{image is a photo of Brooke on Halloween in 2004, at three, dressed as a clown. I can’t even handle the cuteness.} Let’s talk blue pumpkins, my friends. Recently, a mom of an autistic toddler posted a plea: “My son is 3 years old and has autism,” she wrote. “He is nonverbal. Last year houses … Continue reading
I wrote the following in January of 2015. Even then, the battle was far from new. Autistic people and those who love them have been fighting to end this desperately inhumane form of torture for YEARS. Please, please get involved. At the end of the post, you will find quick, concrete ways to make your … Continue reading
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
{image is a photo of a young man curled into a ball, covering his head with his hands} – On the outside it might look like a sudden explosion, but it’s actually the final few minutes of a process that may have taken hours or even days to develop. Bec at Snagglebox, What Does a … Continue reading
Dear Suzanne, It seems we’re here again. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be having a different version of the same old tired conversation. But I don’t know what else to do. I don’t know how else to counter the harm that you continue to do in the name of some … Continue reading
{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
There are so many things that inform my parenting. None, of course, more than my study of my children and my deep and abiding love for them along with the conviction that if my Mama gut is telling me something, I should likely listen. But when you parent a child who, in some fundamental way, experiences … Continue reading
I wanted to find an image of an actual Welcome mat, but then I found this and it’s got wellies AND a rainbow, and well, doesn’t it just make you feel welcome? Moving on … I’ve been struggling with something. Wrestling with right and wrong and the rights of the wronged and egos and bruised … Continue reading
From the moment that Brooke began receiving special education services at age three, we started a daily correspondence routine with her team. We have been in contact with the ever-changing team of people who support her every single day since. From preschool until second grade, we relied entirely on the teachers, therapists and aides to … Continue reading
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
a diary of a mom 