There are tears of joy and tears of pain and then there are tears of pain that bring joy. Sounds odd, right? Well, when it happened to me it felt even more wired. At 14, being non-verbal and autistic must really mess you up more than ever. That’s where my son is right now. The…
Today, after several years, I attended a support group meeting. It was for parents of severely autistic individuals. Before someone starts an argument over the adjective used to describe my son’s autism, let me be clear- I really don’t have an issue over what you want to call it- severe, challenging, low functioning, or nothing…
Last fall, I planted a jasmine cutting from a healthy, thriving jasmine plant. I was skeptical about its success, but it survived. It stood strong the entire winter, with bright green leaves always gleaming on its lone stalk. The green leaves continued to give me hope that one day the cutting would grow into a…
Autism has many challenges. Many of those limit my son’s ability to experience things that would make a huge difference in his life. One such thing is friendship and companionship. With my son’s limited social skills, speech delays, and sensory issues, many find it intimidating or not enjoyable enough to be around him, play or…
Happiness has an interesting ability to shift shapes. Just like a liquid, it will seep in, squeeze into, or fill up your life, no matter what your circumstances. Everyone finds their reason to be happy. So when we got our son’s diagnosis and realized that all the reasons that we had borrowed from the world…
When my son was diagnosed with autism, I remember feeling numb. For several months I felt like my life, my dreams, and my happiness, all have come to a rude stop. All I saw ahead of me was endless years of disappointment, gloom, and darkness. It felt like hope chose to look the other…
Every morning we get up to a barrage of inspirational images and quotes filling up our social media pages and text messages, teaching us the best way to lead our lives. Inspite of this, I highly suspect if we learn much from those sunset images with calligraphic texts. What we really learn from is life…
My son has learnt to accept being ignored, or so it looks like. He has also probably learnt to accept the fact that he is different and that people are not comfortable around different. Others have learnt to treat him as invisible. So, although his autism probably limits his ability to show emotions, his personal…
If you ever get to visit my house or scroll through my phone’s camera roll or browse my social media posts, you’ll know that I’m obsessed with my son’s pics. Like every other mom out there, I feel like my son is the most charming , handsome and adorable child on the planet. So it…
To an onlooker we look like a bundle of mess, a sad story of treading through challenges and disappointment , with nothing to look forward to. Sometimes this does feel closer to reality but it’s not always so. We live surprisingly normal lives with just a different routine and our own rhythm that most people…
