Posts Tagged ‘autism blog’
Finding Cooper’s Voice Brunch: A Place I Belonged
The kind of isolation I feel as the mom to an autistic child is hard to explain. For me it is not always being alone or being ostracized by others. I grew up one of six kids. I can handle alone because it was my sanctuary as a child. This is different. I remember before we even knew it was autism, I began searching. Searching for what was happening. Instead of enjoying play groups or church, I was anxiously watching my son behave differently than the other toddlers. I would…
Read MoreOur Wilderness Trip to the Wisconsin Dells
A few days ago, our family returned from our first ever Spring Break vacation. Because we are unable to fly right now (it’s a huge goal for Cooper but he’s not there ‘yet) we decided to visit the Wisconsin Dells. A destination about 3 hours away from us that has the best waterparks. All three of our boy’s love swimming and it’s an activity that we can all do together. And our absolutely hands down favorite place to stay and swim in the Dell is The Wilderness Resort. For many…
Read MoreSawyer, You are the Best Brother
Dear Sawyer, You are eight and I am writing down the stories I want to share with you when you are a grown man. So you know about our secret world. Last night I went to your bedroom to tuck you in but you weren’t there. So, I made my way to your older brother Cooper’s room and saw you holding him. It brought tears to my eyes. The protective way you were holding him was beautiful. He’s been driving you bonkers lately. He has this desire to be near…
Read More4 Tips for a Successful Transition Back to School
Transitioning back to school can be scary for all kids. For kids with autism it can feel downright terrifying. Especially after just settling into summer. Here are 4 tips I use to prepare my autistic son for back to school and to make the transition as simple as possible. Visit the School: Drive to your child’s school. Park in the parking lot. Walk around outside. Visit the playground. Get your child used to seeing the building. We have been visiting Cooper’s school daily for nearly a week now to prepare…
Read MoreLessons I’ve learned About Marriage While Raising a Special Needs Child
We’ve spent so much of our time and marriage teaching our son how to communicate that somewhere along the way my husband and I forgot how to effectively do that with each other. Days are long, sometimes sleepless nights feel longer and the added stress of balancing therapy appointments, bills, insurance calls, and so on makes it harder to remember you’re on the same team. I’ll never say marriage is harder for those of us raising special needs children because I have no proof that’s true, but what I can…
Read MoreA Colorful Life
Children are survival pros. Immediately after birth, they usually come to their desired goal by screaming. I admit, the needs are still manageable and easily met: they are either hungry or thirsty, have a stomach ache or need a diaper change. As soon as the need is met and there is no longer an existential crisis, babies are relaxed. And so are the parents. When children get to the age in which screaming is no longer effective or has the opposite effect (“if you keep screaming, you won’t get anything!”), they change their tactics. Smart! They…
Read MoreWhy I Am Afraid
I had a terrible dream the other night. My son Jack was walking up our driveway. He was crying—sobbing, actually—but he couldn’t tell me what was wrong. I ran to him and asked him over and over again what happened. He just stood there, towering over me, taking deep gulps of air as tears streamed down his face. He was so distraught. And in my dream, I couldn’t help him. I couldn’t reach him. When I woke up, my heart was racing. I was sweating, and yet I felt a…
Read MoreA Glimpse of Autism in the Year of Covid
I’ve been replaying the past year in my head over and over a lot lately. A whole year consumed by covid. What a whirlwind. What a ride. This crazy virus consuming a large portion of our time and energy. It’s been fast and it’s been slow. There has been so much confusion intermingled with delicate moments of pure clarity. It’s been a year of more anger and separation in our world, yet one of so much love and community. There’s been stress. Anxiety. And so much change. Pivoting on a…
Read MoreThe Mistakes I’ve Made
I’m going to tell you a not-so-secret secret. I have made some mistakes over the years in my parenting journey. Shocker, right? Not really I suppose. There are no perfect parents, and this stuff is hard. I have three boys. They are 10, 8, and 2. I also am 28 weeks pregnant with a baby girl. Life is about to get a whole lot crazier. My ten-year-old has autism and on paper is nonverbal. My 8-year-old is my emotional guy. And the toddler, don’t even get me started on him.…
Read MoreInvisible Threads
Along the journey as a special need mother, we carry so much baggage. From the moment of diagnosis for our child; we immediately pack on the enormous amount of luggage full of worries, expectations, and thoughts of doubt. We see everything that is needed to be done and we begin to think of how we will accomplish it all. We riddle ourselves with self-doubt and become overwhelmed at the thought of another task to be added to our overrun schedules. But somewhere along the way of our journey with our…
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