As a mom to two “screen monsters”, I really didn’t want to love the newest obsession. But as a mom to two quirky kids, I’ve quickly come to love it. Here’s why I love it and you probably will too if you have a child that falls somewhere on the wide spectrum of autism, sensory-processing disorder, or other social disorders.
A week ago my husband was stuck in traffic for over an hour just to get home from work. Stuck at a place on his commute that is usually only five or so minutes from our driveway. We’re living right on a very busy street that is undergoing a huge overhaul at this very moment. […]
Lord, do I complain. I throw myself pity parties. I wish life was a bit different for all of us. I’m not a saint. But then, there are moments when he’s crawled into my bed and wrapped his arm around my neck and is twirling my hair and muttering, “Mom. Mom. Mom”. And I know […]
I DO NOT have it all together. I really, really do not. And I do not want to hear, “Yes, you do Heather!” I want people to know this. Today I ran into an old client who was struggling with her choice to be home to take care of her loved one with autism. And she […]
I was actually able to ask the evaluator years later, why she had diagnosed him with PDD-NOS instead of Autism and she said it was because how connected he was to me. Because he cuddled with me, made eye contact with me, craved my social presence, and shared his world with me she didn’t think he met the textbook diagnosis of Autism.
Here’s the thing. That is a myth.
Last Friday, I sat in the DMV with my ticket in one hand and the form filled out by Brian’s doctor in November for a handicap placard in the other. Two months ago I was sitting in the pediatrician’s office, recapping Brian’s recent behavioral aggression. I told him how he had tried to bolt in […]
The Occupational Therapy Framework, which I had to memorize by heart as a college student, breaks down our lives into seven occupations. The goal at mind is to find happiness, independence, and balance between the seven occupations: Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) Instruments of Daily Living (IADLs) Rest & Sleep Education Work Play Leisure Social […]
We had a whole slew of errands to get through this morning and it’s not always easy to make a lot of stops with Brian in tow as transitions are very tricky for him. He started fussing after the third stop so like any great Mom, I bribed him and his brother with some fast food […]
It’s hard to explain Brian’s language capabilities to people who don’t know him or know autism. You can’t hold a conversation with him very often and he usually can’t answer most questions. The professionals label him “functionally nonverbal”, as he has a huge vocabulary of words but he doesn’t communicate with them. However, he […]
This week my son got a hold of a huge bottle of hair spray. And I mean HUGE. Mama is trying to grow out her bangs so hair spray has become a necessity. He sprayed it all over the bathroom until it was empty. It was a wonderful thing to come home to a sticky, hard […]
