Peter is not the best at describing what hurts him or has him not feeling well. Part of it is his level of ability to describe feelings and part of it is his desire to avoid medical personnel whenever possible. When Peter was little, if he walked around the house saying, “I’m fine, I’m fine,” we would begin looking for blood. Most of the time, we would find the source and battle with him to help clean the wound, put on some medicine and bandage it. The battle would continue to keep the cut covered too, since Peter does not like sticky and bandages are sticky. With that kind of background, you…

As I ran into the DARE graduation a few moments late, I could hear the bagpipes. My heart started racing, not because I was late, but because of the sound. Peter has extremely sensitive hearing. A couple of weeks ago he heard the ice cream truck about five minutes before the rest of us did. It had to be blocks away when he told us it was coming. Bagpipes indoors could spell disaster before the graduation even began and Peter was with his mainstream class. I listened for Peter’s protests, but heard nothing as I slid into the back row of the school cafetorium. There in the first row of DARE …

April has been designated as a month to increase awareness of autism. Monday, April 2, is World Autism Awareness Day. Autism Speaks sponsors an event called Light It Up Blue. Buildings around the world are blue “to help shine a light on autism.” Thanks to social media I read many other blogs and comments about autism all year long. Many are no longer concerned with raising awareness. They feel we are ready to take the next step. They want to increase acceptance. They want those that are neuro-typical to understand what those who have an autistic spectrum disorder cope with each day. They want…

When I meet new people with Peter, I almost always let them know that he has an autistic spectrum disorder. I do it so they will consider taking the extra moment to see the real Peter rather than his “symptoms.” Often when people know why Peter is not giving eye contact, or is hesitant about talking, they give him a chance to get acclimated. That gives Peter time to meet someone new and test out his social skills and often lets someone new in on Peter’s humor and kindness. The other day, though, I realized I had forgotten to tell some very important people that Peter has an autistic spectrum …

To get a hug from pre-teen boys is always a challenge, especially when you are the Mom. Most Moms miss those hugs from babyhood. For me, a hug from my son, Peter, is always extra precious. Even when Peter was a baby he actually recoiled from hugs. You could see his discomfort. I was constantly trying to figure out a different way to hold him to make him more comfortable. When he was a little older I would let him find a position on my shoulder and follow his lead. Family members always wondered why he ran away from hugs when the other children ran toward family members with open arms. Peter …

Skiing—the word makes me very nervous. I have only skied twice, both times I was in my 20s and both times I spent much of the time trying to stand back up. So why on earth was I about to convince my children that they should give this sport a try? I was convinced that they would do better giving this sport a whirl at an early age. Plus, it was “Cousin Weekend,” when we all gather together to be one big extended family. But Peter, how was I going to deal with Peter? He doesn’t like to get wet. He doesn’t like to try new things sometimes. He was almost definitely not going to like the helmet. …

A week before Christmas we were headed home from a Christmas show when a car crossed our entire lane. Even with a quick swerve, we couldn't avoid it completely. Although we avoided a complete disaster, our minivan still looked pretty awful and the whole family was pretty stressed by the incident. Accidents are never fun. Trying to help someone on the autistic spectrum deal with an accident is truly a challenge. Peter does not answer questions about himself well. The girls were able to tell me which body parts ached, but that everything seemed to be in working order. Peter kept telling me he …

During this holiday season I try to find things my son Peter can do to enjoy the season without being overwhelmed. Often we try a mini version before we go to the big events. We did school shows before we tried Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Show. By then I knew Peter did not like the noise of the audience before a show. He might react to lights, and a snack would keep his hands and mouth busy. Peter did very well at the show last year. Before the Rockettes show, as he looked down into the lobby area he asked if all the people milling about were Santa's elves. He was certainly captured by …