Whenever I go to my grandmother’s house, I ask her about the time the world turned upside down in the blink of an eye. “Well, when I was twelve, something called Coronavirus ripped through our country. It was so scary.” I nod my head, and wait. “People were dying. There weren’t enough ventilators, or masks. […]
Motherhood is the best thing that will ever happen to you. The days are long, but the years are short. Soak up every moment. Oh, you work? Who takes care of your kids while you’re gone? Oh, you stay home? What do you do all day? Are you having trouble losing the weight? You should […]
Editor’s note: I wrote this post based on conversations with my son Jack, and from observing the incredible love he has for his grandmother and his grandfather. My Grandma is eighty one years old. She was born in Italy. The year was 1938. She is much shorter than I am. She likes to cook and feed […]
So, uh, he has autism. You know about autism, right? I’ve heard the word before. But what does it mean? When you asked me this, it’s as though time stood still. What does autism mean? Where do I begin? It means exactly one thousand different things. Autism is why he didn’t look at you when […]
Be a normal kid. Have fun. Act silly. Blow bubbles in the summer breeze and chase waves in the ocean and jump into big piles of autumn leaves. Make friends. Go to birthday parties and sleepovers and on camping trips. What if I can’t, he asked. Try harder, they answered. Try bigger. Try with everything […]
Hello. My name is Carrie. I have five kids, and my second son is diagnosed with autism. He is fifteen. His name is Jack. It’s easy to think of Jack in terms of his deficiencies, or challenges. He has a language delay and social impairments and difficulty regulating his body. He struggles with anxiety. Over […]
Hi. My name is Carrie. I have five kids, and my second son is diagnosed with autism. His name is Jack. He is fifteen years old. As an autism mama, I have always told myself I will never give up on my son. Oh, I would have liked to, especially during that rough gastrointestinal phase […]
Dear Jack, As you know, you have autism. Autism is many things. It is a delay in communication and the inability to read social cues and obsessive, perseverative behavior. It is limited interests, and trouble adapting to change in routine, and challenges with sensory processing. It is anxiety, and uncertainty, and a life lived differently. […]
Tell me everything you know about autism, and in exchange I’ll tell you all I know about a boy. Tell me how people with autism can’t experience empathy. Tell me how they hate wearing clothes with tags. Tell me about the sensory processing, and the anxiety, and the meltdowns. And I will tell you about […]
Over the past fifteen years, I’ve gotten into some pretty awkward situations with my son Jack. He has asked women if they were pregnant when they weren’t, and suggested a man in Rite-Aid pick better pants. He has told his teacher her skirt was ugly, and asked the cashier if her mother was alive. You see, […]