My daughter who is 15 got her learner's permit this summer. She and I have attempted more than once to go and practice. She has to get a certain number of hours under her belt before she goes on to "Segment 2" and then to get her license. We have practiced in parking lots which really don't give you that "real life" experience. I learned how to drive back in the Washington, DC area which has the infamous Beltway. If you can drive on that you can drive anywhere! I have found that I am way too nervous to be in the car with her right now. She went with her dad over the weekend and came back and said, "Dad is much better to go practicing with." I was like I definitely agree with you there :) My daughter and I are very close, but she always remembers that I am the parent. I know that I need to ease some of my anxiety about her driving so she doesn't feel so stressed with me when I'm with her. I was just telling my daughter pretty recently that she is not too old to have a "time out" when she does an eye roll or a similar type of teen behavior. I did an eye roll at her the other day and she called me on it. I told her I was disrespectful and apologized. I believe that to have a good relationship keep those lines of communication open. She knows that having Facebook is a privilege. I think the best we can do for all kids no matter what age is to give them independence, but just enough that you can reel them back in when you need to. Always remember you are the one in charge!
When Dominic was diagnosed with Autism at 2 1/2, I went to our local library and took out every book I could find about Autism. Sometimes I would bring back 20 books. This was 2006, so a lot of the information was very "dated." I guess I was looking for a book that would tell me what I should do next, like a "manual." Autism doesn't quite work that way! The saying is, " if you know one person with Autism, you know one person with Autism." Every mom to an individual with Autism follows their own "path." I think as moms, we judge ourselves much harder than anyone else does. I was 41 when I had Dominic. Did he get the diagnosis of Autism because I was an older mom? because I drank a lot of pop? I could sit and think about that every minute of every day. I am pretty integrated into the Autism community around Lansing and have told more than one person that it took me about two weeks to come to terms with Dominic's diagnosis. It is so incredib...
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