Things I NEVER Thought I'd Hear Myself Say...LOL
1. Let go of the ceiling fan!!
2. Get down from the mantle!! (that's how he got to the ceiling fan!)
3.Ugh...No, I didn't mean to JUMP down from the mantle!
4.Don't stick your head in the toilet!
5. Get your foot out of the ice cream bucket!
6. Don't touch the goat's butt!! (from our many trips to the petting zoo)
7. HOW did you get your Thomas trains down the VENT?? (and HOW am I EVER going to get them all OUT??)
8.Quit smelling the poop!
9. How in the WORLD did you get NOODLES in your UNDERWEAR??
10. WHY is your head stuck under the COUCH??
11. WHAT DID YOU DO WITH ALL THE SPOONS?? (the answer to that? see #10; they were under the couch!) ; )
12. Please eat that bologna...don't just stim on the red string around it!
13. Would you PLEASE go stim on your featherduster??? (yes, it was one of *those* days)
Things I've Learned That No One Told Me
1. Autism is simply a matter of thinking differently.
2. It's OK to feed your kids ice cream before dinner from time to time
3.Take time for yourself and take care of yourself (ok, they told me this one, but I didn't listen...now I know better!!)
4. Expect a plateau, even regression, after a huge spike in progress (the plateau is TEMPORARY and should last 2-4 weeks; meanwhile, hold the course with the therapy programs)
5. There IS a balance between trusting your instincts and trusting your therapy team
6. ALWAYS be aware of the politics in dealing with anyone regarding your child's education and therapy (try not to burn any bridges...you never know when you might need help with referrals, recommendations, paper pushing)
7. It's OK to laugh when you feel like screaming; it's Ok to walk away and take a time-out when you're frustrated
8. Try not to obsess with the research (this is a hard one for me; I can't tell if all the research keeps me sane or drives me crazy!) ; )
9. Get on some e-mail lists...there is support out there; the parents on these lists are so supportive...they are also very knowledgeable about therapies, diets, special ed
A Van Gogh Sky:
Reflections One Year after My Son's Diagnosis of Autism
It's been a long year.
The trees, tired from their birth in spring,
have surrendered to the bone-bare existence
of winter.
I, too, need to rest, need to surrender
my own tired bones to deep slumber,
need to forget, to move beyond the aches
that fell from Van Gogh's Sky,
his short strokes of midnight dripping,
staining my simple golden days
into a bruised mosaic
I can barely recognize.
Is this my life?
Where is my son on this cold starry night,
with winter looming,
its snow moving in,
promising to cover my blues and browns,
make smooth what has wrinkled with time?
After the snow, I'll wait
as new tracks line
what cannot rest in winter:
I have learned what is smooth
will wrinkle again.
But when this starry night sleeps,
and the bruise drains from dark to golden,
my mosaic will rise
and paint a new day.
"Ask not what disease the person has, but rather what person the disease has." (attributed to William Osler)
TASK PAGES:
TASK Home Pages
TASK Home Page
TASK E-Mail List
