Growing up, me was no picnic. I was the middle child of five, painfully shy, raised by a father who terrified me and a mother who was physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive. On top of that, I was bullied every day at school. In my darkest hours, I imagined a superhero or a …
The one who probably seems impossible to please. Here’s the truth: I don’t have a clear roadmap of what we need. But I watched my daughter go from non-verbal to giving class presentations. I saw how the right supports transformed her world. So when my gut says something’s off, I listen – even …
If you’re anything like the mom I spoke with yesterday, you might be thinking: “Sure, my child pees in the toilet now… but still hides to poop behind the couch.” Or “They’re only staying dry if I tell them when to go.” One of the most underestimated parts of …
Your Child’s “Half-Trained” Potty Journey is Still Progress Read More »
When Julianna was a baby I started taking her to swim lessons. At her first lesson she just cried for 30 minutes straight. The full-blown, hysterical, what-the-hell-am-I-doing-to-my-kid kind. That was Julianna’s first lesson. And her second. And her third and fourth. Most parents would’ve quit. Hell, I almost did. But then …
I’ve been sitting with some heavy thoughts as we approach Thanksgiving.August brought an unexpected turn when my mom suddenly passed away. I’m still picking up the pieces, trying to make sense of a world without her. What makes it harder is knowing as these holidays kickoff is that her birthday falls on Christmas Eve – …
Shortly after my daughter, Julianna, was diagnosed with Autism we were at a holiday gathering with family. At this point I was shaky at best with her autism diagnosis, and still trying to navigate what to do to help her. We were already shopping for our forever home at the time she was …
We just adopted a sweet black lab puppy, and let me tell you, I’ve been feeling like a mom of a newborn again. Last night I was up taking her out to go potty at 1 a.m., then again at 5:30 a.m. and I’m running on fumes. But as I was walking around my …
“It’s in the MESSINESS where we find the cracks, and it’s through showing up—even when we feel like we’re falling apart—that we actually make progress.” – Michelle B. Rogers Middle school kicked off for us about three weeks ago. At first, I was really nervous because I know these BIG transitions can be …
A month or so ago, we brought out the Monopoly board game for the first time in a while.Julianna is super competitive and loves to win (not sure where she got that from 🤣). When we first started playing games that required turn-taking, she wasn’t the best at it. If she was …
Regression is NOT a Reason to Quit on Your Autistic Child Read More »
A mother recently came to me looking for help to get her minimally verbal child talking. Her daughter can point or gesture for what she wanted, and occasionally would vocalize when it was absolutely necessary – like when she was desperate for her favorite chocolate milk. But that was only 50% of the …
How You’re Holding Back Talking from your child with Autism Read More »