Tag: special needs parents

No one told me a caretaker works this hard..

Let’s talk about the definition of “caretaker.” You are responsible for giving another person the best care possible despite their shortcomings. You are responsible for giving that person their “best life.” All of that sounds great and easy. But let’s break this down for how exactly the day goes. It is extremely taxing both physically […]

A Mom’s Day Never Ends

I am a full-time working mom, a stay-mostly-at-home mom, a caregiver, a wife, an advocate. That’s not to toot my horn or anything, it’s just what it is. And I highlight it in this post only to show what is required of a special needs parent. I have always been a working mom. There was […]

Things I’ve Learned…

Just as Z has grown and progressed, so have I. It’s important to assess where you are at throughout your life and celebrate it. Embrace who you have become at all stages in your life. When I think back to pre-diagnosis and the couple of years following the diagnosis I feel sorry for the girl […]

The two sides of the Autism coin

Today’s post might bring about some strong emotions and that’s okay. That’s what we are here for. It is always said that there are two sides to a coin and in this scenario, this can’t be more true. Let’s dive in… Do you say “He has Autism” or “He is Autistic”? It may seem like […]

IEP Warriors

We are warriors. In more ways than we can count. We are always on the defensive and always fighting for the needs of our children. Want to see a special needs parent in action? Attend an IEP meeting. I know, not another acronym! Don’t worry, I’ll break it down for ya. An IEP is an […]

Surviving Meltdown Mode..

Let’s talk about aggression and self-injurious behavior. This is not something that is often talked about within the Autism community. If it is, we definitely are not giving the REAL. Partly because people often dismiss it as simple “tantrums” or “bad parenting”. The other part is because it’s not always easy to talk about it […]

3am is the new Midnight..

Many kids on the spectrum have sleep issues and Z is one of these. It would be safe to say we have not had “normal” or even “satisfactory” sleep for 11 years. It is something we have worked on for years. We’ve tried pretty much everything. And yet it still plagues us and might do […]

The Story of the Golden Egg

This story is about how we choose to work with the misconception of others. There are many times where our own reaction will shape what a person will take away from a situation. React with love and others will be more open to understanding. Many times, special needs parents enter the world on the defensive […]