He Was There
He walked into a room full of people who were complete strangers to him because they mattered to someone he loves.
He stayed until he couldn’t anymore.
To most people, that probably doesn’t sound like much.
To us…
That was success.
borderline intellectual functioning
-
-
Just Rita ⭐️
The room was full of people who were there for one reason.
Her.
Not because she was hosting.
Not because she planned the menu.
Not because she organized the guest list.
Just… her. -
zero inside thoughts
My dad has never had much use for inside thoughts. If something crosses his mind, there is a very good chance it is going to come out of his mouth — clearly, bluntly, and usually without stopping to consider whether the room was ready for it.
-
ABA Therapy | ADHD | Autism | Borderline Intellectual Functioning | Special Needs Parenting | The Nickel Jar
Safety Skills & Peace of Mind
I don’t need Eli to blend into the world. I need him to understand it well enough to be safe in it. For our family, ABA isn’t about making him less autistic. It’s about giving him the tools to better understand himself, the people around him, and the situations he encounters every day.
-
Layered Grief
Twenty years didn’t feel like long enough. Forty-two years certainly was not enough time. Still, eighty-four years wasn’t enough either.
-
Lemme Tell Ya Bout A
Everything felt fast and slightly disorienting — like things were happening around me more than with me.
I felt this urgent need for everyone in that room to be quiet so I could listen for my baby.
-
Lemme Tell Ya Bout E
He’s curious.
He’s persistent.
He’s paying attention in ways you might not expect. -
What Looks Like… Isn’t Always What Is…
What looks like defiance is most often confusion.
What looks like not listening is often him feeling like he’s drinking information from a fire hose.
What looks like a breakdown might be frustration from not having the words to explain what’s going on in his head.
What looks like shutdown is most often his brain reaching its limit. -
ADHD | Autism | Borderline Intellectual Functioning | Dyscalculia | Dyslexia | Pathological Demand Avoidance | The Nickel Jar
My Problem with the Word “Normal”
If I had a nickel for every time someone said, “But he looks normal.”
I know people mean well.
But that sentence carries more weight than most realize. -
Watching the Radar
Nickel from the Jar 🪙
A diagnosis is a lot like a weather forecast.
It tells you the conditions —
not the limits of the sky.
