Having a child with special needs changed our ‘normal’. Even though our monkey is four years old, he can’t dress himself. Our mornings start by us dressing him. The constant “You are going to school” phrase is being said over and over again. We do this so he understands what the plan is for the…
Author: Monkeynism AKA Autism
I'm the mom of a beautiful boy, who happens to have autism.
Autismo en Español!!!
Ser padre de un niño con necesidades especiales biene con muchas bendiciones y a la misma vez con muchas inseguridades. Creo que nosotros los padres, tenemos el mejor interés por nuestros hijos. Exponemos nuestras propias vidas solo para tener la seguridad que ellos estén en buena salud y lejos de peligro. Pero cuando la vida…
Autism Night Before Christmas
AUTISM NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS A Poem By Cindy Waeltermann Twas the Night Before Christmas And all through the house The creatures were stirring Yes, even the mouse We tried melatonin And gave a hot bath But the holiday jitters They always distract The children were finally All nestled in bed When nightmares of terror Ran…
Santa’s Experiment
Today Santa, along with some of his helpers from the North Pole, took the day off to come visit us at our local mall. It was a different kind of visit that Santa and his helpers are used to. In other places Santa is welcomed by a storm of cheering children filled with hopes and excitement…
Quantity vs Quality
I’d like to think that I have a handle on things when it comes to my family, especially my kids. I don’t mean that I know what I am doing all the time but more so that I am involved in them as much as I can. Between being a husband, son, a teacher, a…
The Meaning of Julia
This day has been a very emotional day for me. I have read about Sesame Street and Julia, their new autism character a few days ago. However, I didn’t realize how much publicity this would receive. I am very surprised at People magazine and the Today Show all doing stories about her. I didn’t imagine…
Being Sorry.
When I first starting thinking about the possibility that my son may have autism, I would immediately push those thoughts out of my mind. I would convince myself I was overreacting. It was very difficult to simply think about it. And when we received the official diagnosis, it was unimaginable. It was surreal. Therefore I understand other people’s first…
The Fight
It’s been an amazing summer for me. The perks of being an educator is the long summer that I get to spend with my kids. Usually this time consists of getting in our pool, visiting mommy for lunch, going to the mall playground, and taking my daughter to all her teenage needs. However, a greater…
My AHA Moment
My monkey started aqua therapy this summer. The thing that many people don’t understand is how difficult it is for autistic kids to do this. First, it’s something new and different. That itself is extremely overwhelming. Getting out of a routine is so scary for them. Second, the noise. The echo is a lot and…
My Pledge
My heart is broken today. I saw this story on the newsfeed of my facebook page: http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/Mother-of-EPISD-special-needs-student-says-her-son-was-beaten-by-a-teacher-192187.shtml#.VeFBaPbluP8 I am just so, so sad. A five year old autistic little boy was having a meltdown. The paraprofessional was outside the school hitting him. The bruises on his back are the evidence. As I am typing this,…
The Daddy’s Perspective –
Our little monkey is now three years old. I see how it is much noticeable for people to see that he is different than other 3 year olds. Our monkey is still not talking, always walking in his tippy toes, still not potty trained, an adamant flapper, and prefers to play by himself rather than…
