Parenting Towards Acceptance and other Updates

I am happy to report that after a month of being a complete flake on just about everyone,  the cause has been completed! ASAN’s Autism Acceptance Month website is up and running. We will be rolling more content out over the month, but the starting point is done. I’m very happy that we have this up and running and that so far, everyone seems to like it!

As you can imagine, April is going to be a busy month. Starting on the 1st (yes, this upcoming Monday.), I will be joining with Ariane Zurcher, mother and blogger at Emma’s Hope Book and Brenda Rothman, mother and blogger at Mama Be Good on a webinar for ICDL (the people that brought you floortime/DIR).… Read more.

Citizen Autistic

I’m slightly terrified of this. But Citizen Autistic has now been updated with splices of an interview with me. You can see the boys in it as well, not to mention their living room a some laundry in the background, and generally the “lived-in” look with toys on the floor. (What can I say? It’s their living room.)

I’m slightly shocked that I talked myself into this. Rule of thumb: Even if you don’t normally wear make up, make sure to put it on for the camera. Yeah, not pleased that I couldn’t find mine (I use it that infrequently).

Citizen Autistic also has an Indigogo.… Read more.

On Sensory Issues, Therapies

I was asked in a previous post about sensory issues today. I’d like to talk about this because it is important to understand how sensory processing manifests and what you can do about it. I cannot be exhaustive here because of the wealth of sensory sensitivities.

I’d like to suggest a few products/therapies before I get started though. I’ll try to explain what they are, but please understand I haven’t used all of them personally.

1. The Eating Game ($14.99 online delivery, diy) – This is the DIY version of The Eating GAME which is a system to create meals and give your child more control over their food intake.

… Read more.

Separate rooms – Separate space

Before we moved back to Texas, we lived in a 5 room apartment, 2 bedrooms, two open layout rooms that were supposed to be a living room and a dining room and a eat-in kitchen. As with most parents, we kept our room somewhat off bounds to the children. I bring this up because a moment has just occurred in our new home that I don’t think would have worked out so well in the old home.

I have had a long week so really wanted some “me” time. D, my oldest, has been off because his day isn’t as structured as it would be with school.… Read more.

The Importance of Advocacy!

With our move, I have come to realize one big truth about myself. I must advocate for my children and myself. While I still know people that live in the Dallas area, I am required to open myself up to more than those people. So far, I have been quite lucky with those that I’ve met.

School professionals? They have congratulated me on my knowledge, order and preparation. They like the initiative I’m taking to learn about my children’s education. All around, it has been an excellent experience. They are all quite aware that I have Asperger’s and have concluded that both boys do indeed qualify for an IEP under the diagnosis of Autism.… Read more.