Wednesday...again

It's Wednesday again and since I know you are all on the edges of your seats waiting for this week's Special Needs Ryan Gosling picture I will get that out of the way first.

Hey Girl....I need some sensory input

Recently a number of people on Facebook paid me a compliment by telling me I always share great articles and such on my FB wall for people to read and that got me thinking that maybe I could do the same here on my blog each week.  

I already have Friday's slated for Special Needs Ryan Gosling and on Wednesdays I pick the photo for Friday's link up but other than that I often run out of things to say and my post ends up just being a picture of Ryan (not that that is a bad thing!) but I also don't want my blog to be all about me and what I'm doing with a few pics of Ryan thrown into the mix.

Starting today I'd like to give some shout-outs to other blogs or articles I have stumbled upon and enjoyed, made me laugh, or really made me think.

Let's do this...

Mostly True Stuff:  Gay Marriage-  Lexi puts her heart on her sleeve and tells us why she supports gay marriage even though many who share her faith do not.  This post had me wanting to send her a virtual fist bump in solidarity.

Double X Science:  Motherhood, war, and attachment: what does it all mean?-  Emily takes on the TIME magazine article declaring mothers are at war with one another and instead points to scientific research behind a positive parent-child relationship

Bird and Cleaver:  Homecoming-  My friend Lindsay recently lost her grandmother in a horrible car accident.  The post she wrote in her memory reminded me so much of my own grandmother and how it is never too late to call up those you love and tell them.  Again.

BuzzFeed:  Things that will make you feel old-  Yep, I'm damn near ancient.

What great posts or articles did you read this week?

Social Story: No Swearing

As some of you know Sam has become quite fluent lately at using a number of unacceptable words and phrases.

Last week he announced to his class that he "hates black people" and in the past week I have heard him say many swear words at completely random moments.  Sometimes he is in his room by  himself and I overhear him repeating the words out loud to himself for no apparent reason.

I have tried telling Sam that bad words are not allowed and that when he says them he will lose privileges such as playing on the iPad, his computer, and the wii for one day.

Clearly this is not working because he is still saying the words at both home and at school.

While lamenting to friends on Twitter about my frustrations over Sam's potty mouth someone asked if a social story would help Sam understand the consequences of using bad words?  I wanted to reach through my computer and hug the woman because I hadn't even considered it and from past experience social stories have really helped Sam understand and deal with some tough situations.

So, today I created a social story about not using bad words and because I know a number of you are struggling with the same type of negative behaviors in your kids (ASD or not!) I thought I would share it with you.

You can choose to download the file and then print it or view it with your kids directly on the computer.  For Sam I find it is best to print it because holding it in his hands and turning the pages seems to help make it more real for him.


Sam Will Use GOOD Words

If this doesn't work then I'm going to fucking lose my shit.

Ahem.

Maya's Eye on the Trouble Brothers

Everyone knows I love to take photos.  If you follow me on Instagram you have seen my crazy Ostrich Stalker pictures and the ones I take of the Trouble Brothers and their daily antics and those that show you what it looks like day in and out raising two sons with autism.

The last time the boys and I had any professional photos taken Noah was three weeks old and Sam was only two.

Then a couple months ago I heard from Maya Weschler, a professional photographer located in DC who had heard about my boys via two mutual friends, Mom-In-A-Million and Minky {Moo}.  Maya owns Maya's Eye Photography and is a mother of two children, one which was recently diagnosed with autism.

Maya said she had begun a personal photo journalism project featuring families in the DC area raising children on the autism spectrum and she was hoping our family would agree to be photographed and interviewed.  Since we all know that I am about as non-private as a person can be I immediately said yes.

Three weeks ago Maya joined our family at our home and a local park and did just that.

The resulting photographs she captured were stunning.  She managed to catch the kind of shots I have dreamed of getting with my iPhone and piddly wanna-be awesome camera.  But more than that she truly captured the boys for who they are and I can never thank her enough for that.

If you'd like to see the photos for yourself you can do so by clicking on this link to a story we wrote together.

The Autism Photo Project:  Meet Sam and Noah

If you live in the MD, DC, VA area and are looking to hire a photographer I cannot recommend Maya enough.  She is very down to earth, easy to talk to, and her love of kids really comes out in the way she works with them almost effortlessly.