It was a Thursday night, and I was sitting on the couch after dinner, watching the news. Noah slipped in from the kitchen and sat down next to me. A few times daily, Noah sidles in to check on me. While his ninja-level lurking usually scares me out of my skin (because, as he says, “Screaming makes my brain all fluttery”), Noah likes to periodically sense my mood and see what I’m doing. Noah … [Read more...]
5 Lessons our Children Need Us to Learn
As our children with special needs grow into adulthood, they need us to grow too. We have a legally binding contract in our home stating that if Max keeps his body healthy for the day, he will be rewarded with enough sugar to propel him into several lunar orbits. Yes, I’m telling you unashamedly, this is actually part of what we call our “healthy body program.” My 25 year-old son has a few … [Read more...]
A Day in the Life of an Ordinary Family
I don’t know about your family but in ours, having a young adult with complex disabilities never affords me any time to do the simple things in life, like finding time to read. The tired cliché of “there are never enough hours in the day” is the story of my life. Every day the list of things I need to do, want to do, would really like to do, outstrips even the most energetic and efficient person’s … [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...]
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...]