Let’s see if i can paint this picture
If you’ve read many of our posts, you’ll know we are neck-deep in to volleyball. It’s volleyball all the time, indoor volleyball, private lessons, using the volleyball net at the local Lifetime fitness, and added this year: beach volleyball – which is where this adventure takes place. Read more
I read a lot. Books, blogs, magazines, pretty much anything. Since beginning our adventure, I seem to read obsessively about all things related to autism. Read more
I have decided that my New Years resolution is going to be updating this blog more. Maybe so that it helps others and maybe because it helps me. Either way I want to commit to sharing our adventures with aspergers more often. Read more
It’s been a bit of a tough day.
Being a parent of an Aspie, your day can go off-the-rails in a matter of minutes….. rather seconds. It’s been quite some time, but today became that day. Mom & I are self-employed, and work together. This mornig i walked in to mom’s office to ask her a question about a project we’re working on, her response, “Not now, i’ve got bigger things to focus on”, “R just text me to say”…….. (buckle up for this one, it’s a doozy. seriously, this will be difficult for me to even type)
There are days when I feel like I really have this “autism mom” thing down. We plan ahead, we walk R through different scenarios of how her day can play out- if it’s not a “normal” day. We have back up plans for the back up plan. I have even gotten pretty good at being able to foresee a meltdown coming and remain calm in order to diffuse as quickly as possible. Of course I am raising an Aspregers teen so nothing is ever that easy. Read more
Dear Volleyball Coach,
Here we are 1/2 way through the club volleyball season, and i can’t seem to get my mind to stop thinking about how you are squandering a fantastic opportunity we have given you. An opportunity that has the potential to change your life. An opportunity that could help mold your coaching future. An opportunity to have an effect on how you parent your own kids some day. An opportunity to join the fantastic world our daughter lives in. An opportunity to learn about her challenges, help her conquer them, and celebrate with her those victories. An opportunity to open your mind and heart to a truly special kid that would undoubtedly become a best friend for life. Read more
Things to know about my Aspie.
She may not look you in the eye. Its not her being disrespectful, she just physically cannot do it. As she starts to get more comfortable with you, she may start to look you in the eye more frequently.
She may look like she is staring off into space and not listening to you. I can assure you however, that she is listening. She is always listening! She hears EVERYTHING and remembers everything. She will remind you if you said something and even changed it a tiny bit.
She is a rule follower. If theres a rule in place she will follow it, and she will remind anyone who does not follow the rule. Rules and structure are very important to her. The issue with this is, if you don’t want her to something specific you will actually have to say “ When we are doing X, we cannot do Y” This is hard sometimes, but not saying the word “don’t” goes a long way. You have to tell her what to do instead of what not to do. Read more
Last weekend we participated in the Autism Speaks walk. It was my first time putting a team together for something like this. Most of our family joined us. I had been a little emotional leading up to the day, I didn’t know what to expect, I was worried about R being overwhelmed and asking a lot of questions that I didn’t know how to answer. A lot of the emotion was because I was blown away by how generous people were. Not only financially, but also by wanting to walk with us.
