I typically try to sleep or read when on flights. It helps to pass the time and also helps me have to avoid awkward, unwanted small talk with the people seated near me. On this particular flight, however, I felt inclined to break that rule. The person seated to my right was an older lady, […]
Dear friend, teacher, family, and others in my life. Maybe we haven’t been connecting lately or you’re not really sure where to start. It’s OK. I know you care. So I’m going to share something important with you about autistic people that will help you be a friend to me, and to other autistics.
Apparently, quite a lot of people. I spend a lot of my days in a nice little bubble of people who are pretty accepting of individuality. My closest friends are unschoolers, free rangers, vegans and other such folk who move to their own rhythms. Every now and then though, I’m reminded that there are lots […]
“Has he been invited to any birthday parties?” asks the psychologist. I am in the assessment room with our 3.5 year old. The psychologist is young, working for an Aspergers clinic with an excellent reputation. Her assessment is thorough. “No, he’s only three. Do kindy kids invite each other to birthday parties? We usually only […]
Where I live (Texas), every June 19th is the commemoration of “Juneteenth,” an important day in Texas history. Also known as Juneteenth Independence Day, Emancipation Day, or Freedom Day, it refers to June 19, 1865, the day a Union general and his troops occupied Galveston Island (a small strip of land in the Gulf of […]
There is a lot of revolting ableism in alternative parenting spaces. There are people around the edges of my life, in my social circles, members of my parenting communities – who creep me out. There are peaceful parenting writers and unschooling parents; people interested in wellness and those identifying as “Natural”. There are parents who […]