Parents frequently confide to me when they have lost their patience. Fathers as well as mothers share their guilt and their heartbreak when this occurs. As one mother said to me recently, "My mother yelled at us, and I vowed to never yell at my children. Now I'm becoming a yeller. What's wrong?"

“When God closes a door, He opens a window.” (Author unknown)
As I stood in front of 80 moms at the National Autism Association of North Texas Autism Moms’ Evening Out on May 4th, I was in awe of all the hard work, determination and love that was packed into one room. The inner strength of this group of women was truly inspiring.
As my eyes scanned the room, bouncing from face to face in the crowd, I was humbled by the fact the each of these women had traveled the same road I had...and all had become stronger, braver and more compassionate than they once were. Some were familiar faces that brought back memories from a specific struggle in my autism journey. Others were new faces. But it didn’t matter, we already knew each other.
For each of us had heard those dreaded words, “Your child has autism.” Each of us has stumbled trying to put our child back together again piece-by- piece. And each of us has our own book-worthy story. The stories my differ in the details, but in the end we all want the same thing….healing for our child.

Most parents, even those that are unaware, struggle with sensory issues if they have a child on the spectrum. A sensory craver is one that looks for sensory input, craving the sensation it gives them. As a result behaviors may ensue that are less than obvious to parents. I wanted to give a short red flag list I read for parents to refer to, in hopes this may help you identify needs your children have and get help.
Visual: likes flashing lights, spinning objects, prefers TV/video games
Auditory: uses loud voice, makes background noises, and enjoys noisy places

Summer Camp for My Son and Yours: New Beginning for Teens and Adults with Autism
By Angela Day
”Unteachable.” That’s the label our school district put on my son, Mason Day, when he was three years old. They anchored him behind a desk and had him do the same task over and over…then wondered why, halfway through the year, he stopped doing it correctly.
Possibly because he was bored?
That never occurred to the school. When he was four years old, I started teaching him at home using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a teaching style targeted to children with autism. Within three months he went from completely non-verbal to a vocabulary of 123 words. By age seven he was promoted, with supports, to a regular classroom.
Speed forward a decade. Mason is in 11th grade and is 18 years old. He has worked at Hobby Lobby, the Lutheran Church, and TJ Max. He also volunteers at the Recycling Plant, one of the best unpaid helpers they’ve had. Mason works hard, stays on task, and strives for perfection, but recycling is not really satisfying to him. He feels unchallenged because he’s not working in his field of interest.

KidSpeak is taking a break from blogging to wrap up the rest of the spring semester, to prepare for the summer semester and to spend some time with family and friends! We will be back in mid-June with lots of new ideas for Father’s Day, themed play dates and more.

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In her second guest blog post for us, Stacy Baugh tackles the topic of shopping for new clothes with her precious daughter who lives with Sensory Processing Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome. How many parents out there raising kids with ASD and/or SPD can relate to this?
NEW SEASON, NEW CLOTHES
By Stacy Baugh
Each year I enjoy looking forward to Spring – new leaves on the trees, flowers blooming, weather just right for leaving the windows open. Unfortunately this change of season also brings a need for new clothes for my daughter, Emily. Time to put away the blue jeans & long sleeve shirts and bring out the shorts & t-shirts. Not only that, but it usually means getting an entire wardrobe of brand new clothes since she’s usually grown a couple inches since the previous year. For some people this might be something to look forward to, but for my daughter this twice-a-year excursion is something we dread and try to put off as long as possible.

Why is it so hard for moms to take a break? What can fathers do to help?
First of all, struggling with taking a break from maternal responsibilities is normal. This is hard for the mothers of typical children—who presumably have a little less to be preoccupied about than mothers of children who have autism and other special needs.

Have you ever been on a hike or a run when you get on such a pace that you lose track of your surroundings, what you are passing and how far you have come? Eventually, you snap back to reality, maybe you stop to rest, and you look back at the road behind you. Looking back, you realize that you have traveled quite a long distance and maybe through some hurdles and you take in the accomplishment. That is where I am standing at this very moment.