It has been a LONG time since I posted last. According to my calculations, my last post was a mere one week before the world closed down. It should be unsurprising that over the past 2 1/2 years, there have been a lot of changes in our household that will have an effect on the way I run this blog. I still feel very strongly about my subject matter to this point, but time waits for no man and I need to keep up with the times.
Back to the Future
First of all, let me assure you, we all came through Covid more or less unscathed. X is the only one of us who appears to not have succumbed to the virus at some point, and I have a few theories about that, but the point is, we made it. Too many families can’t say the same and that’s such a tragedy.
Crash and Speedy, who are about to turn 9, fared better than we expected in regard to school and therapy, although we’ve made a few personnel changes along the way. Speedy in particular has encountered a few hiccups which I’ll expound on in another post, but for the most part, things are back to normal for them. Can’t complain.
X is probably the one who has undergone the most upheaval in his little life. He’s 10 now, going on 30, and almost nothing is the same for him as we left it in March of 2020. As was the case for a lot of families, quarantine schooling was a huge eye-opener. We discovered massive gaps in his learning and challenges to the learning process that were not being dealt with at all at the school level. He was struggling socially, academically, and emotionally, and we knew from Day 2 of quarantine school that major changes needed to happen. So, as you’ve probably guessed, we made the decision to homeschool X for the immediate future.
Weird, unsocialized homeschoolers
It’s been a hard two years, but now we’re heading into year 3 of homeschooling and can say without a doubt that X is thriving in the homeschool environment. He started karate, and at the time of this writing has achieved green belt status. He started piano lessons, and although we’ve had some challenges with motivation and practicing, he’s been very successful. He’s developed some strong friendships with some of the neighborhood kids and some of the kiddos from his karate classes and is finally involved in an active children’s ministry at church.
There have definitely been challenges with his autism that we’ve had to work through. Those challenges have given me a reason to start writing again. Starting out all those many months ago, I had a difficult time finding resources to help me help him. Twice-exceptional homeschoolers are very common, and yet there doesn’t seem to be nearly enough guidance on how to help them. I still feel very strongly about disability ministry and have every intention of championing that cause, but at the moment I don’t feel like I have the experience necessary to be doling out guidance beyond that of an active parent.
Keep moving forward
It’s time for me to take my own advice. If you’ve been with me for any length of time, you’ll know that my motto is to “keep moving forward.” I feel very strongly about a lot of aspects of my life, and to that end, I’ve decided to focus my blog on parenting children with autism. I can’t give much advice to parents of neurotypical kids. That’s not what I know. But I know autism, at least what it means for my children, and I want to help as many parents as possible on their journey. The number of kids being diagnosed continues to rise and we’re no closer to an answer than we were 3 years ago. We need to stick together.
I have plans. Plans for a better Facebook page and being more active on Facebook Live. A YouTube channel, TikTok if I can get up the nerve, and more Instagram presence. I have plans for resources to help parents organize their crazy lives and hopefully alleviate a little of the stress. I’d like to offer training for parents who don’t have access to therapies to develop some of the skills they need to help their kids be the best they can be. Oh, I have BIG plans!
I definitely covet your prayers as I keep moving forward. You know my life can get very overwhelming very quickly. I struggle to make goals for myself because the reality is that I have very little control over what happens to me. But to the best of my ability and in my own time, I want to make this happen. I know I have something to offer, and I intend to get myself out there to do it. Hang in there with me and we’ll do awesome things together!
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