Posts Tagged ‘ASD’
Autism and Nutrition: “They Will Eat When They’re Hungry”
Oh vey, if it only were that easy. Has anyone made a comment when you were trying to feed your child and said, “Oh, don’t worry so much. They’ll eat when they’re hungry?” I can relate to this all too well. Growing up, I was obsessed with bologna sandwiches. Nothing else would compare to the positive feeling I’d get whenever I’d be presented with another bologna sandwich. It wouldn’t matter if it was breakfast, lunch or dinner. That easily became one of my norms around the time I was diagnosed with autism at 4. This is a common…
Read MoreChanging the View of Autism
My daughter, Alyssa has autism. She has severe non verbal autism. This means her autism comes with all the bells and whistles. She has severe anxiety, apraxia, limited diet, OCD like behaviors, weak receptive language, difficulty communicating, regulating emotions, and a hard time deviating from her routine or what is expected. She is autistic. It is not who she is. It is not all she is. It is however a part of her. A huge part. It is like the colors of the rainbow, it encompasses her. It is everywhere…
Read MoreBeyond Stereotypes: Leadership Potential of Autistic Individuals
For years, I’ve been on a mission to change perceptions about autism as an advocate and professional speaker. From my own experiences during my autism journey, I’ve realized that autistic individuals aren’t just capable of working in traditional jobs but can soar to leadership roles, turning the conventional thinking about our community upside down. During months like October for National Disability Employment Awareness Month, where our society has more conversations around disability employment, I hope we can focus on this topic. When people think about autism, they often associate it…
Read MoreIt Wasn’t Always This Way: A Journey of Autism and Triumph
Sometimes something small will remind me how far we both have come on this journey. My autistic daughter loves getting a mani/pedi. She comes with me to every appointment. She looks forward to it and she loves going on IG looking at nail colours for her upcoming visit. It wasn’t always this way. In fact, my daughter used to struggle with outings. There were stretches of time we didn’t/couldn’t leave our home. Salons are loud. They are always full of people with music playing tools running and all of that…
Read MoreParenting Autism: Is It Grief, Jealousy, or Envy?
Our family has settled into life with autism. We know that when we go on an outing we need to be prepared for all scenarios. Honestly it has become second nature. It is how we operate. We accept it. Last night I was watching a TV show. It was featuring a family of four who were preparing to move ‘off the grid’ in Alaska. Their oldest child was maybe seven or eight. Their youngest was around two (a year younger than Lexi). As I was watching this family with their…
Read MoreEmbracing Abilities: Celebrating Disability Pride Month and Advocating for Inclusion
Did you know that July is Disability Pride Month, a time to celebrate the achievements and strengths of people with disabilities? It’s also a month to remind people of the spectrum; to educate them that some with disabilities face lifelong difficulties and need support. This was started in 1990 adjacent to the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed on July 26, 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability and seeks to ensure equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities. Now people worldwide observe…
Read MoreAm I Brave Enough?
I just left the grocery store. I only had a few things today so opted for the self checkout today. While I scanned my items, I became aware of two young men next to me. I would say they were both in their 20’s. It dawned on me rather quickly that one was helping the other shop for groceries. He was helping him scan each item, slow and meticulously. Talking him through he step. The gentleman being helped was very much enjoying himself. He was laughing and making very happy…
Read MoreWhen They Say, “Very Delayed”
To the parents reading the school test scores that will get their child special education services at school, I see you. My daughter is fourteen years old and has been in the public school system since she was three years old. Every year Olivia has an IEP meeting. Her IEP team goes over all of her strengths and weaknesses and then we create goals based off of data collected from previous goals and testing. Every three years they do extensive testing to figure out what range she falls under cognitively,…
Read MoreLuck and Destiny Unite: Embracing the Magical Journey with Our Daughter
As nature and nurture are woven into our lives, so to are luck and destiny. Luck, by definition is success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one’s own actions. Destiny, by definition, is the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future. My daughter Seeley is now eight, and on the day she was born, she made our family whole. I can recall every detail of the day. First, we got the call! Labor! Then we rushed, smiled, cried, hurried, called,…
Read MoreTo My Sweet Boy
My sweet boy, It’s your old mom here. I have something I want to tell you. Something I want you to know. Years ago, during our hardest days, I made a promise to you Cooper. You didn’t know it. I made it late at night. One of those desperate internal conversations that happen at 3 AM in a scared mother’s mind. We were two years into your nonverbal autism diagnosis although I was nowhere near an expert. We had just said goodbye to kindergarten. It wasn’t working and you needed…
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