Mom Interview.doc Hi Fellow GRMs,
I'm looking for brave moms willing to talk about parenting - the down and dirty, the nitty-gritty stuff we rarely boast, or even talk, about.
Why?
Us moms need to help and support each other, which is the mantra of Grassroots Mama and the reason behind all my work here on GRM and through Autism Connection.…
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Added by Amber_K on May 14, 2009 at 1:21pm —
5 Comments
I love this passage, since it really provides an accurate analogy of raising a child with special needs. I hope you enjoy it and share it as much as I do, and happy mothers day to everyone here!
"Welcome to Holland"
By Emily Perl Kingsley, 1987
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, i…
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Added by Amber_K on May 12, 2009 at 8:28am —
3 Comments
I'm not sure what has gotten into me lately, but for some reason I've been reminded that parenting is one tough job. We moms work everyday... day in and day out... overnights included... weekends mandatory... no benefits or vacation time. I think I'd like to resign.
Alas, I cannot resign and I can't take a vacation or even call in sick for the day. It's simply not an option (as you all know). Let me say I love my kids, to the same indescribable degree that you do, but man oh man, sometimes I wo…
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Added by Amber_K on May 5, 2009 at 9:00am —
2 Comments
Hi fellow GRMs. Over the past few months I've noticed a terrible trend that some people are dismissing as either a 'school's mistake' or 'bad police work'. More and more children with autism are being arrested at school.
These are young children; not even adult-size teens - I'm talking 6, 8, 10 year olds- one little girl didn't want to change her coat (one she wore everyday; you get it!), was forced to, had a melt-down and started biting and scratching her aide. Child was arrested, taken from s…
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Added by Amber_K on April 22, 2009 at 7:00am —
3 Comments
Today, I think that it's simply not fair my son has autism.
Today, I actually hate autism and the fact my son has it.
Today I realized, again, how lonely he is, how hard life might be for him and how I'd do anything-
and I mean ANYTHING - to make autism evaporate, disappear; cease to exist in my life and in everyone else's...
Nothing traumatic happened per se. It was a typical day, our last day of spring break and I was just hit time and time again with reminders of how autism makes my…
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Added by Amber_K on April 17, 2009 at 7:30pm —
3 Comments
My opinions fail to echo the majority and tend to irritate those with closed minds, so if you’re not one to think ‘outside of the box’ then you may disagree with my mantra of: forget working on your child’s weaknesses – it’s a waste of time.
All of us have weaknesses. Personally speaking, I can’t draw, paint or imagine anything in my mind that I’ve never seen (like my living room painted a different color for example). I’m not very coordinated either; I realized this after trying a Zumba class…
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Added by Amber_K on April 16, 2009 at 9:00pm —
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Every so often I encounter mothers that believe doing everything for their child is also what’s best for their child. In some regards, doing things for our children is simply easier then teaching them to do it themselves. In other regards, children can only do what their age allows (five year olds shouldn’t do laundry for example). However, these aren’t reasons to slack on engraining responsibility – it’s one of the best teaching tools parents have and I’ll tell you why…
It feels good to be ind…
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Added by Amber_K on April 15, 2009 at 7:00pm —
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One of the most common behaviors parents wish to change is that of the screaming child who is upset after not getting what they want, whether that is a new toy or later bedtime.
This reaction is typical during certain stages of development, although knowing that doesn't ease the pain of managing it!
If you experience this know you're not alone, as this topic is one I commonly encounter (and it knows no boundaries - children of both genders and all ages have difficulty regulating their frustrat…
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Added by Amber_K on April 14, 2009 at 9:00pm —
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While difficult, making friends is possible. I won't lie, it takes work... a lot of work and a lot of being creative, but if you parent kids with disabilities already this isn't anything new to you.
Here's an almost guaranteed way to help your child make friends.
Part of having autism or aspergers is also having "restricted" "intense" or "stereotypical" interests. In my home, my oldest (Mitchell) is a Civil War buff, digital art guru and enjoys computer animation. My son with autism (Ian…
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Added by Amber_K on April 5, 2009 at 8:30am —
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I received a lot of feedback regarding my article:
5 Household Chores for Children with Autism. Many of you said the jobs I listed were too small and simple.
I couldn't disagree more and here's a perfect, real-life example of why...
Last week,
my two children with developmental disabilities, both applied for their first
real jobs and guess what? They
were hired [they are 12 & 14 w/auti…
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Added by Amber_K on April 4, 2009 at 7:30am —
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Sometimes we need our children to calm down and other times we need them to liven up a bit, so these few movements do just that.
