NSASA and Back to the Basics

I have been suffering with consistent lower back pain for weeks, and it has put the proverbial cramp in my style. I hobble like a fishwife (and in the above picture almost look like one) and I haven’t been able to work out due to the consistent pain. I feel very Stay Puft Marshmallow Man-esque, though not skyscraper size. Squishy, puffy and white. Bleah!

As I got my hair colored on Saturday by my fabulous colorist Annie, she looked at me in the mirror and said, “You know…your shoulders really are uneven.” I actually saw that my left shoulder was higher than my right. I decided that on Monday I will call my primary and try to get to see him and in the mean time, try to get an appointment with a chiropractor. I know there is a great one on the way to Nathan’s school, so I’ll see what I can finagle. Girlfriend has to be able to walk, and drive and yes, even exercise.

Nathan has been in a transitional phase, which he goes through every year. It’s the “I hate school” phase, which happens in September-October and reappears in May-June. He has a spelling test every Friday, which somehow managed to slip by me all year. He has been struggling with having to take the test, and in addition, has to write a sentence, not just the word. He’s had to be taken out of the room and administered the test separately.  There is pressure from many angles in that situation and his anxiety and anger is creeping in to other areas of our lives. Monday & Thursday writing assignments have gotten progressively harder. The move certainly exacerbated all of his current anxiety, coupled with my Chernobyl like stress, no wonder we’re both loose ends.

On a brighter note, he is enrolled in karate, which he LOVES. This is the first activity that he is gunning to go to every week. I took him on Monday and he was so FOCUSED when his sensei told him what to do. I mean, he still was jumping around like a caffeinated monkey, but that was due to excitement and not boredom. They get colored stripes on their belt each week, which shows what they worked on. He got a blue stripe which indicated self control. I was SO PROUD of him. He was darn sweaty when he was done and even went to bed early. I was pretty jazzed about that!

Another thing I’m jazzed about is:

NORTH SHORE AUTISM SUPPORT & ADVOCACY

Yes, I’ve been waiting for a good time to get this started, and well, I’ve decided that time is now. 🙂

This is my grass roots attempt to bring families and children who have ASD together; to share ideas, to commiserate, to talk about what works and what doesn’t, where you can start to get answers to some of your questions.

I’ll be posting a website and FB page this week, which will have more information for you. There will be meetings for families, for parents, parents night out, respite, social groups, etc. I hope that this will be beneficial to you and ask that you spread the word to folks you think that might benefit.

And to all you mothers out there, I don’t know if you saw this, but it is pretty powerful. I repost it here. Mothers have it tough, but mothers with children who are special needs have it just that much harder, yet we are resilient in some way we can’t explain. I applaud all of you who fight that fight every day. I am in awe of those who struggle so much harder than I do, and still have smiles on their faces. I congratulate all of your children who put so much effort into their regular routines and every fragment of success is a victory. I thank all of you who keep trying, who never give up, who as Sandra Bullock said, “who love your babies no matter where they come from.”  Or who they are, or what they have; they are part of your blood and your heart. Nothing can replace that fierce love and we have it in spades here. I am PROUD to be in the company of such ferociously passionate individuals. You are welcome here.

Amy Sheridan

Asperger Ninja