You know that John McCain passed away last week. A couple days ago was his funeral service in Washington DC. I listened to it, and want to share some great things I learned. Needless to say, I have a new hero and it’s John McCain. Several years ago, when he ran for President, I voted for him. I remember that I was a registered Democrat living in Philadelphia at the time. Everyone was voting for Obama in his second term, and... Read more
I’ve got some controversial things to say, and I hope you’ll listen. It’s about the LGBTQ community, and how we are treating them. We have a problem We have a problem in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Christian community at large. More specifically we have a problem in the hearts of some of the people in the Church. We teach that we are all children of God, and that He loves us and... Read more
In so many ways we are all connected. I was reminded of that this week when a sweet woman posted something on a FB group I belong to. She said that she was hurting as she saw a bumper sticker that read “The best Moms get promoted to Grandma.” I have seen that phrase before and thought it was cute. But this woman had a different perspective. She lamented that her severely autistic child will likely never live an independent... Read more
I know that most people want to be there for their friends and family when they are going through a hard time. But sometimes we say some hurtful things to each other. We may be trying to be supportive, or we may seriously have no idea what we are talking about. In an effort to help us all get along better, and be a true support to one another, I have compiled a list of some of the things autism... Read more
This article was previously published on Abby’s page at LDSblogs.com. I’ve seen Heaven. And it’s beyond beautiful. No, I didn’t have a near death experience. I was given this brief glimpse in a dream. I firmly believe that God speaks to us in dreams. And this time, He was giving me a vision of hope. Let me explain. I had been feeling lost for a long time. I wasn’t sure what to do with my life, and I... Read more
My son is starting a new school. He has a lot of anxiety with any new things. So I got some tips from the professionals that really made a big difference, and I wanted to share. These tips can be used for any new experience your child will have. We use them for Scout Camp, family vacations, and even play dates sometimes. Just adapt the examples to your specific needs. Not all the things I list here will apply to... Read more
I have a confession to make. For years, as the teachers and therapists have been talking about the importance of social skills for my cute little Asperger’s boy, I didn’t understand what they really meant. I thought that social skills meant socializing. Like, chatting with people, being polite, etc. But I had a huge realization this week, that I have been WAY OFF! I stumbled onto this image on Pinterest (LOVE Pinterest!) and it outlined so clearly what social... Read more
We had been struggling to find a way to motivate my 9 year old son. And discovered that he was eager to earn money to get what he wanted without having to get permission from Mom and Dad. So we created this money chart. Our therapist suggested it, and I love it. I adapt it often to reflect what we are currently working on. And as he masters each thing, we reduce the amount of money he will earn... Read more
I love social media. In my life I’ve lived all over the country. And social media helps me keep in touch with many friends from many places. I love to read what they are up to, and see their kids growing up. We share laughter, and memories online. I find that some of my friends are more comfortable posting on social media than they are picking up the phone. One friend was having surgery and hadn’t told anyone. But... Read more
We used to live in Philadelphia. I loved our neighbors from so many different countries. I learned a lot from them. The greatest lesson was that we weren’t very different from each other. I learned we usually shared many of the same values. No matter your religion or nationality, we want friends and to have good family relationships. Everyone wants a sense of purpose and to be able to grow and learn. Because of these similarities this current demonizing of... Read more
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