They show up in my news feed a lot – stories of children and adults with autism who wandered off, bolted, went missing and were found dead in a pond less than a mile from home, or something similar. Or news articles about a special needs child who was abused on his bus or in school by some teacher’s aide, or bullied by a classmate, or killed by a member of his own family when caring for him and helping... Read more
The husband and I celebrated our 14th anniversary last week. We continue to (Alhamdulillah) defy the odds of marriages that break up under the stress of dealing with special needs, and is because of compromises we’ve made, respect and support we give each other, how we own various duties and roles in our lives and because we have tremendous family support. Our family works, in large part, because of him and what he’s given up/taken on/gained/lost/learned/unlearned/adapted/loved/changed and everything in between.... Read more
The only thing predictable about autism and Lil D in our house is that it and he are unpredictable. You can say that about life in general. It’s not a unique characteristic owned by autism or my child in particular. And yet, it is unique to us in its manifestation. We met with Lil D’s speech and occupational therapists last week at school at my request to discuss some things we want to change/try with his assistive communication device (his... Read more
How are your Ramadan preps coming along? In less than 40 days, the holy month of Ramadan will be upon us, and the months preceding it—Rajab and Sha’baan – are great months to prepare, make up fasts, get into the right frame of mind, set our goals, to evaluate where we are now in our deen from last Ramadan and figure out where we want to be with this Ramadan and after. Near the end of the month of Rajab... Read more
There are two stories to tell, unrelated, yet related to each other. A high and a low. Prayers answered and things gone horribly wrong, all in the span of 48 hours. Autism is a relentless, fickle and surprising master. But there is one greater master. The past two months around my home was a lead up to Memorial Day weekend and the Autism Society of Central Virginia 5k – an annual run/walk that is this organization’s biggest fundraiser. I’ve been... Read more
When I heard that President Obama was going to speak today on drones, terrorism and Guantanamo Bay, you can be sure I marked my calendar. I supported this president through two terms, having major beefs with the GOP candidates. The 2012 Presidential campaign was a tough one, where I knew I had to lend s upport to Obama because I just couldn’t accept how the GOP and party members felt about Muslims. But still, I had beefs with Obama’s handling... Read more
Prominent (former) American Muslim Umar Lee has converted back to Christianity, and the blogosphere and social networks are on fire. Lee was guided from “streets of St. Louis and a working Southern Baptist home to Islam as a teenager,” according to his author profile on Amazon. He has been featured on the Voice of America, was a political correspondent for OnIslam.net (where I worked as well for nearly eight years), and received a Brass Crescent Award for best blog series.... Read more
There is a phrase in Urdu – kismat-wali – meaning one who has good fate, who is blessed, very much like the word “kismet.” My mother-in-law called me kismat-wali. She is visiting her daughter these days, who has five children, works full-time and has leads an incredibly busy life. The classic Super Mom – that’s my sister-in-law. After spending some time with her and seeing how much she manages between the kids, her teaching job, cooking and housework, my mother-in-law... Read more
The whole family came out for Amal’s soccer game on Saturday morning – Lil D, Hamza, my husband and myself. I can’t remember the last time we all went to one of her games or one of Hamza’s games. All of us. The kids have been playing with the Ansars soccer league for four years now, and many of these kids have been with Amal on teams since they were five and six years old. Playing with the Ansars is... Read more
Something is wrong. I can see it; I can feel it in my bones. Lil D is off, and as I go back through things in my head and track the data sheets that I (and his school) maintain, I see an alarming rise in incontinence – the fancy word for pee accidents. Lots and lots of pee accidents. I just threw out his old mattress, knowing it was beyond cleaning at this point, and got him a new one.... Read more
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