Posts pertaining to autism or to my sons, Aidan and/or Ryland.
When you have a child with special needs, it’s easy to only see how different your child is from “normal” children. While they are young and developing, the usual milestones missed are glaringly obvious. I have come to realize, though, that there are actually some areas in which our special children follow the norm. Usually,Read more
Ryland is currently 19 years old and is non-verbal. No words whatsoever. It’s easy to think non-verbal people are not so smart or do not have personalities that they can display. Spend any amount of time with Ry and you will soon come to know that those things are completely untrue. While we are tryingRead more
After having sat down with Paix a while back asking her about her Bi-Polar, I had the idea of doing the same with Aidan and his Asperger Syndrome. We’ve had to have many conversations about his emotions and lack of emotion lately due to our current situation, so I thought now might be a goodRead more
Life has a way of taking us places we never thought we’d go, doesn’t it? If you had asked me 25 years ago where I would be now, my answer would be nowhere close to what has actually happened. No one dreams of having a special needs child. It’s something that just happens and thenRead more
Is it awful to say that I’m jealous of some other special needs moms? Being a parent of any special needs child is a struggle – I know that but I look around at other moms in my immediate peer group and think, “why can’t my kid be more like yours?” Please don’t get meRead more
Parents of special needs children face stress and anxiety daily. There’s really no way around it. From the moment we realize our children are different or are diagnosed a wall of tension crashes down on us. Life becomes filled with questions of the unknown. What does this diagnosis mean for my child? Will he everRead more
A term that we hear quite often, especially in mental health and special needs circles is ‘self-care’ but what does it really mean and why is it so important? Self-care is the deliberate act of taking care of one’s personal physical, emotional and mental health. In short, it is taking care of ourselves! Being goodRead more
Our family will be going to Disney next month to help my mother celebrate her 70th birthday. It is going to be a big family vacation. We are excited because we haven’t had the opportunity to go to Disney with the kids yet – so it’s a big deal. What I’m not excited about isRead more
Raising a child with special needs is demanding even in the best of circumstances. Add depression to the mix and things can get even more challenging. I have Major Depressive Disorder and I’m raising a son with severe autism. The depression adds a tricky layer to our family dynamic. We are not alone though. ParentsRead more
When we’re young, there are certain ages that we look forward to. Like 13 when we become a big teenager, 16 when we could finally drive a car, and 21 when we could drink… legally. Those with special needs usually don’t celebrate these big milestones. The big ones for them are 18 and 21/22. YouRead more