Skip to main content

Why I Write About Dominic's Autism

When I first got the diagnosis of Dominic having Autism back in 2007, I spent two weeks feeling sorry for myself. I think it's extremely important to go through that process, so you can move forward. During that two week time frame, one thing I really wish I could have read was an article or blog posts about having a child with special needs, what it was really like and how it affects the entire family. I felt so alone during those two weeks, like I was the only one out there with a child with Autism. I didn't want to read a blog that was negative, but rather one that was inspirational and positive. Before I started writing my blog in July of 2011, I had many doubts. Would anybody read it? Would I get a bunch of negative comments saying things like, "are you some kind of expert?" or "who do you think you are writing a blog!?!" Since I have a business degree and not a journalism degree, I wondered if I would have enough "material" to make a blog interesting to read. Well, I needn't have worried about that. Good grief, I'm involved in so many things at any one time and have my hands in so many "pots," that I could write posts three times a day! Anyways, as this blog has evolved over the past three and half years, one topic I write about often is Dominic's Autism.


I always try to stay positive and I hope that I inspire other parents of children with special needs to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep on moving forward. If you don't know anyone with special needs or Autism, then I hope you have enjoyed getting to know my family better and what it's like for us. I hope when I put a post on where I talk about Dominic, that another parent out there in the same situation can say to themselves, "okay, I'm not alone after all!" or maybe they find what I write amusing and it puts a smile on their face. With 1 in 68 children being diagnosed with Autism in 2014, chances are you know someone who has a child with Autism or your own child has Autism. Earlier this week, I read this comment from a parent who has a child with special needs in regards to my recent post about Dominic and I having a conversation:

We are getting closer to this every day, I can't wait!

Cool. Now, a comment like THAT is exactly why I write about Dominic's Autism!!!
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 17, 2015 at 2:46 PM

    And comments like that are felt, if not expressed by many who don't have to deal with what you deal with. You have helped, I am sure, many, who deal daily with "Special Needs" child, because we all have special needs at some time in our lives and the way you contribute to these special needs is so real. Keep up the good work, and keep blogging. Love, Auntie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cathy B.January 17, 2015 at 7:07 PM

    So sweet of you to say Auntie, thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Book Every Autism Mom Should Read

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Need to Call Bella's Mom

Dominic at least a few times a week will tell me, "need to call Bella's mom!" Who is Bella you may ask? Here is the answer to that question: I first met Bella shortly after Dominic's first grand mal seizure. She and her mom approached me at the Meijer grocery store back in June of last year as I was grabbing a milk jug out of the dairy case. Dominic and Bella go to the same middle school.  I have never forgotten what Bella's mom told me that day, "I would love to get our children together and be in Dominic's life however much you will let us." Bella's mom has the most generous heart and has passed on those values to her three children.  Bella and Dominic made sugar cookies last summer: When Dominic had a choir concert at school and neither Lauren or my husband could attend, Bella and her mom surprised us after the concert! The number one thing I admire about Bella is how incredibly compassionate she is. There is a respect a...
5 comments
Read more

It's a "Group" Effort

Since going to the local barbershop is still not allowed where we live, it fell upon us to figure out the best way to shave Dominic's beard and mustache. Typically, Dominic goes to our local barbershop to get his haircut and his barber (Vince) also takes about 30 seconds to shave the beard and mustache. This August, it will be five years that Dominic has been going to Vince. That in itself is a huge milestone as anyone with a child/adult with sensory sensitivities knows. Anyways, earlier in the week my hubby, Lauren and I had all noticed that Dominic's facial hair definitely needed some assistance. I mentioned to Lauren that I needed to find a "social story" about getting a shave. Before I had a chance to find one, she took it upon herself to find one and print it out, it had both an electric shaver and shaving cream/razor stories! That meant so much to me, because she didn't have to do that, she wanted to!    I showed the social story to Dominic and sai...
2 comments
Read more