Coming to grips with your child having a diagnosis is a process. The biggest hurdle for me was understanding that he did not have the "big, red, shiny, bow." I use this example many times when talking with teachers, parents, friends, and family members. I am the first to admit my child is the most amazing and exceptional child...
Isabella (Izzy) is Dominic's therapy dog. At times, I wonder if she is more a therapy dog for me or Vincent. She has been a wonderful addition however the past nine months have not been easy. It has been quite the adventure.
We received Izzy in December 2016 and we immediately fell in love with her. She quickly minimized Dominic's...
Dear Teacher We Love,
We know you realize how important you are to our family but we are not sure you will ever truly know. You were the first teacher to see our son the way we do. At times, you see him even better than us. You have this unconditional love for him and refuse to give up. You...
Our son has become very smart and manipulative at baseball games. When his brother has a baseball game, we always pack Dominic a snack bag. This typically will be his lunch or dinner since the games are usually around those times. He is very routine on this and he enjoys watching his brother play as long as he has...
Our first visit to Disney we decided to go to the Visa Cardholder Photo Meet and Greet in Epcot. It was our first time visiting and we were still new to some of the aspects to the parks and protocols. When we first made it to the line, we noticed that there was no way Dominic would be able...
The holidays are the season of giving and family but at times can also cause stress and mourning. Through the years, there were times we mourned the fact of what the holidays should look like in the eyes of everyone else. At times, we forced normalcy in the life that is quite frankly not that. It maybe our normal...
A week ago, Ed and I were getting ready while the boys were downstairs playing. I looked at him and asked him, "what do you think is the hardest part for you?" He looked at me and then he realized I meant about having a child with autism. I wasn't looking to start the day on a bad note,...
Tonight at the dinner table, Vince shared with us that his class was reading the book Rules. Vince has read this book numerous times so I was not too concerned about that. The book is about a young girl and her brother with autism who meets another boy with special needs at her brother's therapy sessions. This is a wonderful...
Dominic is so blessed to have his great grandfather in his life. It was difficult for him in the beginning to understand or comprehend what was truly going on with Dominic when he was having so many medical issues at a young age. His great grandfather turns 100 in May and he is very with it. He knows exactly...
Recently, we traveled to see family and Dominic was very excited for the trip. He was analyzing the trip more than he would in the past and I quickly was questioning why he wanted to know what was going on, what time things were going to happen, and what we were taking. I started to become frustrated with the...
