GO. New co-op, new situation, new people. Can I trust them? Do I dare share with them this Momma’s heart? My tall, quirky boy with the brown eyes and the deep voice and the funny gait that will always, always make me able to pick him out of a crowd, can I? Special to me […]
Take Heart {31 Days of #Homeschooling on the Spectrum}
This week I am discouraged. This post is as much for me as it is for you. It has been a week of–wait—today’s only Tuesday. It’s been TWO weeks of side-by-side, question-by-question schoolwork. It has been Sit Down and Do Your Math and Where Did Your Brother Go? *forehead hits kitchen table* Days like these, […]
My Biggest Fear {31 Days of #Homeschooling on the Spectrum}
Go. I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t afraid for the future. His future. The other day I talked about the childhood years and how long we have with our kids. It simply isn’t long enough to assuage the waves of worries that can plague my husband and I if we start thinking […]
Learn to Adjust Your Expectations {31 Days of #Homeschooling on the Spectrum}
Homeschooling is, in itself, a learning experience for us Mommas. We have to learn to block off our school time and protect it. We have to learn to balance the kids and the laundry and the phone and the piano lessons and the meals and the driving and… well, balance everything really. It’s kind of […]
Normal Life {31 Days of #Homeschooling on the Spectrum}
What is a “normal life?” Normal is whatever works for your family. It might look like completing one subject per day, because the focus is so difficult to maintain.It may be side by side supervision, advanced planning for everyday activities, and reading labels for potential allergens. Or it might not. Just as there are no […]
Sensory Work {31 Days of #Homeschooling on the Spectrum}
Autism and sensory issues go hand in hand. Kids seek or avoid sensory input depending on how it affects them Some input makes them unable to process what’s going on around them while another type can help. This is why kids stim; the positive sensory input makes them feel more able to handle what’s going […]
Dear Autism Momma: Just Rest {31 Days of #Homeschooling on the Spectrum}
GO. Dear Autism Momma: You’re ON all the time. Therapies and routines. De-fusing and distracting and redirecting. Awake at the first sound from the bedroom down the hall, alert. You live your life around kids. Around Autism. You are Momma. You are strong. You are always on. Your children are your everything. You diaper them, […]
What To Teach: Strengths and Weaknesses {31 Days of #Homeschooling on the Spectrum}
Kids on the Spectrum can can some amazing strengths, and some great weaknesses in academics. It’s no secret that many are gifted in areas involving technology. I read somewhere that it’s estimated that around 75% of all tech industry jobs at companies like Google, Microsoft, and Apple are held by individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. […]
Caring So Much It Hurts {31 Days of #Homeschooling on the Spectrum}
Go. Just one look at his tiny body, hooked up to the heart monitor in the NICU and I knew he was mine. Forever. I didn’t know how, because with fostering there is never a real KNOWING until the papers are signed by a judge, but I knew. Those eyes. Tiny slits, swollen eyelids over […]
Friends: Can We Join? {31 Days of #Homeschooling on the Spectrum}
Friendships can be so difficult for a child with Autism. Often we’re caught struggling to balance his need for social interaction and his ability to handle it. We accept invitations for birthdays and gatherings, understanding that he will probably tune out the other kids a short while into the party and start to do his […]