If ever you hear my words, if ever you take in any single morsel of the reams and reams that I write, please, I beg you, let it be these. I didn’t see it. I didn’t see HER. I’d asked her to come speak with me. I’d raved and raved about her words, her thoughts, her … Continue reading
trust
Last night, as my dad drove us home from the amusement park, he said, “Brooke, we’re about three minutes away from home now.” In another minute, he said, “Brooke, about two minutes left, okay?” As we got close, he said, “We’re going to go around the river, up the hill, and then around one bend. … Continue reading
you can’t put on a coat while holding a lunch box
Editor’s note: I have done something that I don’t typically do here. I have changed some details of the scenario you are about to read. Although they have no bearing on the story itself, they are important in the context of Brooke’s privacy. That’s all. Carry on. {image is a photo of Brooke at the zoo … Continue reading
my house
In case you missed it, it’s been a busy few days over on the Diary Facebook page. It started with a celebration of the marriage of these two delightful pensioners, as newly allowed by the Supreme Court decision. Together for FIFTY-FIVE years, they were the first couple to be married in Dallas County, TX. How … Continue reading
i do not have neurotypicalism: where person-first language fails
{image is a photo of a woman who is not me shouting from a rooftop, presumably because she just realized that she doesn’t have neurotypicalism either} “So just as one can be described as Jewish or Catholic or gay without taking away from any of the other possible descriptors, they can also be described as autistic … Continue reading
no more – a letter to suzanne wright
My girl cracking herself up with scripts last night I was once asked, “If you have so much trouble with the fact that Autism Speaks uses the words “disease” and “cure” in its marketing materials, what would you have them say instead?” I thought about it for a moment, and said, “Well, I suppose I’d … Continue reading
person first
* “…One thing bugged me and I don’t see how it still happens especially in this tight knit community. This is referring to a person with autism as autistic (I.e. my autistic daughter/son/brother/etc.). One big step we could all make as a whole is to utilize person first language a person with …(insert any disability)… … Continue reading
his body does his feelings
Brooke, doing happy – Katie and I are chatting as we walk. Well, Katie’s chatting. I’m listening. And trying to keep up. Good Lord, this child can talk a blue streak. Yes, I know, she comes by it honestly. Thank you. She’s talking about a boy in her class who she assumes (and we know) … Continue reading
not wrong
Gratuitous picture of my girl that has nothing to do with the post you’re about to read – Brooke and I are cuddled in her bed. It’s getting late and at least one of us is nodding off. It’s time for me to go. “OK, baby,” I ask, “who’s picking the number?” “You would do … Continue reading
welcome to the club
My dear friend, I am so sorry for your pain. Don’t worry; no one else sees it, I promise. To the rest of the world, you’re fine. But when you’ve been there, you can’t miss it. I see it in your eyes. That awful, combustible mixture of heart-wrenching pain and abject fear. God, I remember … Continue reading
