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
Tagged with autism …
dear suzanne – again
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
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
You should tell your kids that they’re autistic, by Chavisory
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
playing favorites
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
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
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