Tonight I sat at a restaurant table with four other women. We were just a bunch of moms out for a night together without kids. Typical.
Or were we? Continue reading
Category Archives: Friends
Cathartic
A week ago Sunday night I invited some Twitter friends to play a game. “You might be an autism parent if…” Well, one of my friends (@RaisingASDKids) turned that into the hashtag (subject for conversation) #Youmightbeanautismparentif and the fun was on! I actually got silenced by Twitter because I sent too many tweets and retweeted all the #youmightbeanautismparentif tweets.
It has now been a week, and #youmightbeanautismparentif is still going strong! So, if you missed the action, here are some of the best from the first few hours a week ago. Continue reading
Take Me out to the Ballgame!
I thought this next post in the “Growing up with Autism” has a nice summery feel to it for July 4. Enjoy!
The other night we went to a local Little League game as a family. The boys are loving baseball these days, and we are close to the center of the city park system. I’m glad we went, because while there we discovered it was the last game of the season! Continue reading
Big Daddy’s Tales from the Lighter Side
I picked up the tan book. Dr. J walked over. “Are there funny things in that book?”
“Yes,” I answered, surprised that he knew that.
“Is that Griffin’s book?” he further questioned.
“Yes, it’s Griffin’s book.” Someone had been paying attention.
Thank You to Friends of #Autism
Saturday was World Autism Awareness Day. There are differing opinions in the autism community about having a day or month for awareness. After all, we are already aware of autism. We live it every day. Many of us already strive to educate others about what our loved ones face daily.
However, I know that there are a lot of causes out there that I know nothing about, and sometimes I might learn something new during a special time of “awareness”. So, I am doing my small part by using my blog this month for extra enlightenment. Continue reading
>Wednesday’s Woman–Kim Stagliano, Author
>Remember my friend Cheryl? Well, she told me I needed to get this week’s lady to be a WW. Today’s lady is a busy mom and autism advocate. She has recently published a book about her experiences with autism. I love the way she starts her post! Now here is Kim Stagliano in her own words…
I was thinking about the nursery rhyme about days of the week. “Wednesday’s child is full of woe” Aw, heck I wasn’t even born on a Wednesday. I’m an upbeat person – woe is not my thing. And really, what an awful statement about the day of your birth. I was a Thursday child. And Thursday’s child has “far to go.” JACKPOT.
In my book, All I Can Handle I’m No Mother Teresa
Mia (16) Gianna (14) and Bella (10) are bright, hard working kids – and their Dad and I are always proud of them, Well – almost always! There are moments of rollerocaster terror and Joan Crawford wild eyed “ARE YOU KIDDING ME” incidents that remind me that the title of my book is dead on accurate. No Mother Teresa here, I assure you.
Despite the challenges my girls face and the fact that I would peel back their autism like the skin on an orange if I could (they are severely affected in terms of speech, life skills and safety) our life as a family is richly populated with new friends I’d never have met if it weren’t for what could have been a life of “woe” rather than “far to go.” I’ve heard from so many people who’ve read the book who said, “Thank you. I feel like I was sitting down and talking to you and you helped me get through a dark moment. I feel like we’re friends,”
And we are.
The autism community is full of Tuesday, Friday and Saturday Moms. full of grace, loving and giving and working hard for their living. I’m proud to have gotten to reach so many of them and hope that if you have a child on the spectrum, or a friend or family member facing the challenges, that my book will help you or them meet a new friend too. Please visit my website at https://www.kimstagliano.com/ and you can reach me at kimstagliano AT gmail DOT com.
SM2 is Born
Last Thursday night I drove through the snow to pick up my friend. Then we drove to Total Health Foods in Wyandotte. We were about to see if anyone else needed what we needed–a friend in the trenches of autism.
You see, there are not any autism parent support groups in our area. Both of us had tried to find one on our own when our respective sons were diagnosed. We both came up empty. We’ve been tossing around the idea of starting our own, and we finally gathered up the courage.
We decided on the name Southeast Michigan Spectrum Moms (SM2). I created post cards and business cards on Vista Print. I gave some cards to a local elementary school for their special education department and also some to my friend who works in the special ed department in a different district. I also left a large pile of post cards on the counter at Total Health. Finally, my friend passed out some as well. Would it matter?
It did! We had six moms of autism spectrum kids and a mom representing Athletes with Autism, and there were some who wanted to come but couldn’t make it that night. I did very well containing my excitement and staying in my seat!
I’m guessing it’s the same with other special needs moms. It doesn’t take long to get past the fact that you’re talking to someone you’ve never met. The talk starts flowing, and flowing, and flowing! “How old is your child? How long have you had a diagnosis? My child ___, does yours?”
After almost 40 minutes of chatter, we finally quieted down so my friend could share some ground rules to make our group successful. She also shared a list of ideas she and I had created a few days before. Other ladies added suggestions. I sat there and watched, proud of my friend for how professional she was!
The representative from Athletes with Autism had great input and shared her enthusiasm for our fledgling group. She told us what AWA has to offer our kids and how she hopes it will grow. She took a huge stack of business cards with her.
Then it was time for sharing our stories. Each lady had a chance to tell how she was introduced to autism. Just as each child on the spectrum is different, each story was different. But there were also similarities. You could see heads nodding in understanding as a woman shared symptoms that doctors ignored. Hands reached out to comfort when a woman cried over a child’s lack of friends. The camaraderie and support were already there.
As I listened to these women share their heartache and joy, I teared up. I was sad that they had to face the things they did, more so that their children did. But I was also glad that now we could help each other.
We had no problem filling our two-hour time slot. We had to leave because the store was closing. My friend and I expressed our excitement over the turnout and the possible attendance for next time. She made a comment that surprised me. She said, “I think people will come back.” I, in my apparent naiveté, just assumed they would. After all, who wouldn’t want to come back to be among friends?
