Deja Vu

So reading this story reminded me a lot of my own story. Starting with my son’s diagnosis of epilepsy, later changing to autism. My marriage fell apart as well, also in part because his mom later came out of the closet. The stress of it all really took its toll on my health as well.

The article here is entitled “When a Single ‘Supermom’ Is Crippled by Back Pain“ by Remy Tumin at the New York Times. It takes me back again to the phrase, it takes a village to raise a child.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian

Thanksgiving

So I thought this article was appropriate because of the authors quote towards the end where she says in regards to her son eating turkey “But that will be on his terms if, and when, he is ready”. For my son, I’ve often said, he does things on “Evan time“. In other words, when he is ready.

The article is entitled “This Thanksgiving My Son Still Has Autism, Please Hold the ‘But’” by Kathy Hooven over at The Mighty. Turns out this year it was Evan time, he ate the turkey.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian

Depression

So as I’m sitting here alone (after spending time with my kids on Thanksgiving) and now they’re back at their mom’s house, of course the topic I come across is depression. Fortunately for me it seems that while I’ve gone through bits of depression myself, I’ve always been able to come out the other end.

For my oldest son however, it’s something I worry about from time to time. So as I sit here this weekend working on his future, it seems appropriate that I stumbled upon this article. Ultimately, it’s one of my goals for him, to make sure he’s taken care of and that depression is something that is kept to a minimum.

The article is entitled “Depression Strikes Nearly 1 in 5 Young Adults With Autism: Study” by E.J. Mundell over at the HealthDay Reporter via MyAutismTeam. As I’m sure I’ve said before, it seems sometimes things happen for a reason like coming across resources for my son when I least expect it.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian

Lunch

These are the kind of stories I love, when people go out of their way to include others, especially at lunch. The story, entitled “Teen ate lunch alone for years, then the student council stepped in” over at CBS This Morning. What impressed me even more was that they took him to a movie.

As the parent of a child with special abilities, that was priceless.  I know how lucky I was that my son had friends to eat with when he was in school and the fact that he’s still friends with some of those kids.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian

Elections & special abilities

So when I read this article on election day, I must admit I was disappointed in the fact that there are several places in St. Louis where people with special abilities had difficulty voting. In fact, just writing this post, I’m thinking maybe I need to get involved in working to improve that.

Anyway, while I process that thought, the article I read is entitled “Voting poses extra challenges for people with disabilities” by Blythe Bernhard over at the my local newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

I need to get involved, in part because while I just helped my son register to vote and though he shouldn’t have any problems, neither should anyone with special abilities. So off I go to do some research on who to talk to about fixing this.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian

 

Voc Rehab

As the father of a young man who is transitioning from high school and using Vocational Rehabilitation services, this article was of interest to me. I went to a workshop on guardianship a few years ago and what struck me was how many parents talked about their negative experiences with Vocational Rehabilitation.

For my son at this point, it’s been okay but according to this article entitled “Voc Rehab Doubling Down on Transition Age Youths” by Michelle Diament at Disability Scoop, they appear to be falling short on fully meeting their obligations. I guess time will tell but, meanwhile I still have lots to do towards his future.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian

Voting with special abilities

So while my son didn’t vote this past election (though he will in the next one), this article caught my attention regarding voting for people with special abilities here in St. Louis. In fact, it makes me wonder how it is in other cities across the country. Hmmm, maybe there’s a story there.

Anyway, the article is entitled “Voting Poses Extra Challenges for People with Disabilities” by Blythe Bernhard over at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Definitely something to keep in mind for 2020.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian

 

So I keep moving on

Tonight I went over to visit a Tech School that is part of our local school district mostly for my middle child as she is looking to perhaps one day become a veterinarian and they have a program there for that, but also for my oldest, hoping to see if he could go to school here, even though he’s already graduated from high school.

While I got the chance to talk to someone there and it doesn’t look promising (they do have an automotive technology department), I realize that I need to just keep moving on in this journey to help him find a place to learn and work on cars.

So tomorrow I will e-mail the owner of a local car dealership again and then check in with our Special School District to see if maybe we can somehow make it work for the Tech School. Then talk to some more people. One day at a time, one person at a time.

Sincerely-

 

Autism Librarian