Forgetting Milestones and Learning to Measure Progress…a New Way of Thinking! #Overcoming — Part 2

By Mary Ellen Bogucki  I never thought my daughter, Kailey, would struggle in school. She was such a determined little girl who problem-solved at an early age. She was a little go getter and seemed to be so advanced for her age. Then it was time for kindergarten and she wasn’t learning her letters or numbers and didn’t want to learn to write her name. She was a great little student, making lots of friends, […]

Forgetting Milestones and Learning to Measure Progress…a New Way of Thinking! #Overcoming — Part 1

By Mary Ellen Bogucki  In 2003, our family received two diagnoses, just weeks a part. The first was for our youngest daughter, Bree (then age 5), the diagnosis was an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The second diagnosis was for my middle daughter, Kailey (then age 8) and it was ADHD. Neither diagnosis was a surprise, because our girls had been struggling for years and we were working not only with the school district, but many different […]

An Envelope Full of Kindness

by Tulika Prasad It was a routine end of the school and I was was checking my son’s backpack as I did everyday. There, in a corner of the back was a small white unassuming envelope that almost went unnoticed. I pulled it out not thinking much. It was a little crumpled and seemed like it had been waiting for it to be opened for a while. The front of the envelope read: from :Ricky […]

About Autism, A Little Boy, and Nobody’s Fault

by Tulika Prasad We were at an indoor water park a few weeks back and the pool we were in had a basketball hoop that a few other kids were playing at. My son was happy just watching the game and would keep jumping in , all excited . That’s when one of the kids asked him if he wanted to join them. He was kind and genuine. My son was incognizant. The kid waited […]

What Hope Looks Like

by Maria Spencer In my daughter Olivia’s sixteen years, I have seen many hope-filled days. I have seen her improve in areas at school that we never dreamed of, have seen her run track and always, always defy the odds that were given to her as a baby. But in the past several months, I have seen her do something that is beyond my wildest dreams or imaginations. Just when I think she has reached a […]