hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

It may seem odd to choose that word to describe this past week, but it has several meanings for me. The fact that I have been piecing together eight of the ten blankets that I am behind in making for new (and some not so new, more like 1 1/2 already) babies is obviously the literal application of the word for this week. But those blankets and the thread that binds them together also hold illustrative value for me this week. The reason I am so far behind in making them is because the tapestry of our life ran into some huge snags and snarls around the time several of these new babies were greeting the world. All my energies, all my attention, all my everything was being poured into surviving the last two plus years. So pulling out the sewing machine was not even on the checklist. Autism has a not-so-funny way of doing that. Of pushing to the fore, even when things are going smoothly. It's like being left-handed, in that one always is. A lefty  can learn to do just about an...

Erin Clemens is a remarkable young woman whom I've gotten to know a little bit through an Autism support network as well as her blog . Erin found out she had Asperger's in her teenage years. According to her writing, she would have much preferred  to find out even younger. She had many of struggles growing up, but determination, learning to listen to her own body signals and feelings, and a supportive family have helped her find much success as well. In her writings, and I'm sure in person as well, she is frank and open about how becoming familiar with her Asperger's has contributed to her struggles and her triumphs. Erin is certainly a unique individual, but she is one of many who is leading a successful, fulfilling, though not quite challenge-free life as an adult on the Autism Spectrum. But then, do any of us really have a challenge-free life?  One of her biggest passions is to help educate others about Autism, and supporting those on the spectrum. ...