I made a list of traditional day/weekend activities that I enjoyed as a kid for us to do this summer, but after all the money that I spent to send my kids to camp plus our summer vacation, I had to find ways to make those activities as affordable as possible. This is my list. … Read More Making Our Summer Activity List (More) Affordable
It’s opposite day in our home. If I say “up”, my daughter says, “down”. If I say “left”, she says “right”. A never ending game where she challenges everything. Or simply offers a “no…no no no!” I am grateful for her attention and her frequent response to a question. I have a daughter and she has… Read More My Daughter’s Voice
We learned the “first…then” behavior strategy from our daughter’s birth-to-3 team. At the time, the goal was simply trying to help our daughter get a sense of time and order. “First you go to sleep for a nap. Then, you can play more.” We used social stories, which are essentially a tool to convey any routine, such… Read More “First…then:” Parenting in Binary Code
As if I knew the answer to that question, right? I have Googled this very question, paraphrased in various ways, more than once. Heck, perhaps that’s how you landed here now. If so, like you I have wondered and struggled and suffered through deciding. I have sat across from my wife, daughter, her pediatrician, teachers, and mentors in tears, wondering… Read More When Should You Medicate Your Child?
We are forever learning to be better parents to our children, and that is not different when parenting a child with special needs. Occasionally, someone from Sage’s school will ask if we have any tips to respond to a certain trigger or behavior, and outside of bonding over our shared helplessness, at times we’ve got… Read More Responding to Autism’s Surprises
My obsession with 80’s comedies lives on. I admit to watching a lot of television growing up and as an adult I appreciate the value of ‘wrapping up’ life’s problems in thirty minutes with commercials. Growing Pains was a fan favorite and I freely admit to wishing our parenting problems could be so easily resolved with canned laughter. As… Read More Growing Pains: Our Very Own Sitcom
“Are you a parent or a professional?” I was asked several times at the ASRC Autism Services and Resource Connecticut Resource Fair this weekend. Good question. It’s like being asked if I’m black, gay, or a woman? How do I separate my identity? If I was speaking with a parent, I noticed a change in expression and body language. “Yes, my six-year old… Read More “Are you a parent or a professional?”
We’re going through a couple of rough patches with both kids. They’re both having a tough time adjusting to their new grade levels. Our daughter’s behavioral outbursts are escalating. She’s spent a lot of time with substitutes and we just learned that today her teacher will be switched due to another teacher’s very untimely transfer… Read More Riding through the Rough Patches
With a diagnosis of Autism we wondered what we might do to help “treat” you or lessen the “symptoms.” You showed us with your love of life and your buoyancy through tough moments that you didn’t need changing. We read stories from parents, from adults and teens with Autism, from professionals, and we wondered if… Read More My Sage
School letting out for the summer is magical for a spell. For a week or so, we don’t care about their 20 minutes of reading. We survived, they survived. For a bit, we don’t have to wake at the crack-of-dawn, we can wait until the crack-of-dawn-thirty. No lunches (until camp and summer school begins), no… Read More Remember to Breathe
CT Working Moms 