playful truth bombs about parenting and life on the autism spectrum
I overheard two parents complaining about the associated costs to their district to send a child with a disability to an out of district school. They were obviously involved with their local board of education. And they clearly didn’t realize they were in the company of a special needs mom. Why should a child who … Continue reading A Typical Child Wants, a Special Education Student Needs
Her entire life is impacted by something people can barely see and some days she can put on a good show, and others she fails at pretending to be typical.
If you are a working parent to typical children, please try to understand what this is like before you complain about our kids or judge us. Imagine that your child’s after school program was shut down as of tomorrow and your school district won’t bus them anywhere else other than your home. Imagine you have one day to figure this out and no family to help you. What do you do? How do you feel?
That is what it feels like to be an autism working mom. Like a revolving door that just keeps swinging and you can’t keep up.
I’m not sure what you are going to hear about my child but I am sure you will hear something.
I hope they remember to tell you about the good stuff.
Like how she made your child laugh when they were crying.
Or how she colored a portrait just for them.
But they might only remember to tell you that she cried or screamed today.
That she did something out of the ordinary.
I share our journey because our experiences with discrimination are not okay. I do it to document that children with Autism have been forgotten along the way in the advances of civil rights.
Most families spend the year counting down the days until summer vacation. Days where they can sleep in, go on family excursions, and endure that time of year that fosters togetherness and fun.
But most of us with kiddos on the spectrum do the opposite, we count down the days until summer is over because our lives are turned upside down and inside out.
On my way home I wondered if we are ever going to get to have a mother-daughter date that doesn’t end like this.
In the end we are all the same. All of this from autism to accidents can happen to any family.
Lately, I have been reflecting on how much time our family has spent at home over the past two years. It has become such a routine that we hadn’t noticed how much time actually went by when we avoided going out. Avoided placed where we would have to chase Ally or leave abruptly because of … Continue reading Our Home, the Bunker
There was a time when I told myself my daughter was just fussy.
