Category Archives: Autism Spectrum

Autism Superpowers

When Luke was first learning to understand his autism (and his, brother’s) he came up with his own explanation of how it worked. We explained to him that everyone had sensory issues, or had something they were afraid of or something that bothered them. He decided that everyone had autism, except that some people had…

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Reports from Inside the Sandwich

It’s hard to say when, exactly, we became members of the “sandwich generation.” If I had to guess I would say it started around the time that my husband flew to his mother’s home in order to drive her back to our home so that she could meet our twins. This was about six months…

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He Can’t Include Me In His School Day

Our school is inclusive. Every child has a place in a mainstream classroom, with assistance if needed. J is one of those kiddos. He has an assigned a teacher, participates in nonacademic activities and projects, and has ‘specials’ like art, music and PE with his typical peers, all with the help of a one-on-one para….

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Learning to ride…one step at a time…

A Cowboy Needs a Horse Johnny lives in a big city, but has everything a cowboy could want (Everything, everything) He has a place to pan for gold (Panning, panning) And he has time to shoot a buffalo everyday (Shooting, shooting) And every night, he dreams he’s a cowboy riding the rangeFinally found the words…

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Getting Better All the Time

When Ian used to have school breaks, it was really rough. On all of us. His Early Intervention Provider had a really funky schedule and it was not uncommon for him to have 2-3 weeks off during winter holidays, spring break and summer. For a typical child, 2-3 weeks off is difficult. For a child…

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Doing what we already know…

Last Friday I reached a limit of frustration trying to get my daughter out the door to school. Three days a week I juggle all three kids in the morning, to get everyone fed, dressed, packed and dropped off at their respective schools. On Friday Daddy had to leave early for a meeting in the…

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Three Little Words

I know it’s not perfect, the medication J is on. But it’s doing something. It’s helping to quiet the activity in his brain…sometimes. It’s helping him to find more words, helping the words to find their place within a sentence, to communicate. I talk about watching our children’s achievements, however small, but sometimes these achievements…

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The Safety Dance

Well, our little Houdini is at it again. We try to keep it safe and locked down around here, but the truth is he is getting older and bigger and smarter and he’s figuring it all out. See, most devices and locks and whatnot are for BABY PROOFING. Not IAN PROOFING. Even autism-specific products. We…

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Sleep Perchance to Dream

Last night was one of those nights. Daddy had a meeting so I put all the kids to bed, then laid on the floor doing Facebook until the twins dropped off to sleep, except I dropped off to sleep, too. I know I’m really wiped out when I wake up on the cold floor at…

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Reflections In Spring…We’ve Come A Long Way

How are we doing? It’s on my mind. Not for any particular reason except that spring is around the corner, and this is the kind of thought process I go through each spring. You see, spring is a time of renewal and while others clean, which I might find a way to get my hands…

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