Reasons Why You Should Think Twice Before Messing With An Autism Mom Or Dad...

This list was posted on the Facebook page Single Mothers who have Children with Autism and because this list is so true I thought it needed to be shared.  So enjoy!!

 

REASONS YOU SHOULD THINK TWICE BEFORE MESSING WITH AN AUTISM MOM OR DAD...

1. Some of us have given up on social skills and don’t care what we say or do.

2. We’re not afraid to have a serious “meltdown” of our own.

3.We are tired and all the patience we have is for our kids.

4. We have a far shorter fuse for nonsense as a result of our responsibilities but a FAR thicker skin….

5. We can get you in a hold/lockdown position in less than 3.5 seconds.

6. We can shoot you a look that would make a linebacker tremble in his boots!

7. Chances are it’s been a while since we’ve had a full night of sleep and that will give us a reason to plead insanity! (This one is so very true!!)

8. Our tolerance and patience is for our children who didn’t choose to have special needs, not for someone who CHOOSES to behave inappropriately and is ABLE to control their actions.

9. We’re probably already on the edge and it would be stupid to push us over.

10. We are already defensive, and we spend all of our patience on our children, doctors, therapists, social workers and teachers, why would we waste an ounce of it on a total stranger?

11. We’ve had to fight from the moment of our child’s birth so by the time you piss us off we’re seasoned battlers who could win a war.

12. We devote our lives to our children and don’t need more stress and people who don’t understand our life.

13. Wherever there is a cub, there is a mama bear or papa bear….We’re always watching!

 

The Single Mom

Stages of Grief

I am a single mom.  I have been a single mom for almost 3 years now.  No matter if your kids are considered “normal” by society or not, being a single mom is tough.  You deny yourself shopping, haircuts, go to work sick, sleep, nights out, etc..just for them. 

To be honest I thought I was okay with the whole PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified) diagnosis.  I mean the whole premature birth, NICU stay was a piece of cake.  And the whole ADHD-combined type diagnosis wasn’t a big deal.  I’ve managed to get through that okay.  The MOSA(mild obstructive sleep apnea) that we deal with is a million times better now that we don’t have to use a cpap machine (10 yr olds and cpap’s don’t mix FYI).  But the whole Autism diagnosis?  Yes I am having a harder time working through that than I imagined.  I mean I have always thought my son had Asperger’s, and yes I do know that it is an Autism Spectrum Disorder, but somehow thinking he had that versus PDD-NOS or another ASD was easier on a daily basis.

Lately I’ve caught myself crying after he has a meltdown.  Not because he’s had a meltdown but because I’m afraid.  I worry that he wont know the joy of falling in love, being married (even though my marriage to the kids Dad didn’t work out), being a parent, dating, driving.  I cry because he might not get to experience those things and I may never get to watch him experience those things. 
Do people with PDD-NOS (aka Autism) and ADHD get married? Have they had kids?  Don’t get me wrong I know they probably have done them but who? How do their spouses cope? Their children?

Of course this is just where I am today.  Crying, hormonal, and sad.  Tomorrow it could be different.  1 step forward, 2 steps back.
Life with Autism..always the same yet everyday is completely different.

The Single Mom