Pre-Wedding Stress

Chase's future bride and I are having nightmares about the wedding, much like the photos below...

Wedding Dress FAIL

Hillbilly Wedding Announcement

Redneck Wedding Arch

Beer Can and Candle Table Decor

Country Bumpkin Bridesmaids

Redneck Bouquet




Images from joe-ks.com

How DO Grandparents of ASD Children Feel?

I had an aha moment after reading one particular paragraph in the article I posted yesterday. It read...

"Researchers explain that grandparents often feel added frustration when coping with a grandchild with autism because they empathize with their own child as well as their grandchild and are concerned about the well-being of both."

Never had it occurred to me that my own mother may feel this way, but it makes perfect sense.

My grandmother use to tell me that you never stop worrying about your children, no matter how old they get, and now that my own children are adults, I completely understand what she was talking about. It's easy to imagine how I would feel if one of my sons or daughter had a child with special needs.

Looking further into this issue, I found a research report written last April by Connie Anderson Ph. D. for the Interactive Autism Network.  I want to share with you the following pie chart from that study. The data shows how much grandparents of children with ASD worry about their adult child:


                  If you'd like to read the article in it's entirety, chick here.


Now that I am enlightened to the issue, I am going to put my own mother on the spot and ask her if she will write a post for me. I'd like her to share some of her thoughts and feelings about being a mom to a daughter who has a child with autism.

We all have so much to learn from each other and I welcome your comments on the subject.

How to Prepare Autistic Children for the Holiday Season

Preparing Autistic Children for the Holiday Season is an excellent article for anyone dealing with an ASD child. Check it out!

Fatigue, Wellbeing and Parental Self-Efficacy in Mothers of Children with ASD

Raising a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) presents significant challenges for parents that potentially have a impact on their health and wellbeing. The current study examined the extent to which parents experience fatigue and its relationship to other aspects of wellbeing and parenting. Fifty mothers of children with an ASD aged 2-5 years participated in the study. Compared with mothers of typically developing children, mothers of children with an ASD reported significantly higher fatigue, with overall scores in the moderate range. Factors associated with high levels of fatigue were poor maternal sleep quality, a high need for social support and poor quality of physical activity. Fatigue was also significantly related to other aspects of wellbeing, including stress, anxiety and depression, and lower parenting efficacy and satisfaction. The need for interventions to specifically target parental fatigue and its impact on families affected by ASDs both in the short and long term is clearly indicated.


Giallo R, Wood CE, Jellett R, Porter R.
SourceParenting Research Centre, Australia.

Momma Said There'll Be Days Like This

I was hurrying to get to the pharmacy before they closed.

Question- This is a Place Where Cody Hums to Relieve Stress. Answer- What is the Dentist Office?

Cody went to the dentist for his six month check up and cleaning today. It's not his favorite thing to do, but really, who actually enjoys it? Thank goodness we have a dentist with the patience of a saint. And his hygienist is just as patient, probably more so since she spends the most amount of time in Cody's mouth.

When Cody was younger, around six years old, he had to be put to sleep for dental work that required numbing and it took two of us just to hold him down while the dentist, Dr. Lax, merely looked in his mouth. (This was discovered when I was holding Cody's arms and he figured out he could use his legs to kick Dr. Lax in the head!)

After we moved and became patients of Dr. Denos, Cody found a way to cope with his much dreaded check-ups; he hums the Jeopardy theme music the ENTIRE time someone is poking around in his mouth. Whatever it takes, right?

This is what Cody says DENTIST stands for...

D-Denos
E-everybody
N-no singing Jeopardy loud
T- teeth
I- inside
S- surprise
T-toothpaste

Brain Strain

Here's a little encouragement for my daughter and other students feeling the stress of finals at this time of year...

"Higher education trains your mind to feel good later by making it feel terrible now."      

Alan Harris

Stressed Out Drama Queen

My eighteen year old daughter is a full time college student; she also has a part-time job. Because she has to maintain a 3.8 GPA to keep her scholarship, most days she is a little more than stressed. As well as being the youngest child, she is also the only girl (three older brothers), so she has learned to be a bit of a drama queen. For example, read the conversation Don and I had with her before taking this picture yesterday afternoon.

Katelyn: "I think I'm having a stroke or something. My heart has seriously been beating for like two hours!"

Don and I: (Laughing) "We certainly hope so, otherwise you'd be dead."

Katelyn: "You know damn well what I mean."

Cody: "Uh-oh. I heard that Katelyn. You need pepper on your tongue."

(FYI- her blood pressure was fine.)

Parenting a Child with Autism Brings Unique Stresses...

...says http://www.autism.com/. I certainly didn't need to read this article. I live it!
(Do I sound a little stressed right now?)

Families with autistic children have to deal with things such as: behavior issues, education, social support (or lack thereof), respite, time pressure, and health care to name a few.

Pity isn't what we're after; just an understanding that sometimes it takes too much energy to find respite care or get the family ready for church or to go out shopping. Breaking an autistic persons routine is painful and I don't mean just to them! Sometimes I'd rather eat nails than to tell Cody that 'Survivor' isn't on television because the President of the United States is speaking or that due to the holiday the trash guy is picking up the garbage Tuesday instead of Monday. High stress is something we deal with, sometimes on a daily basis. (I have a valid reason for taking Wellbutrin.)

In the near future, I plan on discussing siblings of disabled children. They are remarkable human beings who often have to grow up too fast and/or deal with things their peers have never heard of.

Thank you for letting me vent. I promise to write my next post on a positive note:)