One of the most difficult things to think about when raising a child with autism is what happens when they are no longer a child. The unknown is very scary to me. I know there are options and I’ve looked into a few things, but I’ve not actually met a real, live adult with autism….
Category Archives: Raising Awareness
Feeling Like a Wimp Here
This will be short because my finger is hurting. It happens to be the index finger on my right (dominant) hand…perhaps the finger I use most…or at least I’m noticing how much I use it now that it’s hurting. You know how that goes. I think it is some sort of tendonitis or repetitive stress…
What no parent should ever have to do
It’s not something any of us want to think about. I faced it once, 4 years ago, when my then-1-year-old had inexplicable black outs and seizures over the 18 months following her 1st birthday. As a parent of children with profound special needs, it’s a constant, if hidden, companion to us. What if the unspeakable…
Here We Go Again
Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so tuned in to the special needs community. Sometimes I wish I could just get on Facebook and see what goofy things people are doing, even if it’s so mundane as “I’m getting a haircut this afternoon.” But, in my group of friends, that’s not always possible. I have many…
Botox Dip
My son had his Botox treatment this week. I knew about 2 weeks ago it was needed. It’s funny how that works. At first you think, is it worth it? Am I doing it for him or for me? Actually, both. I do it for him. His spasticity is so severe, he could curl into a…
Mildly Concerned
I’ve just about decided I don’t like the word mild – except as it relates to cheddar cheese and salsa. Mild should come with a warning label… I believe I recognized the signs of “mild” cognitive decline due to dementia in my mother-in-law a couple of years ago. Although I did what I could to…
When she won’t hug Grandma
We flew 8 hours with 4 kids and umpteen bags across the country to visit Grandma. Within 2 minutes they’d already hurt her feelings. It’s always been stressful to balance the expectations of extended family and the needs of my two older girls, adopted as toddlers from foster care. Both their difficult history and their…
Gourmet baby from the getgo…
Do you cook seperate for someone in the family? Do they have special dietary restrictions or needs? My son has a dairy allergy. I say an allergy because it appears that if we avoid it all together we have a sweeter life. We’ve never had an official test, but doctor’s have said why test you…
Irony and Autism
You know what’s awesome? When your kid does something LEAST expected. For example, when Luke was 3 and was having some behavioral issues in preschool? He kicked a kid for wearing a red shirt because RED FOOD IS EVIL and then months later, red was suddenly his favorite color. Hmmm. How about them apples? And…
Awake
You’ve already heard that April is Autism Awareness month. I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently… Thanks to my affiliation with 5 Minutes for Special Needs I was asked to review a documentary called Loving Lampposts. It is a beautiful movie, and it is due out on DVD yesterday. You can read my extensive…