Most of the content of this blog is informative (hopefully) and I attempt to keep things upbeat. That, however, has to alter a bit in lieu of the recent tragedy in Connecticut.
A horrible man did a horrible dead and this post isn't about gun control, politics, or anything like that. This post is too address the disappointing rumor started by the media that the murderer did this unthinkable act because he was Autistic.
Some know and some may not, but Autism isn't a disease or disorder. It's how someone's brain works. Not wrong, just different. It is who a person is. It cannot make someone violent anymore than having blue eyes can. It's not a mental illness, does not influence violent behavior, or make a person less sensitive to feelings.
Honestly, most people on the Autism spectrum are the most loving and FEELING people you will ever meet. A person on the Autism Spectrum is sadly far more likely to be a VICTIM of a crime or bullying because they are different.
What concerns me the most is that this ignorant stereotype may make life much more difficult for some wonderful people who already have to deal with so much.
I ask that you please be informed yourself, and if you hear anyone talking about this ignorance, please give them the tools to inform themselves. Let's not turn this into an argument. As a mother of a kind and gentle boy with ASD and sensory issues, I can tell you there's not much that upsets Boog more than a raised voice :)
Like I said, they feel.
Boog
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
The Holiday Complexity
Most parents understand (sometimes dread) the big holiday gathering. Not because we have lost the holiday spirit or are completely anti-social, but because when you take a child out of their norm...anything can happen (insert dramatic music).
Parents with special needs children feel this x3468975432.6 usually. With Boog having SPD (Sensory Perception Disorder) he could be fine with all of the chatter, and then someone turns on a faucet to wash their hands and it's too much. He covers his ears and I immediately try and find him a "quiet spot".
Regardless of a child's difference, we have to realize they want to have fun too. They love presents and lights and food. Most importantly they just LOVE. Boog and some of his friends are some of the sweetest and most loving kids I know!
That being said, here's a wonderful article called "Ten Commandments for Interacting With Kids On The Autism Spectrum" by Mari Nosal. I think if very family member of a special needs child would read this, it would make EVERYONE have a much happier holiday!
http://worldwright.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/ten-commandments-for-interacting-with-kids-on-the-autism-spectrum-by-mari-nosal-and-related-commandments/
Merry Christmas, Y'all!
Parents with special needs children feel this x3468975432.6 usually. With Boog having SPD (Sensory Perception Disorder) he could be fine with all of the chatter, and then someone turns on a faucet to wash their hands and it's too much. He covers his ears and I immediately try and find him a "quiet spot".
Regardless of a child's difference, we have to realize they want to have fun too. They love presents and lights and food. Most importantly they just LOVE. Boog and some of his friends are some of the sweetest and most loving kids I know!
That being said, here's a wonderful article called "Ten Commandments for Interacting With Kids On The Autism Spectrum" by Mari Nosal. I think if very family member of a special needs child would read this, it would make EVERYONE have a much happier holiday!
http://worldwright.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/ten-commandments-for-interacting-with-kids-on-the-autism-spectrum-by-mari-nosal-and-related-commandments/
Merry Christmas, Y'all!
Sunday, December 2, 2012
The Gosling Excitation
If you've been on Facebook or Pinterest lately, you may have seen the Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl..." photos. Basically, it's a easy-on-the-eyes photo of Gosling with a caption that women would sometimes give up their favorite straightening iron to hear.
I saw these photos specifically made for moms with children with ASD, SPD, or similar disorders and I seriously laughed out loud. Like, for several minutes laughed!
I really hope you enjoy them as much and please share!
http://www.extremeparenthood.com/2012/02/special-needs-ryan-gosling.html
Here's one of my favorites:
I saw these photos specifically made for moms with children with ASD, SPD, or similar disorders and I seriously laughed out loud. Like, for several minutes laughed!
I really hope you enjoy them as much and please share!
http://www.extremeparenthood.com/2012/02/special-needs-ryan-gosling.html
Here's one of my favorites:
Labels:
Humor
Friday, November 30, 2012
The Omega 3 Substitution
Some of you may know that deficiencies in Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids have been linked with autism.
All good and well, but have you ever TASTED fish oil? I don't want it, much less my toddler!
