Find Out What Jen Finds

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Like sands through the hourglass…

  • June 30, 2008 12:16 am

Thanks to Miss Nelson for bringing this to my attention.

Here is the link to the article.

Here is my comment in response to her:

OK, I guess if we are all confessing here, I’ve watched Days of Our Lives for as long as I can remember. I had to be 5 years old or something. Wow, that is like 30 years of DOOL. Yes, I also was a fan of Another World.

BTW, for DOOL fans present and past, I discovered www.soapoperafan.com when I was in college (then it was dustinsdays.com, since then it has greatly evolved). Now I just use it to get the cliff notes version of the episodes. My favorite to keep up with though are Dustin’s Thoughts. It is what we are all thinking when we watch these crazy shows.

I do hope they make it general enough to cover the bases of how autism looks like in different children. Maybe Theo can have a friend or two who have autism too (maybe in a classroom setting). Then they can show the different perspectives of the spectrum and maybe even a playdate to see how parents react differently and continue to react differently.

Hey! I should make my own post on my blog about this! Thanks! I’ll link to you.

And so I did.

I find it so interesting how the autism community can band together so well, yet have completely different theories and opinions about the disorder itself. We all have different strategies to deal with the changes that are inevitable in our lives. We all take the different paths from “reading everything you can” to “take it as it comes” and it all leads us into this common comforting bond of empathy, despite the many differences that a “spectrum” implies. We may not always agree on the issues that are the controversial hot topics of the day, week, or season, but there is always an understanding of the variety of emotions we all undergo, a recognition of how much we love our children and want what’s best for them, the validation of the “normalcy” of the off-days, and the celebrations we have for each other in times of triumph and marking milestones.

At least that is my perspective since joining the community…

What do you think?
Talk Amongst Yourselves…

P.S. 10 Points to the first person who notices what’s different about my theme.

Success Sunday: An Anniversary

  • June 29, 2008 8:13 am

Success Sunday Banner

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”
–Marie Curie
One year ago today, we got the official diagnosis of ASD for The Elder. As we drove home, I was experiencing a mixture of relief and shock. Both emotions came as a result of his misdiagnosis from a previous psychologist that we saw during the interim of waiting to “get in” to see Dr. A. Up until the point that the previous psych(o) told us that he did not have ASD, I was not yet convinced that that was indeed what The Elder had. But at the sound of her opinion, I was just as shocked at my shock and gut reaction that she was wrong. For 6 months we had been told that ASD was the root of our issues. For 2 of those months I was in major denial but put in a request to see Dr. A ONLY so that he could rule it out and we could find out what was the real answer. I am so glad I didn’t listen to our OT who told us to just cancel our appointment with him since we already got a diagnosis. I didn’t mostly because I’m stubborn and was not going to cancel after it had been so long that we were on the waiting list (4 months). June 29, 2007, was a turning point in my life. In the last year, I have gone from a confused, insecure, depressed mother, to a happy, confident mentor and guide for both of my children (all three?). I still surprise myself every once in a while when I do something smart. I know what “mommy instinct” is now and recognize it for what it is. It was the gift that I didn’t think I had, but had all along. Kinda like my Ruby Slippers.

I admit that one year ago, I thought my life had been flipped upside down. But in reality, it had been turned right side up and we all have been happier, better people because of it.

Find out How to Post your own Success Sunday!

Slip sliding away…

  • June 25, 2008 2:26 pm

There I am again with the musical titles. Folks at the meeting laugh at me because I’ll be dancing and not even know it! I guess I hear my own music in my head…all.the.time.

Anyhoo, here are the pictures from today’s fun with the Slip n Slide. Thanks to The GodMa for the gift!



AND it doubles as a water sprinkler for our crunchy grass. Fun AND Functional. Look how we’ve got The Younger at work.

“Put it on ALL the brown grass, ok?”

Hey! A lesson in colors too! WOW! What a Perfect Gift for the Whole Family!

Here are other pix from The GodMa’s visit for The Younger’s birthday. His favorite…cleaning supplies!

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