Announcement… We’re MOVING!!! For the entirety of my nonverbal, profoundly autistic son’s almost 22 years of life, I estimate that I’ve asked millions of questions, spent hundreds of hours on the phone fighting for services and funding, battled the ignorance of countless ‘experts’ who repeatedly underestimate his intelligence or overlook his abilities and have been…
I’ve been absent from this page for several months and the truth is, it’s because we are really struggling, and I wasn’t sure what to say. I’ve wrestled with sharing my raw feelings and not diminishing the ‘hard’ we are experiencing through a silver lining filter out of fear of being labeled a complainer. But…
While November is most notable for recognizing all that we are thankful for and gathering for a huge meal with family & friends, it is also a time to honor and celebrate caregivers! Did you know that November is National Family Caregivers month? I sure didn’t! Sadly, just like most of our tireless efforts supporting…
When I became a mother to my son, Skyler, I had many dreams and plans. Even at the age of 3 when he was diagnosed with autism and the landscape & process for when and how he would achieve those dreams changed, I held on tight. With each visit to the various medical providers throughout…
It never gets easier. The wondering, the worrying and ultimately the sadness of never knowing the cause or scenario behind new injuries. My 21-year-old, nonverbal autistic son came home from his autism center with this shiner and he’s unable to tell us how it happened. And it’s not just the bumps & bruises randomly appearing…
It’s taken me 49 years to recognize a very important concept… the energy of surrender accomplishes much more than the energy of control. And I have my nonspeaking, autistic 21-year-old son, Skyler to thank for teaching me that valuable lesson. You see, as much as I hope, pray & dream that Skyler will become even…
For approximately 19 years, I have been slapped and hit daily. The culprit…my 21-year-old son Skyler, who is on the severe end of the autism spectrum, is non-speaking, has global motor difficulties and suffers from Crohn’s disease. He uses physical contact as his primary method of communication. We’ve tried every tactic shared with us…
In my opinion, one of the most challenging aspects of Skyler’s nonverbal autism over the past 21 years is his inability to fully articulate his feelings. Whether he’s suffering from physical or mental anguish, we are never exactly sure what the true root of the issue may be and thus how to properly help him…
Last week I attended the annual fundraising gala for the incredible nonprofit organization that employs me as my 21-year-old, nonverbal autistic son Skyler’s SLP (supported living provider). Throughout his lifetime, we have never successfully secured respite services thus, we’ve never experienced a break from caregiving. Aside from occasionally relying on the kindness of friends or…
While there is no stable, universally understood concept of “normal,” most of us are raised to believe that to be fully embraced into societal norms our lives must follow a similar cycle to this – graduate from high school then college, secure a high paying job in a chosen career, get married, start a family,…