I got a big helping of that special needs Humble Pie last week. You may have been there yourself before. Maybe it was the public meltdown stares. Or people wondering with perturbed looks surrounding public restroom issues. Possibly, you've been in a special needs situation that has been a bit humbling. They come often. So often, in fact, I am pretty used to them. Special needs is humbling. But … [Read more...]
7 Tips For Summer Gatherings
Please tell me I am not the only one who cringes with mixed emotions about summer get-togethers! I love the warm weather, time outdoors, and opportunities to connect in a relaxed setting. Still, I know these reunions, weddings, graduation parties, and family picnics will get my children's diagnoses to be noticed in ways I would rather forget. I fight dread anticipating the comments from … [Read more...]
Orlando, Why Not Us?
I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 (emphasis mine) I woke up to get ready to help my church with their online campus and I got my phone and walked downstairs. It was Sunday morning, June 12. It was about 9:15am. I had gone to sleep the night before around 11:30pm and had no … [Read more...]
Spectrum Overload
Last time I wrote about the rainy days. I know we all have them. Well, today, was one in a long sequence of rainy days. Symptoms Raging Just in case I'm tempted to forget that life is complex, my son reminds me by becoming obsessed with flushing the wipes down the toilet. Now, we live in an old farm house. Very old. The plumbing is old. Very old. It doesn't handle the flushing of normal … [Read more...]
The Goodbye Salute: Noah Transitions to Middle School
In the gymnasium at North Bend Elementary, a smallish school in a mostly agrarian county in northeast Maryland, we parents sat packed together in tight rows. We were prepping for a transition. In the front of the gym, on the floor, were rows of children from kindergarten through fourth grade. They were present as witnesses to this celebration of the fifth graders. Today, the school would laud … [Read more...]
How to Peacefully Raise and Release Your Special-Needs Child
I just texted these words to my 23-year old daughter who has autism. “Hi. I haven’t talked to you in a week. How are things?” Katie lives across town in a little house by herself. She loves it. It seems to be working for the whole family, but such a casual interaction with my child seems strange. It would be normal for a typical family, but I feel like I'm missing something. Reacting like a … [Read more...]