14 Comments

  1. NickyB.
    July 13, 2015 @ 11:14 am

    You have a beautiful family. Thank you for this…It gives me hope for the future.

    Reply

  2. janemtucker.com
    July 13, 2015 @ 11:24 am

    Carrie, your posts always leave me a little choked up. You have a gift for expressing emotion, and I’m glad you’re using it to advocate for those touched by autism. I too have a child on the spectrum, and although our experience has been significantly different from yours, I see many similarities. I’ve begun to watch for your posts on Mondays. I’ll miss them if they ever stop coming.

    Reply

  3. The Person Next to You
    July 13, 2015 @ 11:31 am

    “We have to let him try.” —- I lost it. Tears down my face. Good job, Momma!

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  4. Beth
    July 13, 2015 @ 1:15 pm

    You are such a wonderful writer! This made me cry.

    Reply

  5. Autism Mom
    July 13, 2015 @ 2:19 pm

    This: “We have to let him try.”

    Yes. Just yes.

    Reply

  6. Lyle's Autism Diet
    July 13, 2015 @ 2:34 pm

    Just beautiful. The bus is so important!

    Reply

  7. Amy
    July 13, 2015 @ 4:19 pm

    Thank you! My daughter started the short bus this summer to Memorial which is not our home school. She will be riding it to the extended day k program there in the fall. Her twin brother will be going to our home school. This gives me hope that in first grade when she goes to PWS, she will be able to ride the big bus with her brothers!

    Reply

  8. mary moore
    July 13, 2015 @ 4:23 pm

    My grandson only rode the bus for one year but he loved it except on those days when something would upset him and then there would be the melt down. One day as the boys driver pulled up to our stop, Carlos refused to get off the bus and he was rally upset I could see that and the other kids were so upset as well and no body know what to do. I just kept coaxing him gently until her ran off the bus not the backyard to hide. Later we found out that he had left something in school and wanted to go back and get it. He was not able to tell the bus driver so He just kept getting more upset.
    The part of your blog that really got to me is about sitting alone on the bus – alone on the bus, on the playground …Just alone.

    Reply

  9. Jeannie
    July 13, 2015 @ 4:38 pm

    Thank you for another beautiful post. I agree, the bus drivers are so important for special needs kids. My daughter’s high-school bus driver once phoned our house the night before the first day of school to say hi and remind her of pickup time. And another time he called to tell us she was getting agitated when she didn’t like the music on the bus radio and to suggest that we buy her a personal device so she could listen to her own music. (“Might be a nice Christmas gift,” he said.) I couldn’t believe his thoughtfulness.

    And I agree with the other commenters — your posts are always so moving and real. Thank you.

    Reply

  10. Tammy
    July 14, 2015 @ 12:40 am

    We have not attempted the bus for anything other than a field trip and that I made his dad go on the trip. Every little step….is truly a HUGE step and that is autism at its finest.

    Reply

  11. swh
    July 15, 2015 @ 11:56 am

    Your blog was very timely as I was having a very challenging morning with my Aspie daughter. Your blog helped me keep my cool and perspective…so thank you.

    Reply

  12. autismmommytherapist
    July 15, 2015 @ 2:13 pm

    Loved this. I have actually cried when our town has changed bus contracts, at times we’ve been that connected to the people who play such an important role in Justin’s life. Thanks for reminding us how important the bus drivers and aides are!

    Reply

  13. Peter Mannella
    July 16, 2015 @ 9:51 pm

    Carrie, being the people in Albany you were going to see…let me say that it was a complete joy having you share your message with our members in NY…you left us with a better understanding of Jack and other children like Jack and with a more urgent desire to be sensitive to their needs and to offer our caring and support as they ride our buses…all kids deserve that…it’s just what’s right…you made us better by your presence and better still by your words and perspectives….PETER

    Reply

  14. Jeff
    July 21, 2015 @ 10:41 am

    Yes……you have to let them try. It is such a fine line that needs to be walked. Falling is part of learning to walk. Kids may need to earn their emotional skinned knees in order to run socially.
    Our short bus driver was ‘Glen’. He took my son to the mixed typical/atypical pre-school at the public school. Glen was so gentle and patient. I would wait at the end of the driveway with my son as we waited for Glen to get there. My son had a tendency to perseverate whenever someone was due to arrive [we always have to explain that when is friend is supposed to come over ‘around 10 a.m. that it does not meant that he will be there precisely at 10. However, my son would go outside, stand at the end of the driveway, look down the street and wait] In the meantime, as we waited, my son and I would explore the rocks at the end of our driveway and the dewy patterns that the spider webs would paint across our hedges in the morning. On his last day with Glen I hugged him and cried. I wonder if he knew how important he was to our family.

    Reply

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