A few weeks ago, I attended a reception held by Autism Speaks on World Autism Awareness Day. The musical entertainment that evening was provided by an incredibly talented and charming young man with autism, Ethan Walmark. I went searching for a YouTube clip to add to my post about the evening, which I quickly found: […]
Read more "Perfectly Imperfect"Apologies in advance, as I am probably going to ramble this morning. It’s been a long week, with some good, some bad, and plenty of anger, hope and frustration mixed in. As a result, my emotions are all over the place. I do want to spend a few moments on yesterday, however. After our successful […]
Read more "Bittersweet Sendoff"In the midst of a lot of BIG decisions about Ryan — things like IEPs, classroom placement for next year, and what to do about meds — it can sometimes feel like we are overlooking our daughter. Just yesterday, we had to engage her in a conversation about spring break plans, the gist of which […]
Read more "Score One for Riley"When Ryan was perhaps five he developed a sudden, and somewhat debilitating, fear of white vans. Taking walks around our neighborhood was a common activity back then, but all of sudden we had to plan our route to avoid passing any white vans. Ryan would tense up with fear and insist we go a different […]
Read more "White Vans and Shots on Goal"Ryan sits on the living room couch, munching blueberry waffles that are completely plain, just the way he loves them. Amidst the pile of crumbs that accumulate, he is watching the previous night’s hockey highlights on NHL Network. He already knows all the scores — and the shots on goal totals — having checked them […]
Read more "Between Now and Then"
Pucks and Puzzle Pieces 