I decided to start this blog as a kind of online journal about my thoughts, feelings, and experiences as I journey down the path of raising a child with Autism. Zoey was diagnosed with Autism (High Functioning) in May and there have been several times that I have felt like writing about different things we have encountered, but I didn't really feel like our family blog was the right place to do that. I want our family blog to be about the fun adventures we have, and while I'm sure many of the Autism related adventures we have with Zoey will be fun, I also realize that many of them will be stressful and frustrating and I will need a place to vent. I am a very private person in terms of reaching out to people when I am going through a hard time or just need to talk, and writing is my way of staying sane and getting those thoughts and feelings out.
If you are new to the story of Zoey, you can check out my post on our family blog about her diagnosis.
In terms of the title for this blog, I was trying to come up with something to highlight the thought process Scott and I have adopted regarding Zoey's Autism. As noted in my blog post about her diagnosis, we are viewing Zoey's diagnosis as her super power - hence Super Zoey. I gave myself the title of Ordinary Mom for a couple of reasons: 1) I do not have Zoey's super powers and will never know what it's like to be her, 2) As a psychologist, it seems that people think that I know how to help Zoey, but the fact of the matter is, I have no freaking clue what I'm doing. I am just an ordinary mom, and 3) I was told the other day at Zoey's IEP meeting that I was "the best mom ever". While that did make me happy to hear someone say that, it also made me think about the judgements (good and bad) that we put on parents. I'm trying really hard to ignore those judgements, set my own standards and focus on meeting those standards. So again, I'm just an ordinary mom.
As you read my posts here, please feel free to leave comments. I just ask that you respect my viewpoints and keep your comments positive.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Kristen. You do such a great job of putting expressing your feelings in writing. I feel that this will be very helpful for other parents of children with autism. Remember I am here for you if you ever want to talk, vent, cry , brag, or whatever!
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