Featured | Imagine The End | Special Topics
6 Truths for Any Special Needs Parent
“What’s your advice for a new special-needs parent?” As a mother to an adult child with multiple disabilities, I get asked this often. It’s usually from a parent or caregiver struggling with a fresh diagnosis, or a compassionate friend (aka “first responder”)… Read More
Raising Future Adults: How the Role Changes for Autism Parents
On a recent visit to my parents, I offered to help drain a pot of noodles for lunch. “No,” my dad said. “You’ll burn yourself,” and shooed me away. I was 4 going on 46. Always. Some parents navigate the awkward transition… Read More
Autism and the #BLESSED Life
Autism. Diagnosis code 299.00 Our toddler could barely walk when his future ran out on him. The slippery slope from diagnosis to the dissolution of dreams is steep and cruel. Regardless how rare a child’s condition, the heart of every special-needs parent… Read More
Current Events | Social Life | Widen The Circle
Raising Kids Who Embrace Those Who are Different
“Mommy, what’s wrong with that kid?” Your child just blurted out an earnest question. . . in front of someone who appears to have a disability or simply looks different, somehow. Yikes. As a mother to a child with autism, my son… Read More
This Is My America (This Is Yours, Too)
My family is Korean-American, children of immigrants. We're what the media would call "devout, evangelical Christians." We have a son who is disabled, non-verbal with autism and ADHD. Especially living in the middle of hyper-excellent Silicon Valley, we're well-acquainted with feeling like “an… Read More
Special Needs Parent Stealth Bomber
There are helicopter parents, then there are Special Needs parent stealth bombers. How this Asian Special Needs Tiger Mama Bear (I know. That’s a lot of mixed metaphors) nearly became a weapon of mass destruction and ravaged a playground when her cub… Read More
“Who Me, a Special Needs Parent? I’m the Wrong Person for This Kid!”
My mother often laments how I am such a LOUD girl. When we’re on the phone, she typically asks me to turn down my volume. Or better yet, speak about a foot away from the mouthpiece. She’s perplexed how such a small… Read More