Six years ago today James spent an hour or so with a psychologist, speech therapist, and occupational therapist. After playing with him and talking to him, they left the room. When they came back a few minutes later they told us he had autism. I exhaled and Lee inhaled. We grieved and then got to…
I’m a special-needs sibling raising a special-needs sibling, which helps me remember to say the words to him that I wanted to hear myself. For more advice on how to encourage the typical kids in your special-needs family, check out my book, Unexpected Blessings: The Joys and Possibilities of Life in a Special-Needs Family!
Maybe you’ve seen some of the recent news stories I’ve read. The headlines look something like this: “Brent has autism, but he’s great at building furniture.” “Shelly has Down syndrome, but she made the cheerleading squad.” “Actor has cerebral palsy, but stars in TV show.” I love what these young people are accomplishing. What I…
Menu planning makes my week run so much smoother! Here’s the method that works for me. We’ve had a busy week this week! David (our older son) is in a theatre performance this weekend and I’m helping as stage manager. We’ve had rehearsals every night this week. It’s weeks like this when it’s important for me…
Lee’s boss has season tickets to the Houston Astros’ baseball games. He had offered them to us twice and Lee said no both times. Last Friday Lee said yes, mainly because he didn’t want to offend his boss. My usual response to things like that is “no way.” I don’t like doing anything that feels…
After a few days of driving west and south, we arrived in Texas and stayed with my parents for a couple days until the moving truck arrived and we got the keys to the new house. This week was our first full week in Texas and there has been a lot to adjust to! The…