On a lighter note...

I was just looking through the stats to see what google searches brought people to this blog. The results were pretty interesting.

autismparentinghelp.blogspot.
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	I hope everyone who came here via searches has found what they were looking for. Thank you for looking for me and keep looking!

AUTISM PARENTING IS A FULL TIME JOB

This is ridiculous. I started this blog filled with idealism and motivation, brimming with incredible material to write and discuss. I tinkered with the blog setup and different affiliate programs and links and whatnot. I spent tons of time - time I don't have - networking across the blogosphere with other Autism Mom blogs, with very disappointing returns. The project I was so excited about, which started off with a bang, feels like it fizzled out too soon. I'm not thrilled.

Because on top of my inability to spread the good word about this fantastic new blog, I found myself suddenly with no time to write new posts. And if there's no new content, a blog is worth about as much as last year's snow.

Being an autism parent is a full time job. Aside from dealing with the usual stuff - the mess, the stress, and the distress - there is just so much work to do. Here's just a partial list of what I've been busy with all week:

WHAT DO VETERAN'S DAY, HALLOWEEN, AND THANKSGIVING DAY HAVE IN COMMON? They're all mentioned in this post.

I haven’t updated in a while and I apologize. I’ve been extremely busy. Monday was Veteran’s Day, which meant Dovi was home, and although I was fortunate to have volunteers take him out, it was a shorter day than usual. In addition, it was my turn to cook dinner for  a relative who is not well, which meant the kitchen was a disaster zone. Yesterday both boys missed their buses, and for some reason I was plum exhausted all day and could barely function. My netbook has been frustratingly slow and freezing up way too often. All together it’s a recipe for disaster. Errr, I mean, for not updating the blog. My brain is percolating with ideas and bursting at the seams with articles waiting to be written; but life hasn’t stopped and I’m still racing on the treadmill.

When I finally sit down in front of the screen to write, I feel a little lost. The sheer amount of things left to say is overwhelming. I originally planned to keep this blog in chronological narrative form, but I realized that it will take me months – nay, years! to catch up to the present. So much happened every single day in the past 2+ years, that by the time I’m done writing about all that, another year will have passed and I’ll have more to catch up on!

Additionally, I think it’s a bit unfair to just keep harping on the past – a past where I was bitter and resentful and depressed and thought I would never reach the precious point of Acceptance – without talking a little bit about the present and focusing a bit on the positive.

SUMMERTIME, AND THE LIVIN' AIN'T EASY.... or: WHAT THEY DON'T TELL YOU ABOUT ABA THERAPY

Do you remember a time when your really, really wanted something really badly, pinning all your hopes and dreams on it, awaiting that incredible something with massive anticipation, and when you finally got it, it was a major disappointment? Or worse yet, it was horrible, awful, terrible, and you just wished you could give it back but couldn't?

That is exactly what happened when Dovi finally started therapy.

The first therapist to show up was a Speech Therapist, named Vivian. She was gentle and kind and loving, but Dovi just cried and cried throughout the sessions. He refused to sit in one spot and felt overwhelmed by the simplest task, the slightest touch. He did not know what the therapist wanted from him and did not respond to any of her commands. He cried and cried.

And so did I.

It's really difficult to listen to your child cry and be unable to -- or not permitted to -- intervene and make it all go away. My brain knew that this was for Dovi's good and the crying did not mean he was in distress. But my heart was aching and I couldn't take it.