Our son went into a fog called Autism. Every day, we are finding him.
A pudgy index finger jabs his chest, then Jackson looks carefully down at his hands as they form a triangle and finally his eyes connect with mine as he rubs his chest signing please. “I want….chips….please.” This phrase thrills me as it falls from Jackson’s lips. It makes me want to stock my pantry with 10 bags of tortilla chips in order to reward this communication! Continue reading “Month of breakthroughs: communication trumps autism”
So…we did the potty party two weekends ago, and after spending over 30 hours in the bathroom, we saw minimal success. We lived in the bathroom: ate lunch in the bathroom, spun a top over 100 times, ate snacks, watched movies, jumped, danced, made obstacle courses, and made up jazzy personalized potty songs, of course, all in the bathroom. Because we have only one bathroom, everyone modeled going on the potty and was rewarded with what was promised Jackson if he would actually do the same. This means everyone got ice cream and got to put on his sister’s coveted blue floral jacket (yes, I even squeezed into it myself). On Friday, I even home schooled my girls in the bathroom. I was determined not to miss that magical “must pee” moment. Continue reading “Success on the Potty!”
I’ll never forget the day, shortly after Jack turned 2, when I realized Jack was not only “behind” in his development, he was regressing. Words and signs he had used for over a year started disappearing. About the only words we heard were echoed repetitions from Finding Nemo, his favorite DVD.
I lay there next to him one night, waiting for him to fall asleep. As I listened to him hum the same three notes over and over and over, I thought I would go crazy. “Please stop, Jackson!” Tears streamed down my cheeks; I knew there was something seriously wrong with our son. Continue reading “Where did he go?”
Running errands at the end of an already too-long day with two small boys is silly, I know. If one of those boys happens to be autistic, instinct should tell you to avoid errands at all costs. Yet here I was, in a bind, 5 minutes to 5 frantically pulling through the drive through at the bank to cash a check so I could continue my shopping.
Since I also needed to request a new check card (which I’ve needed to do for the last 3 months), I was informed I would have to go inside, “And you only have a few minutes before closing.” Continue reading “A Bad Day at the Bank”
Here is the full version of the poem I wrote for Jackson on the homepage.
I wish I could wear your eyes for a day.
Hear what is rattling around in your ears.
Know what is grabbing your thoughts.
Understand what makes you giggle, and why you’re crying.
Know pain unidentified.
Think thoughts inexpressible.
Have fears unrecognized. Continue reading “For Jack”