Will the Real Parent Please Stand Up
Open adoption is a subject people find endlessly fascinating. Whenever I mention that my daughter and I visit her birthparents, as we did about a week ago, strangers will gape in amazement. “You...
View ArticleExcuse Me While I Rant a Bit About the Media and Adoption
Why do the media feel compelled to point out when a child is adopted? It’s never Sandra Bullock and her son. It’s always Sandra Bullock and her adopted son, Louis. The articles specify which of...
View ArticleThere’s No Daddy Here
A year or so ago, my daughter Katie noticed that her family looked different. She was doing a class project that involved identifying family members. Her drawing included the two of us plus Max the cat...
View ArticleKeeping the Faith
One of the hardest things about parenting a special needs child, especially one with a speech delay, is the waiting. Or perhaps I should say keeping the faith. You go a long time and don’t see much...
View ArticleComments That Drive Me Crazy #1
People can say some incredibly stupid and insensitive things when confronted with autism. At first these comments offended me, but over time I’ve begun to see the humor in them. So I started a...
View ArticleA Little More About Adoption
I’ve written before about how we, as a society, need to stop treating adoption as the booby prize. Stop viewing it as a second-class track to parenthood. Then someone asked what I would recommend,...
View ArticleSometimes Shit Just Happens
It’s summer, and if you are the parent of an autistic child that means you worry about drowning. Even without an autistic child, I’d probably fret about drowning. My aunt drowned as a toddler, and...
View ArticleA Battle of Wills
Lately it seems Katie and I have been locked in a battle of wills. For hours, or even days, our lives will run smoothly and I will congratulate myself that all our hard work and effort are finally...
View ArticleStory Accepted for Publication
This has been an exciting week for me! In addition to producing and hosting my first Storied Nights: An Evening of Spoken Word as part of the City’s Art Happens program, I learned that one of my...
View ArticleUpdate on Publication in Special Needs Anthology
Back in June I learned that one of my stories had been accepted for publication in a yet-to-be-named anthology for special needs moms. The anthology now has a name: Monday Coffee & Other Stories of...
View ArticleStructure’s Slippery Slope
This summer, due to an electrical service upgrade, my house was without power on an intermittent basis. Sometimes it was off for only 30 minutes; sometimes most of the day. Sometimes the power company...
View ArticleStructure’s Slippery Slope, Part 2
Every so often Katie manages to surprise the hell out of me. The past few weeks were one such time. Two weeks ago, I discussed how Katie’s in-home therapy team and I had decided to break up some areas...
View ArticleSeparation Anxiety–An Update
I will admit that when I first thought about starting a blog, my thinking was more along the lines of “I should write a blog” than “wow, I can’t wait to do this!” I knew I needed a blog to … Continue...
View ArticleStory Published in Special Needs Anthology
Yesterday was the release party for the new anthology entitled, Monday Coffee and Other Stories of Mothering Children with Special Needs. It contains my story, “Waiting, Still Waiting, For Words.”...
View ArticleChristmas Surprises
Christmas was very low-key and relaxing this year—a pleasant change from many holidays in the past. And no, if you are wondering: Michael 2.0 and I did not create any new traditions. We didn’t even...
View ArticleCelebrating Life on the Spectrum
Back when I inherited Storied Nights: An Evening of Spoken Word in late May 2013, I might have had no clue what I was going to do for programming in the short-term, but I knew I wanted to do an …...
View ArticleA Boy Named Jared
Another thing that happened during my blog absence was Jared. No, he’s not a new boyfriend. Jared is an 18-year-old who is the son of Michael 2.0’s best friend’s fiancé, Laura. When Michael 2.0 went to...
View ArticleAnatomy of a Meltdown, Part 1
While I’ve been busy launching Autism A to Z and the Whistlestop Writers Open Mic, some of my friends have been tackling their own exciting projects. Sharon, for example, has long had a dream to build...
View ArticleAnatomy of a Meltdown, Part 2
After my daughter’s food throwing meltdown at the Vietnamese restaurant (read Part 1 here), we headed straight for the park. Katie swung hard for 20 minutes, then took off her shoes and practically...
View ArticleHow The Worst Moments in Our Lives Make Us Who We Are
Welcome to another Tuesday with TED. Today we have writer Andrew Solomon. Solomon writes about politics, culture, and psychology and has spent his career telling stories of the hardships of others. His...
View Article
