My name is Carrie. I am married to a man named Joe, and we have five children. Our second son is diagnosed with autism. His name is Jack. He is sixteen. I am equal parts mother/wife/advocate. I mean, I try to be equal in all of these parts, yet sometimes I feel as though I am robbing […]
Mom. For today. Is Joey’s birthday. Yes, Jack, it is. Eighteen. He is eighteen. Hi. My name is Carrie. I have five kids and my second son has autism. His name is Jack. You can ask any mother what time her baby was born, and she will tell you down to the minute. You can […]
I talk a lot about my son Jack, and the day we officially learned he had autism. It was a chilly afternoon in November. The doctor’s office was small, and stuffy. Jack whirled and jumped and spun around the room. He banged his shin on the filing cabinet and dropped to the floor and shrieked. […]
My son Jack was diagnosed with autism in 2005. Carrie Underwood had just won American Idol. Matthew McConaughy was named the Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine, and scientists discovered a dwarf planet called Eris. I knew nothing about autism. Aside from a random documentary I’d once watched, and the movie Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman, I […]
My husband Joe is a Forever Father. Perhaps you are wondering what this means—how a Forever Father is different from any other father. For starters, there is another world inside of him that few are aware of, or understand. Speech therapy, education plans, behavior modification, social stories. Guardianship, group homes, family court. Autism. The Forever […]
Charlie. For you will start. To drive soon. Yes, Jack. That’s true. People ask me all the time what it’s like to have a child with autism. What is it like? To have a boy like my son Jack? I never, for one moment, forget he has it. Autism is the tympani of my background—the drumbeat […]
I wanted to hug you tonight. I saw you walk in the door and I tried my best to smile. But I just couldn’t bring myself to reach for you. I can’t explain why. After all, we embraced this morning. It was light, and easy. It suggested a good day ahead. The problem is, a […]
When my son Jack was eight, he was terrified of the wind chill factor. He worried about it constantly. He checked the weather on my phone, and obsessed about the temperature, and cried before school in the morning. You see, Jack has autism. He struggles with regulation and social inferences and filtering his thoughts. Also, […]
Hi. My name is Carrie. I have five kids. My second son has autism. His name is Jack. He is sixteen. My story is not a new story. It is neither original, nor untold. My story is, quite simply, an account of a bewildered mother trying to enjoy the moment in front of her, with […]
Every year, one out of fifty-nine children are diagnosed with autism. And behind each child—behind the meltdowns and the therapies and the meetings—stands an advocate. We stand in the shadows, you see. We are the social story-tellers, and the paperwork-doers, and the appointment-makers. My son Jack was diagnosed with autism in 2005. He was a […]