my son’s aide and our respite care provider, Hunter. Hunter is a college student who we first hired in the summer of 2017 to spend time with my son, Nathaniel, and give him some variety to his day. My son Nathaniel is 9 years old with moderate Autism. He is very smart, but struggles with social communication, following directions, and getting along with others. I was having trouble finding summer activities that Nathaniel could do independently. It is difficult to take Nathaniel to unfamiliar places.…
Read MoreThe Friend who is My Son’s World
I am honoring and so incredibly thankful for my best friend Regina. In 2014 we were pregnant at the same time. Our kids would be five months apart. We would do everything together and we were going to make sure that our kids did everything together. That was until things changed. I started to see the differences in our kids as they got older. I ignored it. I was overreacting. Everyone says boys develop slower anyways. “I have nothing to worry about” I would tell myself. I remember at his…
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