bountifulplate

Since we have traveled outside of the United States since Dominic was very small, we have had to get him a Children's Passport every five years. Since his current one expires in February of 2024 and he is now 19, we had to apply for an Adult Passport. I don't know why my husband and I picked Dominic's first day of school and Michigan State University moving in their students, but the appointment was yesterady at 3 p.m. We had gathered all of the documents needed and then went into a special room in the East Lansing Post Office just for Passports. The three of us sat down and the clerk asked Dominic his age. He said, "19." Since we were also getting his picture taken for the Passport, he went into a separate room, where she took a picture of him and then let him look at it to make sure he liked it (it will be his picture for the next 10 years)!  He said he did, so he sat back down with us. The clerk filled out a bit more of the paperwork and then she let Dominic s...

If you read just one book about Autism, take the time to read, "Carly's Voice."  It is written by Arthur Fleischmann.  He wrote the book along with his daughter, Carly, who is nonverbal and has Autism.  I found it to be one of the most moving and inspirational books I have read in a long time. I highly recommend this book to ALL parents. If your child doesn't have Autism, it will give you some insight as to what it's like. If your child does have Autism, you can probably relate (as I did) to some of the family's experiences. I have written on my blog about how those days before Dominic talked and could not communicate with us as some of  the hardest and most difficult days as a mom.  Imagine if you knew you might never hear your child speak, EVER.  Carly's mom and dad worked endlessly to find a way to communicate with her. They finally found the "key" to her being able to communicate was through a computer. She has had aides and therapists t...

When you become a parent, one of the first things you hope your child does is reach those developmental milestones (crawling, walking, talking, etc.).  When you're a parent of a special needs child sometimes those milestones are reached, sometimes they take a little longer, sometimes they are not reached at all.  For my little guy, he was right on track for everything but talking.  Until he was almost 3 we could barely get any eye contact or any talking.  For someone like me, who loves to talk,  it was almost unbearable.   One thing you definitely learn with children, special needs or not is the art of patience.   I totally 100% admire those parents who have non-verbal children.  I remember reading something in a newspaper or magazine before my little guy talked about a woman who was complaining about how her child wouldn't stop talking and asking questions.  I remember thinking, wow, I would love to have that problem!!!!!!  I alway...