Image credit: Photo by cproppe on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons We took the kids to a pool party at the home of some friends of mine recently. The hosts, as well as several guests, moved a fair drive away from us several years ago, and several more guests were visiting from out of town. [...]
Posts under ‘autism’
Austen Does It Himself
"Hey, let's go swimming!" In his enthusiasm, Austen tears off clothes. He grabs his swim suit and for the first time ever puts it on himself. He rushes outside, swim trunks proudly on... Backwards. Off we go, smiling.
Learning to Climb
Image credit: Photo by weesen on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons Yesterday, I took my kids out to the park and watched my son, long and lanky, swing his way to the top of a climbing structure formed from a maze of ropes. Like many autistic individuals, mastering motor skills can be a challenge for [...]
Handling Things Differently Haikus
Two wet plastic balls: Small neurotypical hand grips both of them tight. The summer sun shines and cool water soothes her palms, a welcome delight. One wet plastic ball: Autistic child's fingertips touch it so lightly. Water, tiny drops, like so many small pin pricks, are kept from his skin.
The Leisurely Life of a Stay-at-Home Mom
Image credit: Art by georgia.g on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons When my son was first born, I actually spent some time doing that thing that we stay-at-home moms supposedly spend our lazy, bon-bon eating days doing: I watched television. Now, I know, folks who haven't actually been stay-at-home parents to a colicky infant -- [...]
My Kids Deal with Death
Image credit: Photo by two stout monks on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons My daughter, Janie, found the body. Our pet* had been missing for a while, so at first she shouted to me excitedly. She found him! But when I ran to her, it was clear that he was already gone. She looked from [...]
Training Babysitters to Watch a Special Needs Child
Image credit: Photo by Swiv on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons Just as we've found a method that works for us for finding childcare for our son Austen, who is autistic, we've (slowly) developed a method for training our sitters so that the visit goes as smoothly as possible both for our children and the [...]
Finding a Babysitter for a Special Needs Child
Image credit: Photo by kandyjaxx on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons When my son Austen was two, my husband disclosed his addiction and spent a morning on the phone desperately looking for a marriage therapist willing to see us on a weekend. But once we had that appointment, having no family nearby, we had to [...]
If My Son Ruled the World
Image credit: Photo by go to /theworldsaddress/ instead on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons I was looking through Austen's school papers this week and found an exercise he had done describing what things would be like if he ruled the world. He had filled in blanks to complete several sentences, one of which read: "If [...]
Dumped
Image credit: Photo by odedgal on Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons Austen's babysitter quit. On the one hand, I don't blame her. Austen has the ability to terrorize his babysitters in a way he does no one else except delivery people, to whom he is like a very loud and aggressive dog; he wants none [...]
