Well hello there! It has been a minute! As of date my G is 19 and my A is 15! What in the world?? Time is a thief for sure. G is doing pretty well actually! Working and taking classes at the local community college...still the same kid just older. A is actually having a harder time. His autism and intellectual disability gets more pronounced as the years tick by. So much to catch up on. Autism is hard man! I know it is hard as a parent to watch your child navigate this but know it is probably harder for them. But man, this kid! He is a little spoiled, I admit it. He had to have a lot of attention as a baby and youngster for medical issues and is kind of used to that so now demands attention all the time. This is accompanied by screaming and SIB's (Self Injurious Behaviors) to show his disapproval of lack of attention. God forbid I do the dishes! I'm not exaggerating, okay maybe a smidgen, but not much. The truth, and maybe you can relate, is we have to have someone "on watch" at all times....so going to the bathroom, showers, etc....all have to be coordinated. Kind of like having a very tall toddler. But, I am tired. VERY tired. All the time. I don't mean to be whining at all so please forgive the implication. This is what I signed up for when I had kids....the unexpected. We just don't know how God wants our lives to go and sometimes it is not how we envisioned it. Anyway, this kid has amazing musical ability and rhythm. He loves music! He will beat his belly ( not joking) rhythmically to music he has memorized and expect us to be the Shazam! Sweet boy, we are so beneath your ability. I digress....it is not an easy task raising Special needs kids but when that sweet child or man child give me a big hug....I know this is nothing I would ever trade for anything.
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Thursday, February 27, 2014
No I'm not a witch.....
Got your attention! LOL! Let me first start this off by assuring you that I am not now, nor have I ever been a witch. True, I did wear a lot of black in my 20's and still wear black a lot, only because I heard it was slenderizing, though at this point I don't think I'm fooling anybody. I also don't have warts on my nose or a green face ( unless I was a little heavy handed with the Cabernet the night before)...just kidding. No, really, I am telling you all of this to assure you there is absolutely no reason in the world for anyone to mistake me for a witch. So, why has my 9 year old been stressing every night for a week that I may be one??? Seriously, I can't make this stuff up if I tried. Here is how it started....
About a week ago, G wanted to watch Netflix on the TV in his room. It is an old 10 year old TV that is only hooked up to the Wii and a DVD player. Okay, no problem, it's Saturday and I let him watch a little Netflix and I can get some cleaning done. Well, that was short lived. A few minutes later I hear him bellowing from the room that "Mom, you need to come look at this!!" So, being the good mom that I am, I responded in turn, bellowing from the kitchen "Come look at what?". Only to be countered with, "You REALLY need to come look at this". At this point he comes to me and tells me that the Netflix screen on the TV is....PURPLE! Oh boy, end of world stuff here. I told him not to worry, it's an old TV and most likely his brother probably pushed some buttons making the color off. I thought this resolved it and for a while it did, of course he was done watching that TV, can't have Netflix be purple.
Fast forward to that evening. Now, this is the embarrassing part, I have been trying unsuccessfully to get G to sleep in his own room since we moved into this house. So, on this particular night I gave it another try. As we are going over our night time routine, Best and Worst, prayers and the same exact verbatim story I have told since he was 2, he tells me his new greatest fear....."Mom, I don't know why I think this but....I'm afraid the room is cursed". Okay, I asked him why, he states because of the purple screen on the TV, that it might have cursed the room. What he said next floored me (well, I was trying not to roll on the floor laughing)....He then said "And I'm afraid you might be a witch"......Whoa, that's out of left field!! Seriously?? So, after I regained my composure, I calmly assured my son that I am not now, nor have I ever been a witch and why did he think that. To help you understand the unfounded accusation better, my son also suffers from anxiety and overactive imagination. He worries about EVERYTHING....I am in the process of helping him with this, but it takes patience. Never the less, this was a surprise. He is not allowed to watch scary stuff or even remotely scary episodes of his favorite TV shows anymore, he just has a hard time with them. Maybe that's extreme, but I don't want him worrying about his own mother being a witch!!
Well, that's my blog for today. Please don't judge...when you have a child that is super smart and his mind never shuts off, it's likely to take him anywhere. Please, if anything, pray for him that God will give him peace. That is my prayer every day as I watch my firstborn struggle with anxiety. Thank you for taking a peak into my circus!! Have a great day!!
About a week ago, G wanted to watch Netflix on the TV in his room. It is an old 10 year old TV that is only hooked up to the Wii and a DVD player. Okay, no problem, it's Saturday and I let him watch a little Netflix and I can get some cleaning done. Well, that was short lived. A few minutes later I hear him bellowing from the room that "Mom, you need to come look at this!!" So, being the good mom that I am, I responded in turn, bellowing from the kitchen "Come look at what?". Only to be countered with, "You REALLY need to come look at this". At this point he comes to me and tells me that the Netflix screen on the TV is....PURPLE! Oh boy, end of world stuff here. I told him not to worry, it's an old TV and most likely his brother probably pushed some buttons making the color off. I thought this resolved it and for a while it did, of course he was done watching that TV, can't have Netflix be purple.
