A Sign of Belonging

Ryan will play hockey this winter on a town-based team in a middle-school league, continuing in a program that started this past spring. The idea is to serve as a feeder for our town’s high school program, which has struggled with low numbers of experienced players in recent seasons. Ryan enjoys this program much more […]

Thirteen Words That Saved the Day

Friday was a bit of a debacle in our house. We were already over-scheduled, with games and appointments for both kids, topped off by a Devils home game. Veronica had everything timed to the minute, managing both kids’ schedules with a plan that would get them to the Prudential Center in time for puck drop. […]

On ‘This Is Why’

I titled Monday’s guest-post “This Is Why,” (If you haven’t read it yet, please do so. I promise it’s worth your time. Read it here) and it occurs to me I never alluded to the title in the post. I think that is worth revisiting. There were so many things that struck me about L’s […]

Empathy

At some point in the journey, every autism parent hears that people on the spectrum “lack empathy.” When our children are still young enough that we don’t know who they will become or how they will develop, we learn that they will likely never understand, or at least struggle to understand, the feelings of others. […]

Cool at 13, Adrift at 23

I posted a link to a New York Times article on the blog’s Facebook page yesterday, but I think it’s important to share here as well. Amid all of Ryan’s growing self-awareness, he understands that he does not have a lot of friends. He understands that he is different. For the first time, he is […]