Spring Breakdown

Monday starts Spring Break for the kids. I can’t really relate because I never felt this way in my life about school… but both of my school aged children are bummed about it. So are the wife and I.

Sofie just LOVES school. A few weeks back she was complaining that her tummy hurt. She was all bundled up and ready to go catch the bus when she stopped dead in her tracks and held her stomach. “Can you kiss my tummy daddy? It doesn’t feel so good.” I leaned over gave her a kiss on the stomach and not two seconds later she vomited all over the place. When we had to call her off of school she cried and cried. “I don’t want to miss school! I will miss out on all the fun!” she bawled as gigantic tears streaked down her face. She is in kindergarten though, so I will revisit this feeling she has towards school in a few years.

Bianca on the other hand… she gets bummed in a different way. Her sleep pattern gets disturbed, she becomes irritable and starts to act out. Head banging increases, meltdowns increase and then it takes several weeks to get settled back into her routine once school is back in session. So one week off, sets her back about a month.

Lighting It Up Blue

April is Autism Awareness Month and April 2^nd is World Autism Awareness Day as declared by the UN General Assembly. It is also the day that Autism Speaks asks for residences, businesses and buildings to change their exterior light bulbs from white to blue in an effort to kick off Autism Awareness Month and raise awareness via a promotion called Light It Up Blue.

Before we are even there I have already read my fair share of posts and comments criticizing the event. I have seen attacks on everything from the event actually doing nothing to help autistic people, to wondering just who it was that chose blue to represent the autism community in the first place.

If you are relatively new to the autism community… get used to it. It seems that no organization or individual can do much of anything without somebody thinking they are going about it all wrong. Stay positive though. Just go with what you feel like is the best way to honor your autistic loved one or if you are autistic, whatever makes you feel proud. For my family, we enjoy participating in Light It Up Blue.

Bear, Duck, Frog

As anybody that follows regularly knows, the potty is Bianca's muse.

Yet again while sitting on the potty, she surprised me.

She has a host of stuffed animals that I refer to as "the guys" but she has lately been referring to as "my babies". On a trip to the ER a while back for an infected finger, she brought them along for support and we passed the time labeling them.

Sitting on the potty today she started to name three that we left behind in the living room so that she could sit on the potty.

"Bear" said Bianca, “Duck. Frog.”

“Yes.” I replied, “The guys are downstairs. You can play with them once we are done on the potty.”

“Bear” Bianca repeated with a smile. She then grabbed my hands and forced them to cross. “Bear”

Huh?

“You want a bear hug Binks?” I asked.

New Crocs

You know that old saying about walking a mile in someone's shoes? Well I am not sure how many miles Bianca walked in her Crocs. She wears them everywhere. No matter the time of year. She sleeps in them. Sometimes she bathes in them... it gets them pretty clean!

A Sign of Strength?

Let me preface this post by saying that I am not a “We can only write about good things when it comes to handling life with autism or an autistic loved one.” I am also not in the business of attacking parents or questioning their love for their children, parenting, etc. I think we are all far to quick to judge and call people names when we do not know their reality. As long as people are responsible and careful about what they write, I believe we can tackle any number of issues that arise and that others searching for answers may find comfort in knowing that they are not alone.

It was exactly that desire to draw comfort that drew me to a recent article on The New York Times website.