Each year as April and Autism Awareness month rolls around, I find myself in a strange position of wanting to write something about my family’s experience of dealing with a range of developmental and learning disorders. At the same time, I feel that I don’t really have the right. All three of our children have received special education services for a range of developmental … [Read more...]
Facing Reality
The other day I was in the middle of my morning routine of packing snacks, reminding people to wear underwear, and ordering them to brush their teeth, when I happened to see it, my special needs daughter’s red take home folder. Inside the folder, along with the words she worked on that day and drawings of the weather for her calendar, was the all-too-familiar Parent Intake … [Read more...]
My Princess and Me
For as long as I can remember, I craved the deep mother-daughter connection I always felt was missing from my relationship with my mother. Though we’re close, we’ve never shared the same interests and passions that she has with my sisters. I’m a girly girl that was born into a family that never really indulged my passion for all things pink. My parents had the crazy idea that … [Read more...]
The Joy of Baking
For the last few years, my family and I have celebrated the first day of fall by making an apple pie.I’ll give all who need it a little time to laugh at this thought. OK. Let’s move on.Living in New York, and only five minutes from a family-owned apple orchard, most years apple gathering is no more complicated than getting the whole family into the minivan. No small feat, but … [Read more...]
When Mom Learns to Grow Up
The other day I found myself getting angry, frustrated, and even sad at a parenting article in a magazine.The funny thing is, it wasn’t a piece on the pros and cons of spanking, or whether I’m a good or bad parent because I stay home. Or, whether my youngest child is forever damaged because I bottle fed him and nursed his older brother and sister. No, it wasn’t on any of … [Read more...]
