A little girl maybe 4 walked up to me at the park today and asked me to push her on the swings. I said to ask her Mommy if that was ok first and she turned to me and said…you know when you fall down you just have to try a new way. She walked off but I doubt she saw me sitting on the swing with tears rolling down my cheeks. This was the most profound thing that has ever happened to me in all my 33 years. How…
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I have 3 beautiful children. Ethan 13 and Gavin 9, have been diagnosed with Level III Autism, without intellectual impairment. My youngest Moira, 3, is just lacking that official stamp. Gavin showed textbook signs, lining up cars in perfect rows, total organization, sensory overload, late speech, I think I was ready for him, but I never quite put the pieces together with Ethan. Looking back I should have seen something. All the signs were there, but as a first time Mom you think, you’re overreacting. He NEVER wanted to be…
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My son is eight. And he’s never once said I love you. He can’t. And maybe he won’t. He doesn’t know how. And maybe he doesn’t want too. There are so many reasons why or why not. I don’t know the exact one. I just know that I would give anything to hear it. He has autism. And he’s nonverbal. He also has Apraxia. Add all three of those reasons together and hearing the three words, I love you, can feel impossible. I actively waited for a long time. I…
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To the autism families that are just learning about Self Injurious Behavior (SIB): I know you’re scared. I know you’re sad. I know you’re mad. I know you’re confused, so confused. Guess what, that’s ok and you’re not alone. We began our journey of SIB on August 14, 2016 my son was 4 years old. My son Deegan was diagnosed with Autism clinically (ADOS) at 22 months old, on September 18, 2013. We began to see “signs” when he was just 13 months old and he began early intervention, speech,…
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I am so BEYOND thankful for SO many teachers and therapists for my 7 year old son Mason. It’s hard to choose just one to honor. My husband, Zach and I, have 2 sons with special needs. We love to swim, visit parks, and watch Mickey/PJ Masks. Mason is 7 with moderate autism and has low verbal abilities. Jonas is 3 1/2 with pervasive developmental delays and will be assessed for autism soon. While I think our boys are the sweetest, funniest boys ever, they have a lot of challenges…
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The other day my life was flipped upside down. We were on our way home from the video EEG and the impact of a dual diagnosis struck me to my core. It was a Friday afternoon. Derek was driving. I was watching all the cars out the window. My mind was reviewing the information we had learned and coming up with a new list of to-do’s. When, suddenly, it dawned on me. This is our life. Appointments, tests, seizures, medical fears, disruptive behaviors, therapies, financial burdens, hospital stays, unrelenting exhaustion…
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To my son Prestley, In 2019 I would like… To feel less guilt I have an overwhelming sense of guilt. I feel guilty because Prestley doesn’t play – is he happy? Does he know how loved he is? I feel guilty about my other children. We don’t go out altogether, we don’t do many fun things – do they resent their brother? The guilt of medicating Prestley with melatonin – so he can sleep. So we can all sleep. So much guilt swarms my mind. Daily. To find others in…
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A year ago we had a different life. We were living in a different house. We had two children…not three. Cooper had just turned seven. Sawyer had just turned five. And we had just found out that we were pregnant. This site was smaller. I had 60,000 followers on Facebook. Then I had a super viral video. I received my first round of online bullying which opened my eyes to how ugly the world of the internet can be. And today we are 430,000 strong. Cooper had six months of…
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My name is Amber and I am hard of hearing and an autism mother. I want to thank my husband, the man who is always fighting for awareness of our autistic son. This is going on year 3 since I found out about the autism diagnosis of my son, Jason. I remember being in the room the diagnosis day and just was feeling all mixed emotions. I was speechless going through the whole evaluation with my son. I just wanted to go home and cuddle my son and be done…
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Dear Friends & Family, A few months ago, I felt a small cyst in my right breast and still haven’t been able to see a doctor. This brought on a harsh reality for me as a mother of a child with special needs: I don’t have time to be sick, to go to my own appointments, or to die. I never thought about that until today. I don’t have time to get depressed or get my own therapy. I’m so busy holding it together for my daughter that it has…
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