I had such a nice time talking with you tonight at the baseball game. You cracked me up with all of your questions. Once upon a time, I had little boys like you. Now they are big boys. They don’t ask me questions anymore. Mostly, they tell me things they know but they think I […]
This weekend my 12-year old son, Charlie, won an award for Little League. I felt so happy, watching him walk onto the field in his orange uniform, with his shoulders squared and his head held high. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my other son Jack jumping and hopping with his […]
Your birthday is coming up this week. I remember the day we brought you home from the hospital. I looked out of the car window while Daddy drove and I noticed how all the trees were sprouting small buds at the end of their branches. And the grass was so green, I couldn’t believe it. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Sometimes, when I’m bored, or irritated, or just kind of noodling around, I like to think about what it would be like if more people had a child like my son Jack. You know, a great big tall 13-year old who wears heavy black boots from November until May. A teenager who dumps ice in […]
This seems to be the theme for 2018, doesn’t it? Everywhere I turn, someone is writing about how they are going to let go more, or talking about the things they want to let go of so they can be happier, and calmer, and more peaceful. That, and apparently we’re all going to drink a […]
Editor’s note: I wrote this post after talking with my son Jack about what it’s like for him to receive presents. He reminded me that all he really wants this year is his Aunt Carolyn’s recipe for her chocolate cookies. He loves them, and last time she brought them he ate eleven of them. Hello. I […]
I have a son named Jack, and a daughter named Rose. Although Jack and Rose are three years apart, they have a close relationship. They sit at the kitchen counter in the morning and munch on their cereal. She asks about his school, and he tells her bits and pieces. Every few minutes she places […]