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Welcome To Holland.
My son was around 10 months old when I started thinking about the “A” word. I mentioned it to my husband a few times and he thought I was off my rocker. We knew there were some delays. Minor at that...
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What’s in a name?
Prior to having my first child, I was an early childhood educator. In my classroom I had this piece written by Emily Perl Kingsley printed off and hung on cupboard. Many special needs parents are...
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FotoFriday – Date Night
Cuyler has had the same support worker at summer camp for the past two years and he has grown quite close to her. Last week he asked her to take him to the musical theatre camp’s production. She said...
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Putting his foot down
I took the kids back to school shopping Tuesday because we had no plans and I knew if we stayed home they would do nothing but taunt, tease and drive each other crazy. I bought them some essentials –...
View Articlejust thinking out loud/online…
I’m in a bit confused as to what to do. I think I’ve decided that I’ll do nothing. Here’s the thing (please don’t judge): Ever since junior kindergarten, Cam has always been in the same class as the...
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Diagonally parked in a parallel universe
Cuyler: “Mom, how old do you have to be to drive a car with autism?“ Me: Cars don’t have autism. People do, silly!! Cuyler (not appreciating my humour): “NO! How old when you have autism can you drive...
View ArticleHe can do it.
He can do it. He can do anything. Anything he wants. Remember when he told me that he wants to drive a car? And I said that maybe we should work on tying his shoelaces? or riding his bike? The...
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Clueless
We know that raising kids doesn’t come with a handbook. Raising kids with special needs? OY! We’re going through this blind. With no help. Cuyler is my heart but lately I have no clue what I’m doing...
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Gratitude
Dear Cuyler’s EA, I just wanted to take the time to say thank you. It was about 13 years ago when you were the Teachers Assisstant in my preschool classroom. Who would have thought that our lives would...
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Sandy vs Cuyler
Cuyler wins. kind of We started talking about Hurricane Sandy on Sunday. Just very subtle preparation for the kids to expect a very windy night and probably no power for a little while. I replaced the...
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Quiet peace.
These past few weeks/months have been some of the most challenging we’ve ever dealt with. Mostly with Cuyler, but life in general has been pretty bumpy. His behaviours are at a high. His stimming is at...
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FotoFriday: Part Two
We live on a fairly small street. On our fairly small street there are 5 children with autism. Since we moved here it has astonished me that there are that many kids with autism on this fairly small...
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FotoFriday: SugarRush
I took Cuyler an Eva to an Autism Ontario event where we decorated gingerbread houses. Cuyler worked SO hard to make his just perfect. Little did I know what he had planned for it when we got home…
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Music to my ears
I’ve lived through the recorder once already when Cam was in grade 4. He took it again in grade 6. He is currently learning the ukulele and I think that’s pretty cool. The notice came home awhile ago...
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Tied up
I wrote this post last August with the firm knowledge that my boy would eventually be tying his own shoelaces. Before I sent those awesome Lego shoes to school I did what I think was probably the most...
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PUBLISHED! (and a giveaway!)
As far back as my memory serves me, I have loved writing. I was a total bookworm growing up and always had my nose between the pages of a book. I had journals and diaries. I would staple stacks of...
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Light it up!
Today is April 2, world Autism Awareness Day. The day that most everyone in the autism community displays the colour BLUE in some way, shape or form. You’ll see the Autism Speaks logo everywhere In our...
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Solo Soccer
Monday night both boys had soccer. Cam had a game and Cuyler had a practice that Eva and I were going to watch. Last week he did really well with following instructions and participating in the drills....
View ArticleForget Holland – Welcome to Costa Rica!
A few evenings ago I heard water spluttering about in the bathtub upstairs. It seemed odd and a little early in the evening for anyone to be in the tub. “Cuy? Are you having a bath?” I called up. “No....
View ArticleA Born Performer
This morning I dropped Cuyler off at camp. The previous 3 years I’ve dropped him off at Adventure camp at the local community centre. This year we’ll be taking a different route and I will be dropping...
View ArticleActing Out
Last Thursday night was one of those nights that reinforces my attitude that anything is possible. That the sky is the limit for Cuyler and his opportunities in life are endless as long as they are...
View ArticleIt Gets Better
We’re in a very good space with Cuyler right now. Which is kind of remarkable considering we are in week 7 of summer break with 2 more to go. I usually get through these last two weeks of summer break...
View ArticleThe Hate Letter / The Thank You Letter
Unless you live under a rock, you’ve no doubt by now heard about the hate filled, horrific letter that was sent to the family of a boy with autism in the Oshawa area. I haven’t commented on any of the...
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Lessons From the Pitch
Last Saturday I spent the morning sitting in the pouring rain, covered by the worlds worst umbrella. My jeans were saturated (is there anything worse?) and I wouldn’t have been anywhere else. It was...
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Taking a Step Back
When Cuyler was in senior kindergarten, Sean and I made the very difficult decision to hold him back from grade one and retain him for another year of SK. It was not an easy decision. We did not take...
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His Village
I’ve found in the past year or so, Cuyler has been invited to fewer and fewer birthday parties. Likely because the older kids get, they have fewer BIG parties and also because the older kids get, the...
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Theatre: Dreaming In Autism
I went to see a play called Dreaming in Autism, which was written by my friend Christine Rodriguez – it depicts what life is like living with a child with autism, and how it affects the family –...
View ArticleThe Best Gift Ever
Last night we had the privilege of watching Eva and Cuyler perform at their Christmas concert. Two years ago, when he was in grade 5, Campbell played Santa in the school Christmas concert. This year it...
View ArticleSamsung Aims To Help Families Living With Autism With “Look at Me” Project
For families living with autism, connecting with children can sometimes be challenging. On top of daily routines, occasions like the holiday season or getting ready for birthday party can be...
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How A Tablet Can Help Autistic Children Communicate
April is Autism Awareness Month and for many families with children diagnosed within the Autism spectrum, finding ways to learn and communicate effectively is a high priority. There is no cookie-cutter...
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