“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?…
Sometimes, I get a little panicky, wondering if I am doing all I can to help each of my kids. My third child has special needs which makes his current path blurry in my mind. Will he ever read on grade level? Will he be able to sustain current friendships…
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,…
“Mom, did you know that other people matter even if we don’t like them?” It’s a Friday evening and he’s carefully slicing his favorite cheddar cheese while seated at the kitchen counter. It’s hard to watch him cut, with a mildly serrated knife, but he’s nearly ten and I suppose…
“Here, my new friends gave me their phone numbers. Invite them to the climbing place for my birthday. Okay?” He gives me three crinkled up small strips of paper, all warm from being balled up in his hand. I unwrap each one as we walk home and read the kid-written…
It’s quiet and dark but it’s GO time. My oldest is now in middle school and that means we get up while everyone else is still sleeping. At 6:40am, Reagan and I walk out the door to head to the bus stop. The brisk morning air hugs our faces. I…
On the second day of school, as he sits at the counter eating his breakfast, Brady asks me:“Mom, am I weird?”I know that's a word usually said with negative intent, especially when kids are using it to label children who seem so different. Like my Brady.I take a deep breath…
