To my autistic son on his 10th birthday, Its December 10th 2016 (5:51 p.m.) and I’m thinking of the next five years of your life. So the intention of this letter is for today to be your 10th birthday. I stop and sigh at the meaning of time and the meaning of this special day….
Author: Monkeynism AKA Autism
I'm the mom of a beautiful boy, who happens to have autism.
My Little Gentleman
Days like today are what makes a “papa” like me very proud. Although my son is non-verbal, that has never stopped us from conversing with him. We always talk to him about being respectful, and about caring for others. This is an area that our monkey struggles because he tends to pinch or scratch when…
Just Because.
Last year, I reached out to a fellow special needs mom. She has over 20 years of experience, different type of special needs, but an expert none the less. I poured my heart out to her. She patted me on the back, gave me some tissue, and sent me on my way. I haven’t heard…
It’s Okay.
I don’t remember much the months after we were officially diagnosed. It was just too surreal. I talk about this time often. I remember those months after the diagnosis like it was a dream. Too foggy of a memory. During that time, I would do a lot of research about autism. There is a thing…
A New Male Figure
Lately, our monkey has been surprising us over and over. For example, I was so nervous I couldn’t sleep for days worrying about how he would react to summer school, different school, different teachers, different bus drivers, etc. Our physical therapist tried to calm me down. She told me, “He will surprise you.” And he…
An Open Letter to Our First Pediatric Neurologist
Dear Sir, When we walked into your office, we were tired. We had to go to three pediatricians in order to receive a referral just to see you. The first two pediatricians didn’t think my monkey was struggling. They assumed he was just a typical boy, a little slower than girls, just a little…
Courage.
Yesterday was my monkey’s first dentist appointment. Actually his first one was when he was 6 months old. But I don’t think that one counts. When the dentist asked us why it took us so long to make an appointment, my answer was simple. I didn’t have the courage to bring him here. Courage. Something…
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow, or today in a few hours, we have an appointment with the new pediatric neurologist. I’m so nervous. I can’t sleep. The last time we saw a neurologist for our monkey it was heartbreaking. I don’t think much will be accomplished in this meeting. I mean, how much more can one do? But we…
To Be Loved.
I went to Walmart the other night with my monkey and my parents. (Note: I do not make these kinds of trips lightly. However, since my parents were with me, I figured three adults can take care of one toddler.) That entire day the monkey did not want to eat. He just wanted to play and play. While…
The other non–autistic child in our home
The other non – autistic child in our home is our teenage daughter that came to us 2 years after we first got married. I was 22 when she arrived and I can still feel her existence in my arms when I first held her. That is something I will always treasure. She started off…
To tell ? Or not to tell?
Today during work, a co-worker stopped by my office. She hadn’t stopped by in a while. She was looking around my office and asked if I had new pictures of the monkey. She then said the dreaded statement: “He must be talking a lot now.” So here is where I get stuck. What should I…
Sometimes this just sucks.
A few weeks ago we received a progress report from the monkey’s speech therapist from school. It said he has shown minimal progress to the goals that were established in his annual IEP meeting. And I’m going to be honest… that just hurt. I am guessing seeing it in writing just stands out so much more….
