Hello!! Welcome to the Autism Momma Blog. I’m so glad you’re here. I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself, our family, and tell you a little bit about WHY I am writing this blog. 🙂
My name is Willow, and my AWESOME husband is Jason… and we are parents of a Severe Autistic/Globally Delayed/Epileptic son… Benjamin Robert (15)! We ALSO are the parents of three younger NT kid, (Neuro Typical) Elijah (13), Micah (9), and Hannah Joy who is 3. Those are their ages as of this first post, March 2017. We live in beautiful Sonoma County California.
WHY am I starting this blog? Here is why. In February of this year I went to a Conference on Autism. A friend invited me, and even paid for my ticket. Temple Grandin was speaking at it, so I assumed it would really have very little for ME, a Momma in a WHOLE other world of Autism as Temple Grandin and HER mother. Truth be told, I went MOSTLY because of the person who invited me. I wanted to have a chance to spend some time with her, and it never seemed to work. This was something far enough in advance I could actually plan for. The VERY first speaker of the day was a blog writer who wrote a blog that had become viral, called AUTISM DADDY. His experience was like mine. He talked about things I didn’t realize that other kids did, when he spoke, and he read his lists… I realized, we are NOT alone in this. That there are OTHERS who go through what we go through. AND it’s okay to talk about it. I talk about it sometimes on Facebook, and have even written several inspirational and touching blogs… but a lot of times, all that does, is get people feeling sorry for us which, isn’t really what I want. I don’t talk about the daily in’s and outs, and difficulties of raising Ben enough, so when I do… we get an onslaught of calls, texts, and “I’m praying for you”. Not that any of that is Bad… but just because I’m posting something, doesn’t mean it’s unusual, I just wanted to talk about it that day. 🙂
So anyway, as I watched Autism Daddy speak up on the big stage… so many feelings washed over me. I held back the tears. Because here I had so expected this conference not to be for me at all… and now, I knew it was ALL for me. Hearing his stories made me feel half human, connected to a man I’d never met, because he has lived through some of the same things we live through. I remember at one point he showed a photo of his remote controls, all the back had been taken off and he had to tape the batteries in. THAT’S WHAT OURS LOOK LIKE!!! It’s so frustrating but knowing that Ben’s not the only person who does that, and knowing we aren’t the only parents who have to constantly look for batteries and readjust just lifted my SOUL!!
But the OTHER big feeling that washed over me as I watched him speak on stage is I COULD DO THAT!!! I could write, and even speak about our experiences. If his words and experiences are bringing me this much peace and joy, I want to be able to do that for others! I want our lives, to be a BLESSING. The good, the bad, the scary, the ugly and messy parts… all of it. Because for other parents, with either kids like Ben or even a little different it’s not so scary or bad, but maybe it’s just familiar enough to make them happy, or bring them joy. Perhaps bring them a sense of normality that is hard to find when you have a severely special needs kid.
So here I am. Writing. WHO IS THIS BLOG FOR? Well… it’s for special needs parents mostly. I’m sure my friends and family will read it, and I will appreciate it because well, who doesn’t want to be seen and known. But what I don’t want is for people to feel SORRY for us. I am going to post the real and often crazy stuff that goes on here DAILY… not the once every month or two months I mention it on FB. So if you’re reading this, and you’re NOT a special needs parent, don’t feel sorry for us. This is the life we have been given, with all it’s blessings and difficulties, we are living it with GRATITUDE. But what I WOULD like you to do, is send my Blog to a special needs Mom or Dad or Grandma that you know. Who knows, it might just help them to take their first big breath of acceptance, and relief in a while. Welcome to The Autism Momma. #thisisBen.