If we can all agree that parenting is difficult, frustrating, and overwhelming mixed in with the many joys of nurturing a young person; then special
needs/autism caregiving is like parenting on steroids – everything is heightened.
Shortly before his second birthday, Adam was diagnosed with autism. This is when the alphabet soup began – OT, PT, speech therapy, behaviorists, and a myriad of other therapies. Being a special needs parent and advocate has had many upsides: it has opened my eyes to what it means to be a ‘Mama Lion’ willing to protect, defend, and help her cub, and also find a way to foster his independence. This is a precarious tightrope dance that we continue every single day.
Several doctors predicted that Adam would never be able to talk because of his severe speech delay, but for years he has been the chattiest child and teen with autism that I have ever met. As I advocate for him at every step of his journey in school and the community, I want him to thrive, learn, and grow. I am focused on gently and firmly ‘stretching’ him out of his comfort zone to find a level of independence that we both can live with. He never has to worry about being a round peg in a square hole because I never want to put him in a box.