The Girl of a Million Words

We talk to each other all the time. We didn't use to. Things were not always so easy between us. I suppose that is usually the case in any typical father/daughter relationship. She feels like nobody gets her, and he feels like he is not an important enough figure in her life whose words get ignored. It just took a little while for me to understand her language and speak to her at a level in which she could comprehend what I was asking of her.

A Special Thank You!

I just wanted to take some time to thank everybody that has taken the time to watch and comment on my "Fixing" Autism video. I think I have shed as many tears reading the stories that are being shared as it sounds like viewers have shed while watching the video.

Even greater thanks to my Facebook and Twitter friends, subscribers to Lou's Land, and Marc Sirkin at Autism Speaks. I could not have gotten this message out without you.

Lou... and of course, Bianca.

If you have not already, please take time to watch my videos, "Fixing" Autism and Autism Awareness with Nichole337 and share them with your friends.

To keep up to date with everying in Lou's Land, please subscribe to my blog. "Like" Lou's Land on Facebook and follow Lou's Land on Twitter

"Fixing" Autism

Please take some time to view my first attempt at a video blog. Please share, like, and rate the video if you deem it worthy. Thanks!

If you have not already, please take time to watch my videos, "Fixing" Autism and Autism Awareness with Nichole337 and share them with your friends.

To keep up to date with everying in Lou's Land, please subscribe to my blog. "Like" Lou's Land on Facebook and follow Lou's Land on Twitter

Memory Lane

It happens to anybody that is a parent. One day you look at your kid, and it hits you. “He/She is (insert age here) years old? How did that happen? Where did the time go?” You try to value each day with your child and give it the weight it is due, but life gets in the way. You have to work and do things around the house, and you need time to unwind with a little “me time”. The next thing you know, your kid is about to start kindergarten and you start to understand first hand another part of the cycle of life. Your kids get older. Next you start to panic because you realize that the clock of mommy and daddy being the center of their universe is ticking. It is a small window in the grand scheme of things. Next begins the phase in which you try to stay relevant and involved enough in your child’s life that you don’t get shut out during the teen years and hope that you have nurtured your relationship enough that your children feel comfortable coming to you in difficult situations.

A Father's Day Celebration: Members Only

For this post, I would like to pay tribute and thank all the fathers out there that love their autistic children unconditionally. This is for the dads that have what it takes to be a real man and stand by your family and take your vows seriously. This is for the dads that don’t run from their child being different, and for those that may just now be coming to the realization that they are entering a club that they had no plans on joining.

For many in a marriage, an autism diagnosis can be placed in the “worse” column of “for better or for worse”, but with patience and communication you can survive. Don’t bottle up your fears. Tell your wife, your friends, or share them with others in a blog and you will free yourself of the many burdens you are trying to shoulder and find strength in numbers.

You know that you are the father of an autistic child when:

•  You know exactly what your child is saying even though she has never said it… EVER.
• You go to visit your friends who have children and they apologize for how their kids are behaving, yet you never even noticed.
• You have ever worn more of your child’s food then he has eaten, and he is 6.
• You have ever tried “stimming” just to see what it is all about.
• Using just your peripheral vision, you can snag crayons from your child’s hand before they go in the mouth.
• You are on a plane with a crying child... and don't even notice.
• You see a kid being a complete terror at the grocery store and you do not judge.
• You have been punched in the face by your child and instead of getting angry, you laugh it off.
• Your child saying, “I love you” even if by echolalia makes you feel like you are the king of the world.
• You have eaten a family dinner in the dark on several occasions.
• You have shared belly laughs with a child that you have no reason as to why they are laughing.
• You have been given every crackpot theory about what causes autism and what will make your child better, and have kept yourself from going insane.
• Your child has taught you greater patience, understanding, empathy & compassion than you ever thought possible.

Got any more out there? Go ahead and lay them on me! 

Join in the fun and let’s celebrate! You guys deserve it! 

If you have not already, please take time to watch my videos, "Fixing" Autism and Autism Awareness with Nichole337 and share them with your friends.

To keep up to date with everying in Lou's Land, please subscribe to my blog. "Like" Lou's Land on Facebook and follow Lou's Land on Twitter