Homemade

Having 3 hours of sleep is never a good start to the day. With things like not finishing your coffee or having to work 8 non stop hours you start to see signs you didn't get enough sleep..
For instance, you unknowingly switch your 1 yrs old's lunch with your 2yr old's. My 1 yrs old's teacher said she "didn't want to eat her chicken." Me: "Um, I didn't pack her any chicken." So she showed it to me and said "She looked at the chicken, then looked at me and rolled her eyes."
Walking up and down the aisles of the grocery store with 2 small children trying with all your might to think of the 3 things you came in the there for. After leaving the store with umpteen things and $20 some-odd dollars later and you still aren't sure if you got the things you came in there for.
Then you get home to pay bills and you're so wrapped up in paying the bills you didn't realize that almost an hour and 15mins has gone by. It's now dinnertime and you were supposed to have all the dinner prep done 45mins ago. So now, you proceed with your game plan of Homemade fried chicken, Homemade mashed potatoes, peas and Homemade chocolate chip cookies. Another hour and change later, you finally get to sit down to eat.
You make what you thought was a double batch of cookie dough only to have it melt in the oven, spilling over the pan and burning onto the element to make the entire house smell like it was burning to the ground. Side note-you must double EVERYTHING in your recipe; including the flour when making a double batch. Duly noted.
After all of it, the chicken turned out amazing, the mashed potatoes were especially creamy and those cookies (after you add the proper amount of flour) came out so yummy. We made memories. The first time I made cookies for my kids, the first time they tasted cookie dough (and lived to tell about it!)...
Those memories...those are Homemade.

10/3/11

A Letter to Neuro-Typicals Who Don't Get It

Dear Neuro-Typical Adults,
Imagine if you will, 2 children. Child A is a boy, say around 7 years old. Child B is girl about 6 years of age. They have a lot of similarities. Both of them have sparkling blue eyes and blonde hair. Both can read, write, play, love, laugh, and cry. They both have fun and play, they both sometimes need time to themselves. What differences can you find just by looking at them?
I assume you would say something like, "One is a boy, the other is a girl. One is taller or heavier. One is wearing black while the other is wearing green." Perhaps maybe you noticed that one might be older than the other. Those things are all true. But look at them, really look.

Can you tell me which one has Autism?

Can you tell me which one has trouble regulating their own body? Would you be able to tell me which one has fine motor delay? I bet you can't figure out which one has sensitivity to loud noises & touching or which of them has trouble sitting still? Which of them is shy and doesn't do well with strangers or strange places? Who has trouble falling asleep because they're pacing across the room for 2-2 1/2 hours each night? 

Were you able to figure out which one of them has Autism just by looking at them?

While they both look similar, it does not mean they are the same. So just stop; stop trying to make special needs children "act normal." They are different but not less. They are already trying; hard, to fit in and do not need you correcting their every move. Don't yell at the them. Don't embarrass them. Don't make them feel any different than they already do. Let them be kids. Let them regulate themselves the way they know how. Let them be the special people they were meant to be. Stop trying to change them. There is nothing to change. All you are doing is frustrating them, yourselves, and most importantly their mom. 

And if you have the unfortunate luck of saying something condescending to my child while I am standing there, well, don't say I didn't warn you.

Oh, and if you are still wandering which one of these beautiful children have Autism; it doesn't really matter. They are perfect just the way they are.

Signed,

One Angry Autism Mom