Shelter in the Storm

Self-advocacy. Self-awareness. Verbal tools to express both. The willingness to do so, unprompted. These are among the silver linings we found ourselves recounting this weekend, after Ryan opened up about getting picked on at hockey practice. He told us a few kids constantly tell him he’s no good, he shouldn’t be on the team, that […]

Concrete Thinking Meets Current Events

A few weeks ago, and NHL player was arrested and charged with domestic violence. I debated whether to tell Ryan about it because I didn’t know how he would react. But ultimately I decided it was better to tell him and have a discussion about it than have him read the headline himself with no […]

What I Will Remember

Ryan and I were at it again yesterday, taking in the Saints-Jets game at MetLife Stadium. He wanted to go despite it being a last-minute, unplanned outing. Despite having a lot homework to do. He was willing to go early to tailgate and stay until the last snap. He threw the football. He played bean-bag […]

Questioning the Path

There are moments in this autism journey that make us question the path we have pursued for our child. As that child grows and matures and becomes more expressive, more self-aware and shows signs of self-advocacy, we have more input than ever to guide our decision-making. Only all the extra input doesn’t necessarily make the […]

Translating the World You See

We attended the Rangers-Devils game as a family Saturday night. We had a wonderful time as the Devils shut out their arch-rivals to earn their first win of the year. We cheered and shouted. We sang “HENNNNNNNNNNN-RIIIIIIIIK” at the Rangers goalie. We waved to all the Rangers fans that left early. We generally had a […]