Imagine if, for one day, you had no ego. Your self worth wasn’t based on how much money you make, or how many trophies you’ve collected, or if you’re pretty or thin or funny. Imagine everywhere you go, people stare at you. The mall, the grocery store, the library, restaurants. People stare at the way […]
My name is Carrie. I have five kids, and my second son Jack has autism. Although he is a teenager, Jack is somewhat naïve, and innocent. His pleasures are simple—going to the movies, popcorn on a Friday night, dinner together at the table. When it comes to autism, the weekends can be long. This is […]
When I was very little, we lived on top of a hill. One night my mother and father walked my sister, my brother, and me down the hill to a big white building on the corner so they could vote. I’m not sure how I knew this, but I did. There were people sitting at […]
Hi. My name is Carrie. I have five kids, and my second son has autism. His name is Jack. He is sixteen years old. I don’t really care about what causes autism. I mean I do, a little bit. But mostly, I don’t. At this point, I’ve heard it all. I’ve heard autism is caused […]
To be clear, I did not go to medical school. I am not a doctor. I’ve never even played one on television. I am not educated in the world of neuroscience, or brain development, or psychology. Hi. My name is Carrie. I am a forty-five-almost-forty-six year old housewife with five kids. My husband Joe is […]
Dearest Mama, I enjoyed talking to you tonight, and meeting your little guy. While he darted in and out of line and dumped the Tic-Tacs all over the floor, you explained he has autism. I got very excited because I also have a son with autism. His name is Jack. He is sixteen. The hard […]
The especially fun thing about autism is the way it’s always presenting me with predicaments that I never, in my life, imagined. For example, how fast can you chase a toddler who figured out the lock on the front door, if you are wearing only a towel? How do you handle yourself when he fills […]
My life has become something of a hamster wheel, if you will. I get out of bed when I hear my son Jack and his autism stomp down the hall and turn on the shower. Drink coffee, let the dog out, answer questions about spiders in Brazil. Then some yoga, or the treadmill. Rouse teenagers […]
What can I say that you don’t already know? My son has autism. His name is Jack. He is sixteen years old. People ask me lots of questions about stuff like gluten-free diets, applied behavior analyses, and medication for anxiety. I try to answer as best I can. I say that we don’t eat glute-free […]
Do you remember going to those meetings before we got married? In that pretty house down the street? We sat on big green couches, and listened to a couple maybe ten years older than us talk about vows and Catholicism and family. At some point a small boy raced through the room. The husband smiled […]