Stacie Sherman
Journalist, Author, Blogger
Tag: family
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Autism and Finding Holiday Joy
What do our special kids really want for the holidays? What do you buy for a child who doesn’t make a list? Who doesn’t play with toys, or read, or care what they wear? Maybe we’re overthinking it.
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From One Autism Mom to Another Autism Mom (or Dad)
I know how difficult holidays can be. Many Thanksgivings, I have spent away from the cramped kitchen. I stayed in another part of the house because the noise was overwhelming for my daughter. The crowd was just too much for her. How do I get through it with a smile on my face? I count…
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Raising Twins with Autism: A Family’s Journey
When Mary gave birth to identical twin sons on Christmas Eve in 1988, she felt like she had won the lottery. But within two years, she knew her boys were not developing like others their age. Robert and James didn’t seem to notice if Mary was upset, nor did they miss her when she wasn’t…
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Soul Fatigued
Imagine having to build a padded room in your home to keep your daughter safe.
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Life in Transition
I drive with my left hand on the wheel and my right on my daughter in the back seat. My husband scolds me for it. He can pound sand. Brielle usually just humors me by holding my hand loosely for maybe a minute if I’m lucky. In recent weeks, she’s been holding on longer. Just…
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The Ties That Bind
I had my ex-husband and his wife over the other night for wine, beer and charcuterie. This doesn’t happen often. In fact, it was the first time. But it was needed and healing. And a bit unreal. Our anxious adult son, who was working at the time, kept texting my ex to ask if everything…
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Invest in Yourself
Here’s a piece of advice for my fellow exhausted caregivers: don’t let it consume you. Acknowledge the stress, plan an hour or two or a whole day of stress-free living for yourself, and then look forward to losing yourself in it. I get a break from caretaking every other weekend when my daughter spends time…
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Sudden Detours
Bumps in the winding road. The next chapter begins. It’s the first few chapters of the next book, and it’s fitting. Our lives face a critical stage. For awhile we were on a fun trip, riding a naïve wave that the toughest parts were behind us. But every time we think we have survived the…
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Just Mom
Once upon a time, there was a mom. She was a very special mom, with very special kids. She adored and embraced them. They were amazing. Every once in a while, though, she wondered what it would be like to be just a mom. Not special. Just a mom. “You’re really good with children,” a…
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Mountain out of a mole
I knew they were right, but that didn’t stop the torrent of emotions.
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Mixed Blessings
Being a parent to a special needs child is both a blessing and a challenge. My daughter’s gestures and expressions of love bring me immense joy, but I also bear the weight of her struggles. Despite the progress we’ve made, I remain cautious, knowing that her behaviors could resurface. Yet, her moments of happiness remind…
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They Want Us to Give Up
I think they want us to give up. A fellow autism mom said this the other day, and it stuck with me. She was responding to my venting about the difficulty and complications of getting services for our kids. Everything is a fight. Everything. For more than 20 years, I have had to fight for…
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Midnight Sharp
Just like you, I wanted to be on time. Nineteen years ago, exactly, my water broke. At midnight, on my due date. Sixteen hours later, my first child, my son, was born. And here we are, I blinked and you are 19 years old. When I think of how much you have grown, and struggled,…
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Friday nights
TGIF. She is so good with the Camera. We make great Snapchat shots! Quick post. Back from dinner around the corner. The local Italian place was VERY busy tonight. It was just me and my kiddos. I asked for a table by the wall or in the corner and the hostess started saying they were…
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Memories to Make
So much to be grateful for. No matter how tough it gets, or how much I cry or complain or stress, know this: I am blessed and I am grateful. At some point in my life — I’m not sure exactly when but I was well into my 30s — I began to focus less…
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Quiet Time
It’s 5 a.m. and I am awake for no reason at all. God is playing tricks with me lately. I used to only be up at this ungodly hour when my daughter woke me up. Lately, she sleeps for the most part, and I’m wide awake. Some early mornings, I read or watch TV. Yesterday, I did yoga.…
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Milestone Moment
My son graduated high school. My son is going to college. Never ever say never. Not to me, not to my kids. I am bursting with pride. My boy hasn’t had an easy path. Things that other kids grasp with ease have been a struggle for mine. When he was a toddler, speech didn’t come…
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Our Path
Ten years ago, I met the jackpot of men. I didn’t know it at the time. He was just a guy from my town, a friend of a friend. I was a single mom of two kids with special needs, tired of speed dating, tired of mating games, fed up with trying to be something…
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The Last Word
Whenever I pick up a newspaper, one of the first sections I always turn to is the obituaries. It sounds morbid, I know, but it’s so much more than that. Back in my college journalism class so many years ago, one of our first assignments was writing obituaries. I learned an important lesson then, that I…
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My Bittersweet Birthday
I turn 42 today. That’s the age I’ve been dreading for as long as I can remember. When I allow myself to think about it, as I force myself to do now, the reality of it makes my hands shake, takes my breath away. Here I am, the same age my mother was when she…