Hi. My name is Carrie Cariello. I am forty-two years old. I am married to a man named Joe and we have five children. Twelve years ago, I gave birth to a baby boy with a neurological disorder called autism. It impacts the way he eats, sleeps, talks, and thinks. He is considered special needs, […]
I really enjoyed chatting with you tonight. This resort is beautiful isn’t it? Our kids just love it. Yes, we have five. Yep, only one girl. She recently decided to cut her hair short and in the airport someone thought she was a boy. She wasn’t too happy about that. I know you saw us […]
I was in Target the other day and I ran into a mom who has a son the same age as my son, Jack. I think they were in third grade together, and again in fifth. We stood chatting in the aisle, about the price of baseball cleats and some other things, and just as I […]
Editor’s note: I wrote this post one night after talking to Jack about the things he would like people to know. Although he is not the most forthcoming person in a conversation, he did reveal quite a bit about himself. I tried very hard to capture the pattern of his speech, because I think it’s […]
I saw you tonight, at church. Well, not exactly church, but in the v-shaped building behind the church where the kids take religion class. It had been a long day. I argued with my husband, Joe, and around 3:00 my third son, Charlie, started running a fever. I was tired. I stood there, with my […]
I guess I’m wondering what you think of him. I know I shouldn’t care, but I can’t help it. I do. He doesn’t care, not one little bit. In fact, I don’t think he even notices when people stare at him or kids point to him. I don’t care for the reasons you might think. […]
Henry, come on, don’t cry. Come here, sit on my lap. No? You don’t want to? You’re too big to sit on my lap now? Okay, just sit next to me here on the couch. Try to calm down, and tell me what’s wrong. Jack said what? Well, that’s actually—no, no, it isn’t funny, you’re […]
It was great to meet you last week. You were wonderful with my son, Jack. You were patient, and kind, and you listened carefully as he tried to describe his headaches. I know it can be a little tedious because he mixes up his words and takes a long time to explain things. You seemed […]
Do you remember a boy named Jack from sixth grade? The boy with autism? He was tall. He had a crew cut. He wore glasses with blue and green frames. He had a schedule printed out on his desk, and he left the classroom a lot to take something called sensory breaks where he would […]
Here’s the thing, Jack-a-boo. Sometimes I’m not really sure how to parent you. I mean, parenting is hard enough as it is. But you, well, you are just the tiniest but different from the rest of the kids. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. How do I mother a child who doesn’t […]