I guess I’m wondering what you think of him. I know I shouldn’t care, but I can’t help it. I do. He doesn’t care, not one little bit. In fact, I don’t think he even notices when people stare at him or kids point to him. I don’t care for the reasons you might think. […]
It was great to meet you last week. You were wonderful with my son, Jack. You were patient, and kind, and you listened carefully as he tried to describe his headaches. I know it can be a little tedious because he mixes up his words and takes a long time to explain things. You seemed […]
Do you remember a boy named Jack from sixth grade? The boy with autism? He was tall. He had a crew cut. He wore glasses with blue and green frames. He had a schedule printed out on his desk, and he left the classroom a lot to take something called sensory breaks where he would […]
Here’s the thing, Jack-a-boo. Sometimes I’m not really sure how to parent you. I mean, parenting is hard enough as it is. But you, well, you are just the tiniest but different from the rest of the kids. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. How do I mother a child who doesn’t […]
Listen, I get it. He’s twelve. He’s almost as tall as I am and his sneakers are a whole size bigger than the ones I wear. He’s in the seventh grade. His older-by-one-year brother knows. His younger-by-three-years sister is beginning to connect the dots. Quietly, when no one else is in the room, she asks […]
When I was a little girl, I swore I heard your sleigh land on the top of our roof. I must have been about four years old, five at the most. When I said this—that I knew you had come in the night because I heard your sleigh and your reindeer—my father smiled a funny […]
Editor’s note: I wrote this post after talking with Jack about what holiday parties are like for him. He read it over, and reminded me the cookies were shaped like snowmen. I thought they were reindeer. My mom told me we are going to your house on Saturday. For a holiday party. The last time I was at […]
Dear Rose, I have something to tell you. Come a little closer, because it’s kind of a secret. Before this year’s election, I had never voted before in my life. Not even once. I know, that is a terrible thing admit. I mean, in college I studied something called political science and I actually have […]
There’s something on my mind lately; a knot I’ve been trying to untangle. I thought maybe we could talk about it. Stimming. You know, stimming? The way my 12-year old son Jack jumps and hops and grunts at least, oh, I don’t know, fifty times a day? Stimming is short for self-stimulation, or the repetition […]
