“You have a child with special needs.” It was the first time, and to this day, maybe the only time, I heard those exact words directed at me. Yes, it was a statement of the obvious. But it focused everything.
Just a brief follow-up to last week’s post (Autism Awareness Has a Long, Long Way to Go). As I implored at the end: So please, be truly aware. Spread the word. And help us create a fuller Autism Awareness. A
Ben and Mom in the back seat, heading to his favorite bakery. (pic by Karen) For this Autism Awareness Month, and every other month, I want to say – I GET IT. I really do. Depressing news stories about autism
Some random moments from the past few weekends with the big Benny boy. As snacks go (that Ben likes), relatively speaking, marshmallows count as health food. ~~~ Picking his sixth book to read is serious business. (Thank you Michelle!) ~~~
Little bits of Ben’s life over the past couple of weeks… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Six residents + staff at Ben’s group home = big garbage day. Tomica at Great Clips is getting rid of Ben’s curls. I was opposed to it, but
My personal mantra (or at least one of them) is, Time Flies, Whether You’re Having Fun or Not. The “Not” part is familiar turf for any parent watching their child grow up struggling with the horrors of severe autism. But
Ben, book, sun, green grass, greener trees, blue sky, bluer Lake Erie, and a hunk of modern sculpture art that looks like a toddler sibling of the Chicago Daley Plaza Picasso in the background (Ben was unimpressed — all the
Sitting at a traffic light, car windows open, Ben in his usual spot – back seat, passenger side. He’s in a great mood, so he belts out, at full blast, “SOCCER BALL!!!!!” Nothing unusual to us. Not the case for
For the weekends in between visits, Karen always sends a little package for Ben to open on Saturday that often has a book or toy or something he likes, but ALWAYS has some sort of tasty treats that he loves
Not directly Ben-related but… We have a few routines built into the end of our Ben visits on Sundays, the almost-final part (before the trip to Luna Bakery for cookies) being a drive out to the Hiram College area in