It’s Autism awareness month and yesterday was world Autism awareness day. Usually I’d be lighting it up blue and doing my annual post on how the past year has gone raising a kid on the spectrum (See my posts from 2014, 2015, 2016), but lately I just haven’t been feeling super passionate about much of anything. Still, autism is near and dear to my heart. I just started reading the book NueroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Nuerodiversity. Noel discovered it from…
This is my third Light it Up Blue post (1.o and 2.0) and definitely the one I’ve worried over the least. This is the first year that I don’t choke up every time I talk about Autism, and the first year that it has felt truly “normal.” Yes, there’s been a few bumps in the road with Cooper now and again, but we’ve grown comfortable with ASD being a part of our lives – it’s our normal. I admit, I sometimes…
“Making the decision to have a child – it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” – Elizabeth Stone One of my favorite things about Cooper has always been his cheerful disposition, so when he started having crying outbursts at school and fake coughing in the mornings in hopes that I’d keep him home my heart hurt. We have a great team that is working hard with us to help…
Whenever the word “kindergarten” was mentioned over the summer, Cooper would light up and I would try not to hyperventilate. Back in the spring, we met with the special ed team from the preschool and the elementary school to talk about his transition. After the meeting, the two teams collaborated to make him a book that would hopefully help him adjust easier to his new school. I also took Cooper on a tour of the school and then during the…
When I went into labor with you I was completely at peace. Yes, you were technically preterm and yes, I’d never been through labor and knew considerably little about motherhood, but deep down in my budding momma heart I just knew that everything was going to be okay. I didn’t rush to the hospital or even wake your dad, but just spent a few quiet hours with you in the pre-dawn. The two of us peacefully laboring together before all…
After an exhaustive meta analysis of many factors that could potentially be causing the spike in Autism rates in recent years, I have found the one factor that is alarmingly correlated: Nutella consumption. Well, specifically interest in Nutella as evidenced by Google searches, but I think it’s safe to say that increased Google searches of Nutella means increased consumption. My scientifically proven* hypothesis is that increased Nutella consumption during pregnancy causes an excess of sugar and hazelnut compounds in the…
It’s World Autism Awareness Day! Here’s an update of our experiences since my light it up blue post last year. The last year by the numbers: 2,000 miles driven for autism related therapies and appointments 5 therapists worked with 1 autism center quit 2 IEP teams collaborated with 1 therapy graduation (occupational therapy) 1 gajillion forms filled out 6 seasons of Parenthood watched The past year has been a learning experience. We’ve learned that not all autism centers are created…
The door at Cooper’s preschool is guarded by a buzzer. It protects the little ones from the dangers of the world as it allows the front desk to scrutinize those outside before deciding whether or not to grant them entrance. Or at least that’s the idea. Every morning kids race to the building – elbows out, heads down, focusing like they’ve never focused before. When the “winner” smugly presses their chubby finger to the button, the rest of the kids…
I swear the people that work on the Mormon Messages are evil righteous geniuses. I feel like almost every one that I’ve seen has made me teary-eyed, but this one in particular had me full out crying. I guess you could say it struck a chord. Ellen and Cooper are already good friends (they’re also excellent at squabbling) and I’ve had several people tell me they’re lucky to have each other and that they’ll help each other grow in different ways….
I was offended the first time someone suggested Cooper might be autistic. How dare this speech therapist make such an assumption after observing him for 30 minutes? Cooper was mellow, smart, and adored people – he definitely wasn’t autistic. The second time it was suggested that Cooper was autistic I did my best to be strong. “Yeah, we were thinking we should look into that,” I said focusing all my energy on keeping my voice steady. I sat across the…