Here it is again! It’s November! Time to pack up all the summer clothes, the picnic blankets, and turn the clocks back. I don’t know about you, but I often lament this time of year for one other BIG reason: hibernation. My little dude has junky lungs. His immune system is just not up to…
Category Archives: Dealing With Public Perceptions
Mother’s Work is Never Done
I’m a single mom who has to work full-time outside the home. Normally I can balance everything enough to get by – children are fed, clothes are clean, house is passable, job assignments get done close to their due date – but sometimes, everything seems to fall apart. It can happen when multiple children get…
It’s Almost Election Day.
On my Facebook page, I am pretty to the point as to how I feel about Parkers local legislative representative. I think he stinks. In all sorts of flavors. He’s also the co-chair of Utah’s Health Human Services Committee. Which means he makes it a hobby to slash funding to Utah’s DSPD. Oh, he talks…
The looks that hurt
This weekend, an old friend came to visit. She lives out of state and we hadn’t seen each other in years. She brought her son, who’s 7, the same age as my little boy, Max. Except he and my five-year-old immediately jetted off to the basement to play on the Wii. I helped Max walk…
Victories
In some ways, we are still reeling from the illness and infection of months ago. In some ways, that time has changed the way I view things. Yesterday, I found a pressure sore on Esther-Faith’s ankle–possibly caused by her KAFOs. My sister cautioned that I should not overreact. And I found myself defending my concern……
“Fair”ness
I often wonder why it is that some people are just normally respectful and accepting of people with disabilities, and others act as if they will ‘catch’ something if they get too close to a child in a wheelchair. My family and I visited the State Fair yesterday, and I saw many of both types…
Next Time, Ask
Last Saturday I attended something billed as a ‘Autumn Institute’ for families of children who are deaf or hearing impaired. This ‘institute’ was held from 9am to 4pm at one of our local parks and was touted to have consultants from our state Department of Education, our state’s deafblind project, the Department of Rehabilitative Services,…
A Friend’s House
Next week I will be heading off to the very glamorous Las Vegas. This is not like me at all. I don’t like to fly, I don’t like to travel, but here I am, heading off to Sin City in the middle of the week. Not to worry, I won’t be getting into any trouble…
The Line
Let me describe for you a scenario: You are sitting at therapy. While sitting on your plastic chair waiting for your child to finish therapy, That Mom catches your eye. That Mom. The One. I KNOW you know her. She’s the one who has taken over half of the waiting room. She has her book…
Explaining the autism experience in 6 words
As many of you know,I am a big fan of the 6 word memoir project, and asked Larry Smith, it’s creator, if I could run another 6 word memoir contest on my facebook autism page. The top 25 (I was the judge) won a signed copy of my book A REGULAR GUY GROWING UP WITH…