This week is spring break at the Baltimore City schools. This means that the Monster’s been home without his regular schedule to give him some sort of regulation.
Now, because I’m hardly cruel, I did take off two days this week, and I’ve been working from home when she has both kids awake. Only seems fair to me, really. So we’ve been trying to find things to do, so that the Monster has other things to fill his time besides those things he’s already perseverating on. Continue reading
What I hear a lot from other parents of children with developmental disabilities – and disabilities in general – is about how they’ve had to put so much of their lives on hold for their children. I’m not quite talking just about the usual “well, we have kids so we can’t do X, Y and Z anymore,” and more about the “well, there goes that” kind of attitude.
I think that’s part of the problem and weight that we shoulder with a child who has difficulties. It’s one thing to compromise our own hopes and dreams to concentrate on our kids, it’s another to set them wholly on the wayside. It’s that weight that makes it so hard to bear.
We have to have freedom to pursue our dreams… else you’re just living for your kids. Continue reading
So I’m going to wade into the whole thing from last night that blew up (yet again), my Tweet feed, but let me come around to it slowly.
Obviously, being a large community (and, if you listen to the CDC prevalence rate, we’re getting larger faster!), there’s a slew of organizations in the Autism space. From local organizations to national ones, there’s a vast spectrum that we can pick from when we’re looking for somewhere to ‘belong’, and indeed, somewhere to give our money. Continue reading
Earlier this weekend, my Twitter blew up with an argument over whether or not we need a “cure” for Autism.
It’s always interesting when you get into what I’d term “religious” arguments within the community. Since getting into the community with the Monster’s diagnosis, I’ve noticed that people get very deeply invested into their points of view, to the point of being unwilling to see any evidence to the contrary at times. Continue reading
Today is World Autism Awareness Day. Of course, for families with Autism, every day is awareness day, but that’s besides the point.
The hard part is really figuring out how to explain to people about what Autism is and what we want them to be aware of. Continue reading
We’re getting close to Passover, which means figuring out how we’re going to handle the holiday, mostly in terms of eating.
Now, ordinarily, I’d not worry so much about it – fruit and vegetables are certainly still Kosher for Passover. It’s the rest, though. Continue reading
Now that it is finally starting to get warmer outside, a lot of kids are finding recreational activities to do.
For the Monster, this is a bit harder – we are sometimes a little stuck for activities for him to be doing, since the developmental delays have really kept him behind in terms of socialization, and there are other factors that just contribute to his being a little more of a, well, couch potato. Continue reading
Yesterday was the release of the latest CDC prevalence rate for Autism in the United States. As everyone expected, the ratio changed again (and not for the better), sliding from 1-in-88 to 1-in-68. I think I expressed my thoughts quite succinctly yesterday with a single tweet:
I’m amused at how much noise is going on about the latest CDC figures being released today. The numbers don’t matter – the kids do. #autism
But, since this is a blog, let me expand on that. Continue reading
Despite the fact that I am the “heavy” in the relationship, the one who does the horrible things to get my son the benefits to which he is entitled, I really am a nice, friendly guy. I’m far more suited to being more sociable and the jokester.
This applies to the Monster’s Autism too. Which means a lot of gallows humor at times. Continue reading
At the moment, as far as I can tell, I might be the only person who isn’t sick in the slightest around our house.
While I write this, my wife’s clearly been taken down by something, and R has the veritable (and well-known to parents) Niagara Falls of Snot running down his face. The Monster’s sleeping on the couch post-drop-off, which makes two days out of three that he’s been drowsy, and therefore probably fighting off something himself, when he gets home. Continue reading