Fast forward to that evening. Now, this is the embarrassing part, I have been trying unsuccessfully to get G to sleep in his own room since we moved into this house. So, on this particular night I gave it another try. As we are going over our night time routine, Best and Worst, prayers and the same exact verbatim story I have told since he was 2, he tells me his new greatest fear....."Mom, I don't know why I think this but....I'm afraid the room is cursed". Okay, I asked him why, he states because of the purple screen on the TV, that it might have cursed the room. What he said next floored me (well, I was trying not to roll on the floor laughing)....He then said "And I'm afraid you might be a witch"......Whoa, that's out of left field!! Seriously?? So, after I regained my composure, I calmly assured my son that I am not now, nor have I ever been a witch and why did he think that. To help you understand the unfounded accusation better, my son also suffers from anxiety and overactive imagination. He worries about EVERYTHING....I am in the process of helping him with this, but it takes patience. Never the less, this was a surprise. He is not allowed to watch scary stuff or even remotely scary episodes of his favorite TV shows anymore, he just has a hard time with them. Maybe that's extreme, but I don't want him worrying about his own mother being a witch!!
Well, that's my blog for today. Please don't judge...when you have a child that is super smart and his mind never shuts off, it's likely to take him anywhere. Please, if anything, pray for him that God will give him peace. That is my prayer every day as I watch my firstborn struggle with anxiety. Thank you for taking a peak into my circus!! Have a great day!!
Monday, February 3, 2014
Introduction to my family circus
Hi! I have been wanting to write about the lighter side of autism for a long time and thanks to the encouraging words of my sister I have decided to write a blog. Before I begin the introduction let me start by letting you know what you are getting into before you read this blog. Here is what this blog is NOT.
1. It is not politically correct
2. It is not made up, these are my real experiences
3. It is not for the faint hearted
4. It is not for anyone without a sense of humor
5. Most importantly, it is NOT a guide on raising children with autism. I want to make that absolutely clear, this is just my experiences and the humor I have found that has pulled me out of despair.
Okay, here is my intro. I am married to a wonderful man and I have two grown bonus daughters and two sons. My boys are 9 and 5 and they have varying degrees of Autism. My oldest, G, has Asperger's with a side of anxiety and my little guy, A, has a full menu of issues. He has Autism, Intellectual Disability, Swallowing disorder requiring a g-button, epilepsy, Developmental Delay and wears glasses because he is far sighted and has strabismus. Lord have mercy that's a mouthful! Anyway, I am just giving some background here, my boys are my boys, not their diagnoses. My bonus daughters are awesome and both are in college.
I just have to say, some days I may have nothing to write, then other days I may need to write a novel. I just wanted to write this because sometimes I think we as Special Needs moms get bogged down with the day to day just functioning and man that gets depressing! Please don't misunderstand, I fight depression and anxiety, but I have found that laughing at the stuff that we can't control helps. Some days it helps a lot, some days it keeps me putting one foot in front of the other. Some days it's all I can do to make it to the kitchen for my first cup of coffee. I guess I learned a long time ago not to take myself or my circumstances so seriously, even when they are dead serious.
I grew up in a single parent home with no help from my dad. Just my mom, sister, brother and I. We lived with my grandfather until he passed away when I was 15. That's when things really started spiraling out of control. No need to get bogged down in those details though. Let's just say I learned how to survive and when things seemed hopeless, there is always hope. God is always in control. My mom passed away when I was 24. I am still dealing with that at 39. So, please understand, I don't mean to be flip about any hardships or circumstances. I know how hard things can be, I just choose to try to find the humor or bright side in every situation. They say laughter is the best medicine.
So, as best as I can, this is the intro to my little corner and as I am typing this my sweet little A is rubbing his face in my hair. Why?? Because he is what the therapy world calls a "sensory seeker", meaning he seeks sensory stimulation and he LOVES hair!
1. It is not politically correct
2. It is not made up, these are my real experiences
3. It is not for the faint hearted
4. It is not for anyone without a sense of humor
5. Most importantly, it is NOT a guide on raising children with autism. I want to make that absolutely clear, this is just my experiences and the humor I have found that has pulled me out of despair.
Okay, here is my intro. I am married to a wonderful man and I have two grown bonus daughters and two sons. My boys are 9 and 5 and they have varying degrees of Autism. My oldest, G, has Asperger's with a side of anxiety and my little guy, A, has a full menu of issues. He has Autism, Intellectual Disability, Swallowing disorder requiring a g-button, epilepsy, Developmental Delay and wears glasses because he is far sighted and has strabismus. Lord have mercy that's a mouthful! Anyway, I am just giving some background here, my boys are my boys, not their diagnoses. My bonus daughters are awesome and both are in college.
I just have to say, some days I may have nothing to write, then other days I may need to write a novel. I just wanted to write this because sometimes I think we as Special Needs moms get bogged down with the day to day just functioning and man that gets depressing! Please don't misunderstand, I fight depression and anxiety, but I have found that laughing at the stuff that we can't control helps. Some days it helps a lot, some days it keeps me putting one foot in front of the other. Some days it's all I can do to make it to the kitchen for my first cup of coffee. I guess I learned a long time ago not to take myself or my circumstances so seriously, even when they are dead serious.
I grew up in a single parent home with no help from my dad. Just my mom, sister, brother and I. We lived with my grandfather until he passed away when I was 15. That's when things really started spiraling out of control. No need to get bogged down in those details though. Let's just say I learned how to survive and when things seemed hopeless, there is always hope. God is always in control. My mom passed away when I was 24. I am still dealing with that at 39. So, please understand, I don't mean to be flip about any hardships or circumstances. I know how hard things can be, I just choose to try to find the humor or bright side in every situation. They say laughter is the best medicine.
So, as best as I can, this is the intro to my little corner and as I am typing this my sweet little A is rubbing his face in my hair. Why?? Because he is what the therapy world calls a "sensory seeker", meaning he seeks sensory stimulation and he LOVES hair!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)