So what does a Mom do? Well, I tried lemon flavored omega smoothie supplements (no), raspberry flavored tiny capsule hidden in chocolate almond milk (no), flaxseed oil hidden in apple juice (no).
Then.... I found them!
Omega 3 eggs!!! Boog loves eggs!!
Apparently this wonderful company has free range chickens that they feed flaxseed to. These awesome chickens make 275mg of Omega 3 per egg! The recommended dosage for little ones is somewhere around 700mg per day. So 2-3 eggs and we're good!
These are at Kroger in the healthy section and made by "Simple Truth".
Enjoy!!!!!!
All good and well, but have you ever TASTED fish oil? I don't want it, much less my toddler!
So what does a Mom do? Well, I tried lemon flavored omega smoothie supplements (no), raspberry flavored tiny capsule hidden in chocolate almond milk (no), flaxseed oil hidden in apple juice (no).
Then.... I found them!
Omega 3 eggs!!! Boog loves eggs!!
Apparently this wonderful company has free range chickens that they feed flaxseed to. These awesome chickens make 275mg of Omega 3 per egg! The recommended dosage for little ones is somewhere around 700mg per day. So 2-3 eggs and we're good!
These are at Kroger in the healthy section and made by "Simple Truth".
Enjoy!!!!!!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
The Multi-vitamin Hypothesis
Most parents know that kids are full of deficiencies today due to the increasing price of healthy food and the pickiness of the palate. Children with ASD often have increased deficiencies, so I am supplementing some great vitamins and minerals with Boog (under the advice of physicians).
Boog has super powers. He has super-man sonic hearing and also super-man taste buds. He can usually detect the SLIGHTEST alteration to his favorite drinks. This makes sneaking in odd tasting vitamins very difficult.
I have, however, found a nice multi with iron that I can add to his apple juice and he doesn't throw the cup down and look at me like I'm trying to poison him!! Yay!!
Again, found a Kroger in the medicine section where the kids vitamins are:
Boog has super powers. He has super-man sonic hearing and also super-man taste buds. He can usually detect the SLIGHTEST alteration to his favorite drinks. This makes sneaking in odd tasting vitamins very difficult.
I have, however, found a nice multi with iron that I can add to his apple juice and he doesn't throw the cup down and look at me like I'm trying to poison him!! Yay!!
Again, found a Kroger in the medicine section where the kids vitamins are:
The Cheeze-It Conundrum
So, Boog is on a totally gluten-free diet. He also has VERY limited dairy. I would feel bad for the ill guy having a limitediet, but we have come up with an alternative to about all of his favorites....except Cheeze Its :/
I've tried about two dozen GF chips and crackers and he may eat a few, but there's no excited "CRUNCH...CHOMP....Squeeeeee!" That I was used to.
UNTIL!
I found these guys at Kroger. I had seen other flavored, but not cheese. I bought them and tried them with Boog last night.
Guess what I heard?
CRUNCH...
CHOMP....
SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!
In translation, "Mommy! My Cheeze Its are back!!!!"
Made my night :)
I've tried about two dozen GF chips and crackers and he may eat a few, but there's no excited "CRUNCH...CHOMP....Squeeeeee!" That I was used to.
UNTIL!
I found these guys at Kroger. I had seen other flavored, but not cheese. I bought them and tried them with Boog last night.
Guess what I heard?
CRUNCH...
CHOMP....
SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!
In translation, "Mommy! My Cheeze Its are back!!!!"
Made my night :)
The Poem Pontification
About two months go we had a very good visit with our pediatric neurologist. We discussed a lot of things and he made a great point. He said that when parents say "I wish my child didn't have autism", they're in fact wishing for a different child. Autism is a type of behavior so without it, these people would actually be someone else!
Great food for thought. He also asked me if I had ever read the poem "Welcome to Holland". I hadn't, so I went home and looked it up. It's now my favorite poem of all time.
If you've ever wondered what it's like to have a special needs child, here's a pretty good way to explain it:
c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.
Great food for thought. He also asked me if I had ever read the poem "Welcome to Holland". I hadn't, so I went home and looked it up. It's now my favorite poem of all time.
If you've ever wondered what it's like to have a special needs child, here's a pretty good way to explain it:
WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by
Emily Perl Kingsley.
c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.
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