Tag: Autism
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Working it out in Physical Therapy
A few months ago, the clinic Tony goes to for physical therapy completed construction on an outside gym. This additional equipment has charmed his giggles and bubbled up bursts of joy each week he works outside with Ms. E, his physical therapist of nearly two years. When the weather won’t allow for work outdoors, his…
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Awareness is Our Every Day
At the beginning of this month, I was opening up our front door around 5pm for the extremely patient Ms. C, who does ABA in the evenings with Tony three days a week. She opened the conversation with comments about Autism Awareness month, and I gave her what I know must have been an incredibly…
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“Can’t See the Forest for the Trees”
There is an idiom that echoes and chases after me from deeper memories: “you can’t see the forest for the trees.” Maybe there are patches of grass on a balding bit of earth, or moss-covered rocks, and birds that warble out jubilant notes as they wing through the sun-glistened air. But if the trees are…
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Delving Into the Latest Dental Visits
This will come as no surprise to those of you who have been reading with us for a while now, but Tony doesn’t like dentists any more than he likes doctors. We’ve not really discussed specifics much for his dental visits, in part because we’ve had years of experiences to talk about and I struggle…
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“You Have No Power Over Me”
Originally, I had planned to discuss the sleep-related challenges Tony had during his early years in this week’s post. But honestly, the last two posts- by nature of the circumstances laid bare- starkly avoided most anything approaching cheer and even I need a break from that. Often what we have here is not simply a…
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Can’t Do it All, Y’all
When I described our first meeting with J.N. a couple of weeks ago, I kept the cover firmly closed on the subject of my own self-care. This is I think an incredibly important subject when it comes to families of individuals with extensive needs, but experiences can vary widely and there are the rights and…
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Gimme a Turn, Please…
A few months ago, Stephanie (the super fab Case Manager for Tony’s ABA programs), recommended we transition the funding of our little man’s ABA therapies to the behavioral health division of his long-term care benefits. I was assured that she and her team would remain as the primary providers of service and given a list…
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“Comparison…the Thief of Joy”
Several months ago, Tony, the Fabulous Miss Whitney, and I had just strolled a few feet into our local Costco. I was wearing an Autism shirt I had recently purchased from a vendor on Etsy. A woman we were passing looked up, read my shirt, and fired off the following: “Lucky. I can’t even get…
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Team Tony Taking on the Town
I want you to imagine with as much detail as possible plunging into an encounter with your deepest fears- the ones that instantly and efficiently sever the communication between your intellect and your reactions. These are the things that cause you to panic, raise your voice in fear, flee, or propel you to act before…
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The Trouble With Hotels
In November of 2017, our family took a long-planned trip to Disneyland. That trip, and the extensive work we did to help Tony prepare for it, is mostly a topic of a future post. I suspected (translation: totally knew it) we could be in for a few challenging moments given his sensory differences. However, I…