“My son is autistic and LOVES trains. Tonight, we were supposed to ride the Polar Express. He was so excited he beat his dad and I up pretty badly. Finally, I had to say, ‘Let’s go back to the hotel.’ I went into the bathroom and silently cried. I wanted this so badly for him. Then, there was a knock on the door. ‘Maintenance!’ They wanted to do something special for our family.”
‘My autistic son had an atomic meltdown. ‘Can we so something special?’ My heart is so happy.’: Mom in awe after railway staff’s acts of kindness, ‘you truly made a difference in our lives’
‘It’s been 5 years since I set foot in church. I have no intention of going back. It comes down to diapers.’: Special needs mom refuses to bring her kids where ‘they’re not fully embraced’
“Poop is where church ends. Poop is the special need that doesn’t get met by ministry. Believe me, I know that big kid pullups are not pretty. When the message finally got through to me, it broke me. My special needs boys were not wanted. They were only included if I was willing to meet all of the ‘unpleasant’ needs.”
‘Could someone like me?’ Today, my son asked his first question EVER. I was in tears.’: Mom ‘amazed’ by outpouring of love, friendship offers after non-verbal, autistic son speaks for first time
“David is autistic, has no communication skills, and is completely homebound due to medical conditions. He has never had a birthday party with children his own age. His outings outside the home are severely limited. Recently, his grandmother, who is one of his best friends, passed away. I knew he was lonely. How could he not be? Then, for the first time, he spoke. I was floored.”
‘I am only 31. They recommended a radical hysterectomy. They wanted to remove everything.’: Through ‘last chance’ IVF procedure mom discovers uterine cancer, attributes fertility surgery to saving her life
“This couldn’t be happening to me. I couldn’t breathe, and to top it off my husband was out of town on business. I tried calling him and he didn’t answer. ‘This can’t be how my story ends.’”
‘We would take them no matter what.’: Mother of special needs children tries to relinquish Godmother duties from best friend, she refuses, ‘It doesn’t need to be discussed’
“We agreed my best friend would be their godmother. But after they were both diagnosed with autism, I felt the overwhelming urge to free her from that responsibility. Taking on two children is a lot. Taking on two children with special needs even more. She didn’t agree to autism—none of us did. So, I messaged her.”
‘A classmate tried to put a toy away. My daughter went ballistic, lashing out at the little girl, in hysterics.’: Mom ‘so mad’ at daughter’s ‘unfair’ autism diagnosis, ‘She’s viewed as weird, rude’
“I got a call from my daughter’s teacher. She said there had been a pretty catastrophic incident while cleaning up. I listened intently, but none of this was a surprise to me. I got off the phone and was so mad. That little girl would never ask her to play again; likely she’d run home and tell her parents about the bully in class.”
‘It is just a joke.’ Life as I knew it came to a screeching halt.’: Woman discovers husband’s infidelity, worked together to ‘fix’ what had been broken, ‘trust can be restored’
“4 years today we have been married. I will never forget. Discovering a secret that would break me to my core. I lay on the bathroom floor, crying my heart out. How did we get to this point? Not only do I have to handle life with 2 children with special needs, but now this? I am strong for taking the route I have, choosing not to give up.”
‘I was left to wonder if I’d ever truly be an empty nester. He may never marry or have children.’: Mom forced to rethink future after child diagnosed with severe autism
“When my husband and I were told our child had a lifelong and severe medical condition, things changed. I feel no bitterness, no resentment, no envy for others who don’t have to consider these things. I do, however, feel sadness.”
‘Retarded robot!’ I was pushed down a flight of stairs. Living with autism is HARD in the real world.’: Autistic woman overcomes bullying, ‘we can do anything we want, we just try 10x harder’
“Living with autism is like living in 2 different worlds. In the ‘disability world,’ people don’t judge you. You feel safe. In the ‘real world,’ all comfort is lost. I wasn’t invited to sleepovers or birthday parties. No one wanted to sit with me at lunch. I’ve had pencils, food, rubber bands thrown at me. But we are people, too. Just like everybody else. And we can do anything we set our mind to.”
‘Are you driving?’ she asked, ‘You might want to pull over.’: Self-proclaimed ‘cocky millennial’ mom admits she was ‘scared, angry’ after daughter’s epilepsy diagnosis
“She wasn’t acting like other 2-year-olds we knew. Everyone told me I was crazy, but there was something wrong. I told her I pulled over, but kept driving. ‘I think your daughter is having seizures. I think she has epilepsy.’ There was a long pause as I pulled over, no longer cocky and full of myself. ‘Excuse me?’ I replied. I don’t remember the rest of the conversation.”
