by Amanda Buck Motherhood is filled with cliché sayings. From the moment we reach a certain age and find ourselves in a steady long-term relationship, society suddenly decides that we have reached the mystical baby-making stage and immediately unhelpful hints, tips and “advice” come pouring in. All at once anyone and everyone, from our closest friends and family to the creepy neighbor down the street, have something to say. In the beginning there’s the benign “are […]
by Brandy Pavia Imagine having a child, a beautiful, perfect-in-your-eyes, child. A child that may not hit all of their developmental milestones at the suggested, “age-appropriate” time, but still, your perfect child, nonetheless. You start to notice as time goes by that your perfect child has a different way of viewing and navigating the world than other kids their age, and you make it your mission to provide the foundation for them to be the most […]
By Mary Ellen Bogucki Often times you hear the terms high functioning, low functioning, mild, moderate or severe when people talk about the degrees of severity with Autism. We too, have heard these terms used when describing our daughter, Bree. Unfortunately, these terms can cause even more misunderstanding of the disorder, as people tend to form their own opinion of what they think the term means. There was a time, Bree had no meaningful speech […]
by: Colleen Berlingieri My son Geordi has a speech disorder that is annoying, heartbreaking and funny at the same time. My patience wears thin when I listen to him s-l-o-w-l-y work through what he is trying to say. Other times, my heart goes out to him as he struggles to express his feelings. But mostly he simply cracks me up with some of the stuff that comes out of his mouth. Slips of the Tongue […]
by Amanda Buck When someone learns for the first time that my 4-year-old daughter has a rare disease called cystinosis, their face will usually morph from happy and pleasant into one of concern and pity. While I appreciate their compassion and willingness to express their condolences, sometimes I find myself annoyed by their reaction. Particularly when they don’t know just how amazing she is. My little girl is full of spunk, laughter and courage and […]