They only take five seconds, and we can all find 5 seconds...
While not earth-shattering, these five movements provide miraculous results - you'll have to try them and see for yourself (be sure to let us know the results).
1. Jump in place - self explanatory. Let them jump, and jump and jump. This gives loads of input - make it fun, no army drills
2. Run in place -…
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Added by Amber_K on March 14, 2009 at 11:30am —
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By Nicole Mytels, Contributor
After I lost my beloved cat, Murray, I didn't want to be without a cat. I probably didn't even observe the proper period of pet grieving and mourning. Even though I have a husband, a child with autism, a dog, and a full life, I just could not stand to be catless. You see, the cat is my personal pet, just for me, my dedicated furball of comfort.
So I began methodically searching for the perfect cat, starting with the closest shelters. That was a mistake. All shelte…
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Added by Amber_K on March 14, 2009 at 11:30am —
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Sometimes it feels like we're on track. We're moving, we're grooving, we're making progress. Such is the case with my latest attempts at using vitamins, supplements and diet to further treat my children.
Since my last post Ian has come down with Strep throat (second time in two months), which is not typical of him at all. With the rounds of anti-biotics we started pro-biotics and I think this supplement has given the most benefit so far.
I went out of order - foiled my own plan, but sometimes…
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Added by Amber_K on March 11, 2009 at 11:00am —
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Shared by Sherri Frushon
My name is Sherri, I am the inventor of the Houdini Band and Baby Huggables because I was desperate to find something to help me curb my own son from escaping out of everything. Some parents have found both products to be very helpful in curbing the need for a child to escape out of such products as; strollers, jogging strollers, high chairs, portable high chairs, toddler swings, larger swings, car seats, booster seats, bicycle carts, bicycle baby carriers, etc. My prod…
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Added by Amber_K on March 4, 2009 at 12:00pm —
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To help your child learn to make sandwiches and alike, have them use the back of a teaspoon, instead of a butter knife, to scoop and spread peanut butter.
This works with just about anything you use a butter knife to spread - it also makes scooping jam or jelly a cinch, since there's no balancing act involved!
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Added by Amber_K on March 4, 2009 at 11:30am —
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Does your child prefer television, video games or anything on a screen over board games, crafts or outdoor play?
Do you notice your child stims more and has more sensory issues the more they sit using an electronic device?
If so, you're not alone; not by a long shot. If you continue allowing your child to use electronics, you're not alone either. I do hope that what I'm about to share starts to change your mind and then change your actions.
Simply put, many children become overloaded when wat…
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Added by Amber_K on March 1, 2009 at 11:30am —
2 Comments
By Nicole Mytels
It’s commonly known that early intervention can make a world of difference for kids with autism. But when is an early intervention over? Is it when a child reaches age 3? Or is early intervention over at age 5 when the “plasticity” of the brain supposedly decreases?
Equally important: how are we supposed to feel when early intervention is over?
As a parent, I really felt a sense of frantic urgency that time was running out and that it was a race against the clock to cr…
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Added by Amber_K on February 28, 2009 at 6:00am —
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By Nicole Mytels
It's been my experience there are two camps of autism parents. One camp has private resources and a . Philosophy of: "We're going to fight this autism with everything we have!" And they do mean everything. No stone will be left unturned.
The other camp is equally fiesty and relentless in their battle, but their resources are much more limited. These parents are often newly unemployed, single, or divorced - and they are less likely to have a yard for an enormous trampoline or a…
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Added by Amber_K on February 25, 2009 at 11:30am —
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By Nicole Mytels
The most effective method of potty training for our five year-old son was just to let him run around the house naked. At first, he peed on the floor, which wasn’t a joy to clean up, but we got some PetZyme and some Urine-Be-Gone and we were good to go.
But then, our little piddler began to notice the obvious, that he was in fact producing urine. Also, he noticed that he was in charge of his own pee. And he noticed that he could direct his pee and put it in cool places. He bega…
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Added by Amber_K on February 25, 2009 at 8:30am —
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I can't stand it anymore. Everyday, my son Ian wears jogging pants or sports pants, because he can't manipulate snaps or, even worse - the dreaded buttonfly! I would give anything to hurry the day when he'll be able to wear a pair of jeans.
This issue becomes worse as children grow, as the larger sizes have few, if any, options besides sweat pants. The exception to this is one line of clothes at Target - but there is bad news to go along with the good.
The good news is that Mossimo, a l…
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Added by Amber_K on February 25, 2009 at 6:30am —
2 Comments
