You hear about it, over and over again, until it’s no longer shocking. Just incredibly sad. You imagine what you would do if it happened to your kid. But you never actually believe that it would, because, how could it? You’re vigilant, involved, dedicated, educated, aware. You volunteer, you show up to meetings with cookies…
Special Needs People Deserve Umbrellas Too
It poured rain here in Orange County today. (And suddenly everyone forgets how to drive. But that’s another story, for another day). Anyway, it was early afternoon and I was driving home from class when I saw a group of special needs adults walking down the sidewalk with who I presumed were their aides or…
Long After
Long after he takes two timid steps up to his seat Long after he is buckled in next to his aide Long after I blow him one last kiss Long after the doors are closed and the driver pulls away from the house Long after the van rounds the corner and there is no one…
“What’s Wrong with Him?” is Better Than “He Doesn’t Exist.”
We were just wrapping up our evening and putting our leftovers into our to-go boxes when she made her way towards me, her cheeks flushed, her eyes hinting at her humiliation. “I’m so sorry,” she said. At least, that’s what I thought I heard her say. We were at a local pizza joint with…
Even if He Asks for the Moon….
What do you do when your non-verbal special needs child uses his speech device (in Andrew’s case an iPad mini featuring Proloquo2Go) to make a very specific request first thing in the morning? Why, you change your plans, pack your crap, and reinforce the hell out of his amazing communication via miraculous technology! Yesterday morning…
Attitude Adjustment on Aisle 17
Trust me when I tell you that what came out of my mouth wasn’t at all what I truly wanted to say to her. But I was suspended in that fragile moment between trying to hold it together for the sake of my children and succumbing to the need to come apart at the seams,…
Hold On Mama. Hope is Here. (A Post Dedicated to an Autism Mommy “Desperate” to Hear Her Son’s Voice)
As a blogger, I like checking to see how people end up on my site using various search terms on Google (though some have me questioning topics I’ve covered here) but there’s one from today that particularly stands out and breaks my heart: “autism mommy desperate to hear child speak.” So, autism mommy, this one’s…