It can be easy – too easy—to assume that people on the spectrum prefer not to engage that much, if at all, with others. This is a very false assumption. Children and adults with autism want to connect and engage with others. They desire social relationships just as much as…
“You’ll miss this, one day,” says the grocery store clerk as she looks in my eyes with compassion and seriousness. “He’s been very hard lately,” I reply as I look into her eyes, and then at Brady as he makes his loud stimming sounds. “MOOOOMMMMMMEEEEEE,” he squeals with a smile…
Middle school. A gigantic new environment – outside the boundaries of our school pyramid - so that he will get the support he needs to learn. Alarm sounding at 6am, getting dressed and out of the house to sit on a bus for 50 minutes. “Mr. Bonkin (bus driver) lets…
In times of uncertainty, life becomes like a 1,000-piece puzzle where sections I had carefully placed together suddenly jump out of place in a rippling fashion, causing other parts to dismantle. For reasons beyond my control, they cannot be simply put back together. What began as a dramatic change in…
“You have to keep the mask on,” I say calmly to my 11-year-old son, Brady. My heart is heavy, my eyes water slightly, and my mind shouts: How can anyone think this is going to work for Brady? How is this fair to any of the children with special needs?…
Brady with a kind stranger dressed as Mario. Brady was so happy to meet Mario. "Can I go to your castle home?" “We have got to work on keeping these children engaged with the world.”– Temple Grandin on the importance of connecting autistic children with others and the world around themSurreptitiously,…
My son with autism is verbal, but sometimes I find myself wondering:Are we stuck? Are we self-soothing? Are we trying to process what we are currently seeing, hearing or thinking about? What’s going on in that unique brain of yours, Brady? Daddy wanted a group picture after a long walk…
He runs to me after only 15 minutes since arriving to a place that, in terms of sensory needs, should be a utopia for a child who loves to jump and climb. But Brady is now by my side, looking up at me. His face is distressed, and his eyes…
Hello World! I am just not comfortable and mom is struggling to figure out why. She doesn't realize (yet) that I have a lot of sensory issues and tummy problems. I forgive Mom though. She picked up on my cues and saved my life at 23 days old. After 3…
As a parent with an autistic child, I’ve heard the saying: “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met ONE person with autism.” This statement, attributed to Dr. Stephen Shore, is completely true. Imagine an alien observing just one of us and then going back to outer space to…
