Like so many other areas in life, Logan didn't learn to read the way other kids learned. He didn't know the alphabet and the sounds of each letter. He was non-verbal until the age of 5 and didn't even know the alphabet song until after that. So what do you do when you need to teach your non-neurotypical child something essential? You use non-typical methods. After Logan started to regain some language, we began to notice something odd. He ...
Autism Adventures
Welcome to Holland
How do you explain to someone what it's like to get a diagnosis and come to terms with the fact that your child isn't going to be like other children? That your child is not considered neurotypical? Through the years I've tried to express the feelings, the challenges, the fear but I never felt like I quite captured it. Years ago, a friend shared with me a poem by American author and social activist Emily Perl Kingsley. She wrote this in 1987 ...
Autism Sucks
It was a rough night in the Slacker house. Autism and teenage-dom combined to beat me and MC down while not making Bubba any happier either. These incidents make me weary. Just exhausted. And you know what kept going through my head during all of it? I hate Autism. It truly sucks. April is Autism Awareness month but I wonder if there's anyone left in this country who isn't aware of Autism. Between celebrities like Jenny McCarthy and shows like ...
Thunderstorm Ahead
The weather in Texas is as unpredictable as the lottery. You'll have warm temperatures and clear skies, a perfect day to be outside. But then, as your eyes make another pass across that ocean of blue above you, you realize it's not as blue as it was a moment ago, not as bright. And that's when you see that wall of grey advancing. It's a thunderstorm heading right in your direction. With little to no warning you are suddenly under a deluge of ...
Isn't School Over Yet?
When I was in school, my favorite subjects were English and History. Now that Bubba is in school, I LOATHE English and History. I can't tell you how much I hate these classes. Why is that? I'm so glad you asked. The other day I got a call from someone at Bubba's school giving me a heads up that he failed the Reading pre-test they were given. Of course, this isn't just any pre-test, this is a practice for the BIG ONE they have to do at the end of ...
The Fair and the Not So Fair
Dilemma: Your children have a day off of school for Fair Day and are given free admission tickets. And while you are looking forward to a family outing, they would rather stay at home and aren't all that revved up about going to a Fair when they know rides aren't on the agenda. What do you do? Solution: You drag them along and tell them they will like it or else. But as a concession to them, you do let them bring along a book. Yes, this is ...
He’s Got My Vote
The debates, the ads, the endless bickering are finally over. The billboards and lawn signs have been taken down, the polling places returned to their previous usage, and life is returning to normal. For some, it was a time of celebration as their candidate won. For others, it was a bitter pill to swallow as their candidate had to concede defeat. For myself, it was just disappointing knowing that the person I thought should win wasn't even in the ...
Autism FAIL
One of the best things that ever happened to me and Bubba in regards to his Autism was the introduction of a certain preschool teacher, Karen Duggan (yes, I'm using her real name as I can never thank her enough for her total awesomeness). While I had resigned myself to my role as "mom of a disabled kid" and having to do most things for Bubba, she recognized that he was capable of much more than I was giving him credit for and pushed us both ...
More Aware Than I Want to Be
My apologies for leaving you all hanging for over a week. I know it was tough to live without my blog updates but I'm here now. All is well again. April is Autism Awareness month. In the past, I've posted about going through the initial diagnosis with my son, Bubba, and I've blogged about his progress since then. I've shared with all of you the ups and downs and joy and tears of living with a child with Autism. I've shared my hopes and fears for ...
First Kiss
It happened. My son was kissed by a girl. My kids are getting older so I knew it was bound to happen, I was just hoping for later rather than sooner. And I definitely didn't expect it to happen to Bubba first. That's right--Bubba had his first kiss. He gets to stay after school to help in the library a couple of days a week. I was picking him up from library duty and as he was getting buckled he announced that he got "liked" at school. "Not the ...