Today was a long day. Today, I felt the sting of tears more than once. Today, autism won. My son Jack was out of sorts all day, you see. He kept asking the same questions over and over about COVID and I tried everything—answering him, redirecting him, telling him we would be okay. When he […]
I have landed in a strange land. The people here are very odd. For starters, they won’t stop looking in my eyes when they talk to me. They connect their gaze with mine and hold it until I look away. It’s creepy. They touch my arm, and ask me many questions. Jack! Buddy! Are you […]
Season’s greetings, friends and family! I am happy to report that, despite the challenges 2020 handed us, the Cariello family had a wonderful year. My husband Joe and I are doing well, and all five kids are happy, and healthy. Quarantine was a great opportunity to spend some real quality time together. We played lots […]
Forever Mother [ for·ev·er moth·er ]: a mother who will spend the rest of her life taking care of her child’s day-to-day financial and health care needs. She will arrange appointments, oversee medical care, and manage bank accounts long into his adulthood. I’m not sure when I started to think of myself this way. I guess it was […]
My name is Carrie, and I am raising a son with autism. It is exactly nothing and everything I ever imagined. The truth is, I’ve wished for a crystal ball ever since my son Jack was a toddler. I desperately wanted to see into his future. Would he speak in sentences? Would he be able […]
When it comes to my son Jack, I fill out a lot of paperwork–forms, surveys, and questionnaires. I check boxes, and rate things like behavior, and anxiety, and temperament. Usually I leave the papers on the corner of my desk until the last possible second. I mean, I hate paperwork to begin with, and I […]
I have a boy named Jack. He is sixteen. He has autism. Autism is no one’s fault. It simply is. I mean, sometimes I like to say it’s my husband’s fault because of bad genetics and DNA and all of that. I’m certain this sort of accusation only serves to strengthen our marriage. Autism is […]
Last week my son Jack brought the mail in, and on the top of the pile was a brochure with a picture of a man. Underneath his smiling face was the title Autism Expert. Jack had some questions. We both did. We looked at the picture and we looked at each other and then we looked […]
My son Jack has autism. He is sixteen. Autism is defined as a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication. It is said people with autism lack empathy. It is said they have trouble making eye contact. It is said. Sometimes I wonder what it would be […]
When our family walks into a restaurant, people have been known to put down their forks, and watch us troop by them. Diners have also been known to request a different table once we sit down near them, but that’s another story altogether. When I see—and feel—their eyes on us, I wonder what they notice […]
