4 pieces of advice for parenting your autistc teenager

Parenting an autistic teenager is a whole different ball game than parenting a little kid.  Hormones go haywire, they get big and strong, and things just get harder.  It kind of comes as a shock, really. But nobody tells you that when they are first diagnosed as toddlers or preschoolers. Their future as adults starts to stare you down and it can look downright scary! How will my kid live on their own?  Will they be able live on their own?  What happens when they are bigger than me?  How do you get help andREAD MORE

My baby turns 11 today!  How is that possible??  I don’t feel old enough to have my youngest child be that old!  And to put a different perspective on it- my youngest brother was 11 when my twins were born!  Crazy how time flies.  I had so many people tell me that when I was a young mom deep in the trenches of babies and toddlers, but I don’t think I really believed them? Anyway, I’ve been spending the morning reflecting on the day Lindy came into our lives and what my expectations were forREAD MORE

Ten years ago, our family experienced a sudden shift in our life journey that no one saw coming.  Our son became autistic.  There were subtle warning signs starting when he was about 15 months old, but nothing jarring that really made us question his development.  That’s for another post. But, the fact of the matter is, at age 3 1/2 our only son swirled into autism and our life was changed. I tend to gravitate towards challenges and I always like to be great at everything I do (or I won’t even attempt it- itsREAD MORE