ten minutes in by A Diary of a Mom
Editor’s note:     My daughter didn’t write this.       I did.

It’s a guess. A guess as to what it feels like to be inside her head. A guess based on years upon years of watching her, listening to her and collecting and piecing together every clue she has offered, in whatever way she offered them.

You see, I spend a lot of time trying to understand my daughter’s experience from the inside out. Given that it’s fundamentally different from my own in many ways, I think it’s important. Because if I don’t, I will make faulty assumptions based on my own experience that simply won’t apply to or for her.    READ MORE
When the Body Does not Obey the Mind by Emma's Hope Book
Emma gave me permission to quote her words, written this past Sunday.
  • “Please remember that my mind tells my body and my mouth to do all sorts of wonderful things constantly, but they don’t obey.
  • “Sometimes I want to scream.  I am trying so hard, but no one notices and they are annoyed instead of understanding.”
Emma wrote this in response to her gymnastics teacher, but it applies to so many instances where she confounds those around her by doing things she knows she shouldn’t, things she doesn’t want to do, doesn’t intend to do and yet does anyway. Typically people assume she is doing these things because she doesn’t care, or is trying to be mischievous, or “wants attention” or any number of assumptions people make when witnessing her actions.  But in speaking with Emma, it is clear how incorrect these assumptions are.  As Emma wrote, “I am trying so hard, but no one notices and they are annoyed instead of understanding.”   READ MORE
The Perspective of Autistic Girls