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I’ve officially been told that I’m “Not like other moms.” I mean, I know we mamas are all unique in our own way, but I’ve actually been told by a professional. Marston was diagnosed with autism at age 2.5. Before that time, we struggled greatly. I recognize now that we were trying to help Marston cope with a host of sensory processing issues. The most pronounced issue being that Marston never wanted to eat. When he did eat, he would gag constantly and very often vomit everything back up. We’re not talking “spit up” here - projectile vomit. I spent...

Marston can throw water. I’m not kidding. It’s like he can actually pick up a ball of water and throw it at you. If you’ve ever gone to the beach or pool with him you have experienced this first hand. He thinks it is HILARIOUS to splash you. It’s his way of trying to communicate and play with you. One family vacation we took a trip to Atlantis, Bahamas. On our first day there, Marston was in the pool when a little older man, wearing spectacles, was making his way into the water to cool off. Apparently, Marston thought this...

Did you know that Spain leads the world in organ donations?  They do, and the reason why is simple and brilliant.  They have a policy based on the concept of “default setting.”   Here’s the thing, years ago some smart people in Spain recognized that when individuals were given a choice about organ donation they often wouldn’t opt in.  People would overthink their decision, and the box wouldn’t get the check mark.  The smart people decided to make a small change.  They flipped the default to a “presumed consent” model. Now, everyone was considered an organ donor unless they opted...

  If you have a child with a profound disability you are probably very familiar with Miralax.  For a multitude of reasons, people with special needs often have gastrointestinal issues.  It is sometimes said that the gut is like your second brain, so it does stand to reason that if your “first” brain needs to process differently, so does your second brain.   Anyhow, about a decade ago we needed to start Marston on a daily dose of Miralax to keep him regular.  For the most part this daily dose works well, and everything runs smoothly, if you know what...

It’s truly a blessing and a curse that I have an education background as I raise my son with autism. My brain NEVER shuts off about the things I could create to help him to learn. I always joke that of every 10 ideas I make for Marston, only one of them hits. Last week one of them hit… Welcome to Marston and Sam’s Pizzeria! I set out individual pizza crusts and toppings. Marston then took orders from family members. The highlight was FaceTiming daddy at work to see what he wanted on his pizza. I created an order form...