after you have a baby, family comes knocking, friends come bearing gifts, and well-wishers loaded your facebook wall with he looks just like you!
after your family member is diagnosed with cancer or another terminal illness, family comes with meals, friends send plants, and well-wishes load your facebook wall with you’re in our prayers.
after moose was diagnosed with autism last year at this time, april 15th to be exact, most of our world responded with a whimper, not a bang.
autism scares most people, so it’s different. most people don’t know how to interact with moose. they batter him with questions, like he will magically respond.
but spin that kid in circles. swing him. and he’ll fall in love with you.
after your child get an autism diagnosis, you get thousands of dollars worth of therapy bills, sleepless nights scouring the internet, and those knocks on the door, they are less.
what families with autism really need most of all?
you.
at our doors.
well, aside from the zeros in donald’s trumps bank account. that would be great too, because therapy is pricey. supplements are pricey. and $6 loaves of gluten-free bread add up quick.
that’s why my dream of wepickupthepieces.org will come true one day soon. real money helping real families. not paying execs 500K+ in salary.
in the interim, your presence is perfect.
maybe taking little moose out back on the swing
so i can take a hot shower.
maybe surprising me and washing my dishes, because lord knows,
when you are gluten-free there’s lot of mess.
maybe calling the insurance company and pretending you are me,
because i just get so sick and tired of it all:
please stay on hold for the next available representative
{but I will take you up on those dishes. and the laundry}
in all seriousness, i had a reader {hi april!} ask what she could really do…
here’s the top 5 ways you can help a family dealing with autism:
1.) cold hard cash. rather than lighting it up blue for organization that pays their executives big bucks, go straight to a developmental center, and pay off some family’s exorbitant therapy bill. the average cost of therapy here in chicago is $140-$175 an hour. no joke.
{if you are in school and want to be a special ed teacher, go to school and be an OT or ST. it pays handsomely in comparison to the $20/hr I made with a master’s degree teaching. granted, i’m sure they only get a portion of that charge, but still!}
{if you are in school and want to be a special ed teacher, go to school and be an OT or ST. it pays handsomely in comparison to the $20/hr I made with a master’s degree teaching. granted, i’m sure they only get a portion of that charge, but still!}
2.) face-time. just showing up and being there for that family is half the battle.
3.) mind your p’s and q’s. never-ever under any circumstance speak of the child with autism like they are not there. my son may not speak in full sentences, but he is not stupid. if you have concerns, address them to the parent without the kid present.
4.) offer to babysit for the parent/s having time-off from all things autism makes the family unit function better. parents, ideally, should have one night off a week.
5.) be an ear and a shoulder. it’s stressful. kids with autism also have many underlying medical issues. seizure disorders. mito dysfunction. chronic diarrhea.
so this april, rethink autism awareness. think autism action.
and stand up for a family you know with autism.
with 1 in 54 boys in america on the spectrum, {and rising}
we all know someone…
who could use a hand.
a therapy bill paid.
a biomedical treatment covered.
a meal.
or a load of laundry done.
a therapy bill paid.
a biomedical treatment covered.
a meal.
or a load of laundry done.
or really, just to be there.
truly, be there.
with love,
nicolette
Thank you for letting us know specifics. Very excited for your new site!
I wish I lived closer to you. I’m pretty poor so o don’t think I could help much with bills but I can definitely throw down with some dirty dishes. And my husband is THE BEST negotiator when it comes to insurance companies. I, on the other hand, suck and have zero balls when it comes to talking to them
gimme their number and I’ll have him call 
Thanks for being specific. All too often, people don’t know what to do or how to respond, so they just do nothing. We just need someone to tell us and point in the right direction. =)
Great ideas! I would love it if someone did any of those things for me:)
Such a great post…will help lots of people!!!!
Oh the babysitting thing is HUGE! I hope you get help! Also, I just read your disclaimer
Just being able to talk to someone who gives a crap is worth a fortune. Yup I don’t have any family who cares and then…lol…..they all think my kids are like Rain Main ffs.
Oh yea! I’m glad you posted this (As you can see, I’m catching up
)These are great ideas and thanks for being specific.
My nephew is now 19 and has Aspergers. When he was younger, heck even now, he is my special buddy. We have movie dates, cookie dates (he loves to bake cookies!), hang-out dates…pretty much any kind of date I can dream up! This frees my parents up to have a quiet day, afternoon or evening to themselves. B’s case is even more special as he has Fragile X as well. I totally get where you are coming from here, Nicolette. I guess our family is more unique than I thought. We all embraced my sister and my nephew and showered them with love, time and money, when necessary. Great post, I am just sorry it took me until today to find it! If you lived closer, I would be at your door now with love and time to swing (which I also love) and a casserole for dinner! Keep up the amazing work in speaking for those who can’t verbalize for themselves and please let me know more about your foundation. I would love to help out, maybe get an East Coast affiliate set up!