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…
I hear him whisper-talking to himself as I pause by his bedroom door. It’s a couple of hours before school time and although I can’t see him, I know exactly what he’s doing as I listen intently to the soft sounds emanating from his room. “Yes, that’s okay. The We4…
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 was a fireman in 2017; after that Halloween, he became creative with his costume designs. “What are you going to be for Halloween this year, Brady?” his psychiatrist asks at the very end of his appointment on a mid-October day.He doesn’t answer. He’s squatted on the floor creating a…
