The panic washes over me suddenly while I’m in the shower. We should have had more kids, I think to myself. “WE SHOULD HAVE HAD MORE KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I scream to my husband, the words piercing through the hot steam, penetrating my heart, echoing through me until they settle in my soul. There is silence on the other…
We Should Have Had More Kids, Right?
The Night Before
It’s the night before Andrew’s first day of school. For many years this night held a mixture of excitement and anxiety for me, and after his new outfit and shoes were laid out, and his lunch box was packed, and his backpack was filled with shiny new school supplies, I would lay wide away in bed, endless questions…
Special Needs Parenting: Don’t Ever Look at My Son That Way Again.
Disclaimer: I don’t care where you stand on the vaccine/autism issue. I have friends on both sides of this heated debate and I have friends who are right down the middle. And if I dislike you, it likely has nothing to do with your opinion on this subject and everything to do with you being…
A Letter to an Impolite Cowboy
Dear Impolite Cowboy: I saw you on the track this morning, wearing your giant hat, walking your tiny dog, sweating through your wrinkled flannel, and I thought nothing of you; just another passerby, enjoying the same space, the same sun, as humans often do. I jogged towards you, my favorite song pulsating in my ears, my…
It’s Not Autism’s Fault Other People Suck
“While I do love my son, I wish we hadn’t had him…. Autism is not a life, it is an existence that hurts everyone involved. I had a retirement to look forward to, now I have a child to take care of until I die and then the government will have him. How is that…
How Autism Has Made Me Aware of More Than Just Autism
It’s Autism Awareness Month again, and since Andrew was diagnosed with autism in March of 2004, this year we mark our 10th Anniversary of being very aware of autism. I could write another post – as I have done in the past -about the various manifestations of autism in our everyday life and the unique…
I’m Not Scared of Autism. I’m Scared that YOU Are.
The CDC just announced the latest autism statistics this morning. 1:68 children are diagnosed with autism. To understand the numbers, you have to understand the many variables at play. First, the data was collected in 2010 using a survey of children residing in 11 states. The previous number, 1:88, was based on a 2008 survey.…