myspecialboy.com

So, J started middle school. I am allowed to pull right up to school, rather than with the masses of cars on side streets or shopping center parking lots, and drop him off and pick him up. He is allowed to enter school a few minutes before everyone else and go to his locker before the crowds rush in. I …Continue reading →

So, after that great report about how J did so well on his presentation in English class, I pick him up from school, have the prerequisite two minute exchange with his aide, and then off we drive to pick up little sis at her school. Then he says something, and I feel my my chest tighten. He says that he …Continue reading →

I may have had the best conversation with J yesterday that we have ever had. Ya know why? Because it was an actual CONVERSATION, a back and forth of dialogue, that stayed on topic (for the most part), in which we were both totally engaged!! I can cough it up to (a) him having exercised, like REALLY exercised at football …Continue reading →

Parenting is a lesson in one’s own self. I firmly believe this. It is a constant exercise in self-reflection. It is a work in progress that moves forward at a rapid pace. It is when we stop and take stock that we make change. I have often thought about how my personality and my actions affect my children. Sometimes this …Continue reading →

I am not a victim. Having a child with autism, it may be easy to fall into that trap of feeling that something bad is happening to me. And, sometimes, it’s difficult to steer clear of that. Lately, my plate has been full. I mean REALLY, REALLY full. Two kids birthdays and parties, holidays and extra-curricular activities. And, let’s be …Continue reading →

This is my stance on people. You are a jerk, until you prove otherwise. Not to me, but as you relate to my children. Specifically, my boy. My defenses are up immediately upon a new person entering his life. Maybe this is why, as I realized recently, I keep most people in my life just outside an arm’s reach. I …Continue reading →

“I am a LOSER!!!!!” That is what my son said to me tonight. Through tears, and clenched jaw. You see, every night we go through the same night time routine. Every night, in hopes of speeding up their showers, we let the kids listen to a few songs. What started as a way to ensure that showers didn’t take an …Continue reading →

The definition of tolerance is the ability or willingness to tolerate something. In particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with. We tolerate traffic. We tolerate having to pay taxes. We tolerate schlepping our kids to this activity or that but we do NOT tolerate each other. Or at least, we should not be …Continue reading →