The room is a chaotic mess but not really. An intricate design of train tracks, hot wheel cars, and stacks of books with plastic racing track hanging down all take up the floor space of our large den off the kitchen. There are magnetic tiles pieced together in small multi-colored…
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…
When Brady was a very young, around 2 to 3 years of age, I remember feeling not only very overwhelmed by him but also feeling embarrassed and at times resentful. It kills me to confess this, but his behaviors back then were very paralyzing to me and led me to…
“It's very important for the parents of young autistic children to encourage them to talk, or for those that don't talk, to give them a way of communicating, like a picture board, where they can point to a glass of milk, or a jacket if they're cold, or the bathroom.…
I see him running with intention across the backyard. In his clenched hands, he carries small twigs, old fence pieces and broken branches. From our kitchen window, I can see that he’s clearly on a mission to create his own backyard haven. It is evident that he’s an outdoor enthusiast,…
Early on, those years when I was juggling 4 kids - ages 4 and under - I became stubborn about a few things. You see, in those early years, I'd declare by mid-morning that we all must "get in the car" because “we are going somewhere." My daily inclination to escape…
Parenting a child with autism can be tough in unforeseen ways. When I'm dealing with so many overlapping issues concerning Brady, I find it helpful and necessary to step back, pause, soften my eyes, take a few deep breaths and to reflect on what I can and cannot change about…
