Wrenches – Big and Small

One thing I’ve learned in a decade of parenting a child on the autism spectrum: You learn to anticipate, but you still never know what will throw your child off kilter. And nothing is ever truly in the past. I guess that’s more than one thing, but you get the point. You do your best […]

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Life – A Progress Report

Ryan is a little over one month into a school year that has included some big changes: a new school, new teachers, new aide, switching classes for every subject, lockers, and the bus. Time for an update on a few things in school, and in life. Ryan has adjusted remarkably well. As we do every […]

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For Him – Or for Me?

Ryan engages in some quirky behaviors. These range from slightly odd to completely inappropriate. The latter call for a different response from me than the former, but they don’t always get one, and I find this one of the most vexing aspects of parenting a child on the autism spectrum. Here’s what makes it challenging: […]

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Romney and Ryan

Did you know Ryan (my son, not the Republican nominee for Vice President) has a lot in common with Mitt Romney (yes, that Mitt Romney)? Just ask him. I’m going to do my best to avoid this being a political post, because as much as I love a good political argument, that is not really […]

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Sleep, That Fickle Beast

Sleep has never come easily for Ryan. To be more precise, staying asleep has never come easily. Over the years, we have figured out a routine — melatonin, bedtime reading, white noise, soothing music, weighted blanket — that usually gets Ryan to sleep rather quickly. But he wakes easily, and frequently (although much less often […]

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