Can I tell you a secret? It’s a little embarrassing, to be honest. We always thought our son Jack would recover from autism. We thought he would “get over it,” or heal, or just morph into a regular old kid who likes to toss a baseball around and fly kites on windy days. For years, […]
My oldest son, Joseph, just started driver’s ed. We usually call him Joey, but lately he’s asked that we call him Joseph, on account of him being fifteen-and-a-half and all. For the uninitiated, driver’s ed is a formal course where teenagers learn how to drive. It’s a combination of classroom work, and time in the […]
Let this be the year we hold the door for one another. We smile at strangers. We plant a tree. We grow a tomato. We stop arguing about red and white and blue and orange. This year, I want to do things. I want to pet my beloved puppy at least a hundred […]
Today, I will be here. I will be here in this house with my kids and my dog and my son with special-needs and my husband who has dark, wavy hair. Today, I will remember that when it comes to autism, there is no right. There is no wrong. There is just me, and a […]
Hi. My name is Carrie. I am forty-three years old. I am in decent shape. I exercise almost every day, and I don’t take medication, and I don’t have any medical issues. For the most part—aside from the occasional cold in the winter and monthly bouts of PMS—I am healthy. And yet, I often think […]
I’m not sure if you remember me, but we met the other day at the hotel. Well, I guess we didn’t exactly meet. I don’t know your name. We didn’t even speak. In fact, you were barely wearing any clothes, which would have been incredibly weird if you weren’t swimming in a pool at the […]
My son Henry helped me write this post. Over the course of the last week, I asked him all kinds of questions about his brother Jack and his autism. I listened to him talk about his memories and his experiences and his feelings, and I tried to piece it all together and paint the complicated, […]
My son Henry helped me write this post. Over the course of the last week, I asked him all kinds of questions about his brother Jack and his autism. I listened to him talk about his memories and his experiences and his feelings, and I tried to piece it all together and paint the complicated, […]
My son is thirteen. His name is Jack. He has autism. Oftentimes, there are no awards for people with autism. What I mean is, Jack will probably never climb the steps to the stage, and collect a piece of paper that says he made the honor roll. He’ll probably never stand on a chilly football […]
I really enjoyed meeting you this week. We had quite a bit of time together to talk when you drove me to the airport, since there was a lot traffic. I didn’t realize there was so much construction in Austin. I liked hearing the stories of your childhood in Sudan, and how great herds of […]