COVID-19 brought everything I was doing, everything I had planned, to a halt. In March, I believed life would restart again in August. Apparently, I was wrong. In 2014, I retired from teaching and began planning a new life. My motto was built around a sign and miscellaneous items I found in the dollar bins … Continue reading My New Reality – Again
Photos by Amy at Piece of Our Heart Project What if you are a very special teenager with autism who organizes a yearly drive to give back to the developmental center that diagnosed you? What if you look forward to this drive every April for Autism Awareness month and along comes a pandemic that puts … Continue reading Even During a Pandemic, Autism Does Not Go Away.
Father’s Day is a day to honor those men in our lives who have raised us, nurtured us, guided us. Being a father, or a mother, is not always an easy task. Fathering a child with special needs might be even more challenging. Here’s a special tribute to fathers of children with special needs. In … Continue reading On Fathers of Children with Special Needs
Seasons of Life - Peony After the bee incident, Mimi took George to the children’s hospital where he underwent testing for a full week. At the end of the week she met with a neurologist, who diagnosed George with “childhood neurosis.” Mom questioned the doctor about autism and was told that he would not put … Continue reading Seasons of Life – Mimi and George
What was the coursework like in the early 1970’s for young people studying to become special education teachers? This was around the time that Mimi began searching for answers about George. It was during this time period that I studied to become a special education teacher. Mimi and I never met back then. George never … Continue reading Special Ed Teacher – 1973
This is the second of an ongoing series of posts. The first part can be found here. Mimi could only rely on herself in raising her two boys in the early 1970’s. Her young son George would not receive the autism diagnosis for many years. George could read and tell her how to get someplace, … Continue reading Mimi and George: A Story of Autism – Part 2
The year was 1965 and it was a chaotic time in their lives. Mimi was seven months pregnant when she and John moved from their small apartment to a house that would provide the extra space that would be needed after the birth of their second child. The November move brought with it the necessity … Continue reading Mimi and George: A Story of Autism – Part 1
After sixty plus years of life, I have recently recognized that life is fluid and ever transforming. Throughout my life, my normal has constantly changed. Maybe this indefiniteness of life goes all the way back to Eden, when the pluck of an apple altered things dramatically for Adam and Eve. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines the … Continue reading Normal is Fluid
Sneek Peek - Chapter 1 For Autism Awareness Day, I am sharing the introductory narrative to Chapter 1 in my book, Conversations About Autism. The first chapter is titled Autism Awareness: What do families want you to know? ------------------------------------------------------------ Autism awareness first requires a little understanding about what autism actually is. Awareness, however, involves so … Continue reading Autism Awareness Day 2020
Most women have probably walked into a public restroom at some point and seen a mother with a little boy. In today’s world, it is probably not safe to send a young boy alone into the men’s restroom. What if the boy that mother had in tow were fourteen? What if an older teen boy … Continue reading The Boy in the Woman’s Restroom
Conversations About Autism 