My son is simply amazing

Seriously, my son is amazing, they don't come any better. ( I won't offend anyone by saying he's better than any other child because we all feel like ours is the bet. But he certainly is the best for me.). While there are always challenges, and I don't always appreciate my blessings as much as I should - I am getting better though - moments come along when Will blows me away.....

My 10 year old boy with ASD called up to me yesterday morning asking if I had seen his FB post. I asked when he posted it and he said "just now". Well, no, I haven't seen it. I turned on my phone and checked it out, I was blown away with the insight and maturity he showed in what he wrote. He had seen I liked a page "Autism Angels" so he liked it too and shared one of their pictures and wrote the caption I shared further down in the first picture.

Then I came home tonight to have him hand me this letter he wrote for me at school... And then his staff Carrie shared the letter he wrote for her. My son has a way of articulating himself in a wonderful way sometimes he leaves me speechless.

(He is back to completely identifying as a girl now which is why the envelope says Willow and not Will. Just in case you were confused)

Why I blog and how I got started

I started blogging a little more than a year ago with Emily's Perspective (emilysperspective@blogspot.com) A friend of mine told me I should blog about my experiences. See I should tell you if you haven't seen that blog: I can have quite a unique outlook on things. She told me it was funny so I should record it. So I did, can't tell me I'm not my own person. I then started
This blog and one other (anartfilledlife@blogspot.com). The other was because I wanted something that would keep me on track with my arts/crafts/recipes/photos. See, I'm very inspired by crafting etc. and love to do it all (some stuff not as good as others, but I still enjoy it) and this was a way to make art a priority in my life. I have to say honestly that life has gotten in the way of keeping up with that blog as much as I would like, but I'll get there.

Then there is this blog. It started as an online journal. A place to process my life and everything in it. Now, it still is a journal, but along the way I decided I wanted to open it up for others to read and hopefully find interesting enough to follow. I decided that I wanted to share with other women my experiences and life in the hope that it might inspire as well as help them feel like they are not alone.

I still write to journal and process, and sometimes vent. But I write to inspire myself and remind myself of where we were and how far we have come too. If I can share with people who have amazing ASD children, or people with MS, or people going through divorce, or any combination then it makes this journaling/blogging even more worthwhile than it already is.

So, I hope you enjoy, learn, are inspired by what I write, but first and foremost I find that I am writing for myself. And that is good enough for me.

My life with Autism is Different Now...

I have been spending a lot of time lately (between work-insanity, spending precious moments with my son, well, actually that's about it. No time for anything else) reading the blogs and posts of others who have ADS children. First let me say, my computer
Is down and might never get back up again so everything is being done by my smart phone---God bless smart phones. So I can't set up links to anyone, that and I'm technologically hopeless. But I do want to give shout outs to Autism Daddy, Bacon and Juice Boxes and Autism Mumma. There are more but I have to move on for now.

First let me say that each and every one of you bloggers out there who have children with autism are amazing and insightful people. I truly enjoy reading what you have to say. It helps me look at my situation in a different light, with new insights and understanding. And sometimes you just make me laugh when I need it most. So thank you for being you and sharing your journey with me.

Now on to the post. I realized while reading everyone that I have not posted a lot about my life with autism, at least not lately. My posts have been taken up with everything else going on in my life, none of which are MORE important than my son.

My life with autism is different now than it was 6 months ago, partly due to Spring Harbor, which was a blessing in our lives, but partly due to time. My son is very high functioning, he is delayed in motor skills- fine and gross, he has more sensory issues than you can shake a stick at (always wondered what that meant) and has a lot of aggressive tendencies. Meaning when the going gets tough for Will, the stuffing gets beat out of me, or his teachers. Now SH has helped with the aggressiveness, although its not gone. In fact I've seen an increase since school got out.

What does this mean in my life? Well, like a lot of you, it means a lot of planning. It means that I turn down invitations for things, or invite people over to my messy house instead for a more easily controlled environment. (I find that most people either decline to come or never even respond which can be disheartening, but that's the way the cookie crumbles)

It's all about the schedule, the routine, and the prep at my house. I'm sure most parents can agree those are key factors. I also try to find a balance with pushing Will out of his comfort zone (gently and slowly of course) to help him grow in what he will tolerate, and even enjoy. His dad recently took him to FunTown (local amusement park). I was so proud to hear he went on several rides including the Log Flume- granted that was only ONCE! But he did it and realized it could be fun in a terrifying kind of way.

I am lucky in that my son is able to be pushed sometimes, unlike a lot of ASD kids. The trick is to learn when and how far. When I make a mistake the ramifications can last for hours, days and even on one occasion weeks.

When things are good, my son is the sweetest boy I know. He hugs and kisses me, tells me he loves me and tells me I'm one of the best people he knows. We're having many more good days than bad since SH and for that I am grateful. As I write he is playing with his toys on his own (has always needed an adult to play with in the past, I know quite the twist on the typical ASD kid right?) waiting patiently for me to make him lunch.

So the child I have today is different from last year, and I can't wait to see who he will become in the future.....