Jack, you have something called high-functioning autism. This is very, very good. At thirteen, you talk. You can bathe yourself, and pick out your own clothes, and pack your lunch for school. You can go to a restaurant, and order from the menu, and for the most part—if it’s been a calm day and the […]
My son Jack is thirteen years old, and he has autism. His brain is wired in a different way. Because of this, he doesn’t read social cues or fully comprehend language or understand why you shouldn’t ask a woman if she is pregnant. On top of that, he is anxious. So people make him nervous. […]
Hi. My name is Carrie. I live in New Hampshire. My husband Joe and I have five kids. I never thought I’d have that many kids, but that’s another story for another day. My second son Jack is diagnosed with autism. I never thought I’d have a son with autism, but that, too, is another […]
Can I ask you something? What does autism mean to you? For some, it means a life interrupted—a family landscape forever altered by the diagnosis. It is a universal language of flapping hands, and dancing fingers, and a lot of race cars lined up in a row. It’s meetings at school and locks on the […]
When I walked into the store, you were standing in the produce section near the fruit. The first thing I noticed about you was your jacket. I love that color blue, and it looked nice with your dark hair. I walked past you, and I almost tripped over an empty basket someone had left in […]
Hey, can we talk for a second? Can we talk about something that affects many, many women around the world? Something that was once considered a powerful symbol of femininity and fertility, and now is the source of jokes and embarrassment? A condition that disrupts life for many of us? Can we talk about it, […]
My son Jack has autism. He is thirteen. Every day he comes in contact with a variety of people who don’t understand the way he thinks, feels, speaks, or moves. I have no idea what this is like for him. And yet, I am guilty of it also—guilty of always trying to show him a […]
I don’t like getting massages. Everyone who knows me knows this. You know me. You know this. Yet, every time we go on vacation, you suggest we get a couples massage, the kind where we lie side by side in a darkened room while two massage therapists thump on our arms and legs. The last […]
I have been chasing autism for a long time. Thirteen years ago, it started as a question that flickered across my mind every few days. It was little more than a seed, really—a kernel of doubt that I could not quiet. There was something about my son Jack I couldn’t quite put my finger on, […]
Hi. My name is Carrie. I was named after my mother’s cousin. Her other cousin was named Alveena, so I guess it worked out pretty well. My husband and I have five kids and we live in New Hampshire. Our 13-year old son Jack is different from most people. This is not a bad thing. […]
