Category: Autism and Special Needs Parenting

Grieving the Loss of What You Never Had The day I finally accepted my son’s diagnosis, I sat and wept. Not just a few quiet tears, but deep, body-shaking sobs that seemed to come from somewhere ancient inside me. I wasn’t just crying for my son—I was mourning the death of a dream. When you…

My Common Journey I’ve known my autistic son was special for two decades now. Through those years, I’ve also come to know many families with special needs children, and I’ve noticed so many commonalities in our experiences. It’s like we’re all walking different paths through the same forest, encountering the same landmarks, just at different…

Do you have a broken child? Is your world crashing down around you? I remember that feeling—the moment when everything you thought your life would be suddenly shatters into pieces. Your dreams of the perfect family now lie in tatters. That hopelessness and despair can feel overwhelming, can’t it? When you first realize your perfect…

Parenting special needs children is difficult, but it need not be a lifelong pity party over a burdensome road we must travel. If you are a special needs parent reading this post, what were you looking for? What is it you seek when you read the stories of how other special needs parents coped with…

The US Food and Drug Administration has published a warning for parents to beware of false or misleading claims about HBOT for treating autism. I know a family who purchased a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for their home to treat their son with autism. It was expensive. A cheap one costs about $10,000, and some go…

Searching for miracle cures fans false hopes, wastes time, and enriches con artists. Every parent wants a perfect child who grows up to have a major impact on the world and the love and adoration of the masses. Parents fantasize about living vicariously through their child prodigy, who will fulfill every dream they couldn’t in…

Reduce the time from shock to acceptance and everyone benefits. Each parent has a unique experience when they realize their child is different. For most people, it isn’t a time of rejoicing. It usually starts with suspicions because the child’s behavior isn’t typical. These suspicions lead to a period of consideration and denial, perhaps with…

A minor incident in line at Costco turns into a deadly bloodbath. Imagine you are standing in line at Costco waiting to get rotisserie chicken. You are there with your spouse, and your special needs child, now a grown adult. Your adult child is upset by the crying from a toddler being held by his…

I don’t focus on my son’s limitations. I focus on the benefits and the joys he brings to my life.