Posts Tagged ‘Autism and christmas’
The True Meaning of Christmas
My Husband. I love him with all my heart. Every fiber of my being. I have loved Him since I was 16 years old. I don’t really know anything else. And to be honest, sometimes I don’t even like him. We don’t see eye to eye on many things. We fight a lot. He doesn’t think the things I think are important matter. At all. And frankly, it irritates me that he can’t pretend to go along. He will humor me, but still, not happily. This was going to be…
Read MoreNever Give Up and Never Stop Trying
My daughter is twelve and on the autism spectrum. Some of the hardest things for kiddos on the spectrum for my daughter anyway, are lines and noise and too many people. In years past that has been a recipe for disaster. Last night, I took my daughter to Glow with her bestie and mom and it was the first time we were able to walk through due to Covid restrictions over the past couple years. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but last night blew away any expectations I could’ve…
Read MoreOur Coop’s Troop Sensory Santa Event
Last night was one of those really special nights. Our family, along with 20 or so other families, spent an evening with Santa. Some kids lined up chairs. Another watched an old 1950’s train docu-series on YouTube. One young man used his speech device to ask Santa for a horse. Another young man wore noise canceling headphones the entire time. Some kids sat near Santa. Some led him around by the hand. Others just waved. One little girl was dressed up in a tutu. Others in Jammie’s. My son wore…
Read MoreReal Joy
Can I tell you about a boy and his secret, amazing world. And joy. He is ten years old. His name is Cooper, although we mostly call him Snoopy Joe. He loves bright colors and snow and music and waving. He also loves Christmas. He doesn’t talk much. In fact, on the paper in my drawer it says he has level three, severe, nonverbal autism and an intellectual disability. There is more too. It’s a lot. He has a file. I don’t look at it much. Only when I have…
Read MoreThe Perfect Christmas Ornament
The most beautiful ornaments are the ones that were never meant to be an ornament. Looking back we always had big family Christmas celebrations with my husband’s family, celebrating what was and is really important…having a family that loves you for who you are. My husband’s family have always been our biggest supporters, our voice when we were unable to speak, and our spine when we felt like falling. They never saw us as the family with the broken kids but as the family who was theirs and kept doing…
Read MoreChristmas is Changing
When I dreamt of Christmas with my daughter, I pictured so many things. Simple things really. Christmas movies, Christmas shopping, hot chocolate after ice skating. Sure, we can do those things but gosh they are hard or there is almost always a fall out. The timing of the fallout has changed over the years. I would like to think it is learning to tolerate the outside world or maybe its age. Christmas isn’t typically a joyful time of year around here. Christmas in general is loud and busy. Two things…
Read MoreA Christmas Gift
Our Christmas in photos…For as long as I’ve known my son, trying anything new or different has been a no. I have pictures to prove that at one time he tried foods sorta willingly. An adorable blonde haired baby covered head to toe in spaghetti sauce, the high chair tray speckled with some green vegetable. But one day that all stopped. Almost seemingly overnight. He would scream and cry at the sight of an apple or an egg. All but 5 foods were pushed away in anger. Substitutions were not…
Read MoreWaiting for the Magic
Our Christmas in photos… Cooper is a concrete thinker. He sees, therefore it is. Abstract thoughts are harder for him to grasp and understand. Like time. Danger. Things you can’t see or feel. Magic. He’s also a yes man. So anything you ask him…he will ultimately say yes. And while many times the correct answer is yes…often it’s not. Like when I ask him and his younger brothers incriminating questions. ‘Did you make this mess Cooper?’ The answer is always yes. Even when I know for a certain that his…
Read MoreTwo Sleeps
I check on my three boys every single night before I go to bed. I make sure they are breathing and covered up and safe. I’m pretty sure every mom does that. I even sometimes wonder at what age I will stop doing so… Anyhow, last night, I was positive this one was sound asleep as I bent down to kiss his perfect cheeks. As my lips made contact, he opened both eyes, but didn’t make a sound. What he did do was lift up his hand and wave his…
Read MoreChristmas in 2020
A few weeks our Christmas tree fell over. Jamie and I were sitting in silence after putting the kids to bed, when out of the blue the tree fell over. We lost the star. And most of the ornaments. The needles went everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Candy canes smashed and slid across the floor. Neither of us moved. I’m not lying. We just sat there. Looked up. Nodded. Looked down. And went back to our phones. Apparently a giant tree flipping over in our living room can’t phase us.…
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