“Billowing smoke, people bleeding and screaming, clothes in tatters. Rumors were beginning to ripple through the crowd about an explosion. Maybe more than one. As the father of twin sons with severe, nonverbal autism, I’ve had many difficult days. But nothing matches this.”
‘The officer said, ‘There’s been an incident at the finish line.’ Over my shoulder, I saw flashing lights.’: Dad to twins with severe nonverbal autism details surviving Boston Marathon bombing
‘Your child has bite marks,’ the injury report read. She was bitten 5 times, then pushed down the stairs.’: Mom offers empathy to ‘biting child’ parents, ‘nobody in their right mind is judging you’
“You’re probably thinking I went crazy in the daycare office, demanding to know who was biting my daughter. That I threatened to remove her from their care. I did none of those things. ‘How would you feel if your kid was the biter?’ my mom asked. The answer is: terrible. I’m sure the mother of this child thinks I hate her. I absolutely do not. But please try. The school cannot ‘fix’ your child.”
‘Do you have a son in Idaho?’ I instantly knew my son was gone. He took his life after a silly argument.’: Father says son’s death by suicide feels ‘unreal’ after his struggle with mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse
“I heard a knock on my door. I opened and saw a young policeman. He told me he had a phone number I needed to call. I quickly realized we had trouble. The officer claimed he didn’t know what it was about (doubtful). I called the number – it was answered by a person at the Boise morgue.”
‘I have the ‘wild child.’ The one that’s loud. That NEVER listens to ‘no.’ I feel guilty. ‘Was I too hard on him today?’: Woman claims ‘wild child’ moms are ‘trying harder than you know’
“I was once the person that would say, ‘That kid wouldn’t act like that if they were disciplined.’ But OH did God have a plan of teaching me a lesson I didn’t know I needed to learn, and making me eat those words.”
‘Her pupils became dilated and dark. She started wetting the bed, baby talking. My once happy daughter became angry and rude.’: Girl diagnosed with PANDAS after months of turmoil, ‘No one knows your child better than you do’
“Her eyes turned dead and hateful, and she began laughing at things that weren’t funny. If she was forced to make a decision as simple as what shirt to wear, she would rage and scream, ‘I DON’T KNOW!!!’ I had to explain to her 5-year-old sister why her sibling didn’t want to play with her anymore. ‘She’s very sick right now.’ It started as the flu, but my insticts knew better. My daughter morphed into someone else. I had to fix this.”
‘Our sweet boy became a wild animal overnight. I hid the kitchen knives, afraid of what he might do when he lost control.’: Son diagnosed with PANDAS disorder
“The panic attacks soon turned into rages. His hands turned into claws, his face changed and looked evil. He was foaming at the mouth, hitting the glass oven door over and over, and growling. I wrapped my body around his and we sat on the kitchen floor as he thrashed and growled, tears running down my face as I held him.”
‘I received a random card with a note. ‘I pray for you every day.’ My job is very hard to do. People don’t understand that. Special education is a totally different ball game.’
“My students come into the classroom yelling, hitting, kicking, and screaming. Many people assume we do the work for our kids because they think they can’t do it themselves. Not everyone is cut out for this kind of classroom.”
‘He would literally fling his arms out from his body over and over again from morning until night.’: Parents shocked to learn of son’s PANDAS diagnosis
“We had absolutely no idea what was going on. His behavior was changing. He’d been in daycare since he was 12 weeks old and LOVED his school. Now he’d cling to us at drop off and require 15 hugs before we could – with him still screaming and crying- finally leave him. We assumed he was ‘going through a phase.’ I felt like we were ‘losing’ him.”
‘No, mommy. You obey ME!’ My son was LOSING. HIS. MIND. Tears were flowing, arms flailing. He threw his sandwich on the ground in protest. All I could think was, ‘I’m failing.’
“Mom shamers lined up with judgemental eyes. The grocery line was never-ending. My friend and her sweet, well-behaved daughter began quietly cleaning up their lunch. ‘If you do it this way, they wouldn’t be acting like that.’ Within five minutes, I raised my white flag.”
