Q&A with Katrina Moody Autism Blogger

May 13, 2012 Margalit Sturm Francus

“The kind of jump in development that our youngest, Logan, especially enjoyed after that major trip has encouraged us to break out of the trap of staying home too much.” [caption id="attachment_10240" align="aligncenter" width="640"] photo credit Katrina Moody[/caption]

Hello there. I’m Katrina Moody, and I’m wife and mother to some pretty incredible men as well as a family blogger. My husband and three boys all have the same rare disorder, which adds additional diagnoses of Autism, Epilepsy, Cerebral Palsy, and Vision Loss, among other things. Our home has always been an open environment as we have utilized techniques learned in “The Special Needs Child” by Stanley Greenspan. Our lives are one large circle waiting to be closed. Sights, sounds, experiences are all ways to help close one, create others. Each circle closed is another step forward in helping our children meet their potential.

Going out with three boys on the spectrum (not to mention seizures) is a difficult proposition. We’ve had to cancel plans at the last minute so many times that we aren’t invited to many events any longer.Our close circle of friends and family know by now that if we don’t show up it is nothing personal. We have a packing ritual to make sure we don’t forget anything important at home.We pack both daily and emergency medicines, diapers, wipes, changes of clothes, and just about every other thing we can think of.We were able, however, to make a magical trip to Florida last year to visit relatives andDisney, of course. It was an incredible experience for the entire family, with only a couple breakthrough seizures.We experienced, for the first time, an extraordinary closing and creating of multiple circles in development as the experiences helped to challenge our boys.The best part was the fact that the kids were able to deal (mostly) with the experience with few meltdowns and much excitement.The experience was so enjoyable for each boy in their own way so much so that we have already made plans to go back as a family, hopefully, next year. The kind of jump in development that our youngest, Logan, especially enjoyed after that major trip has encouraged and inspired us to break out of the trap of staying home too much and we are a lot more open to the idea of taking vacations than we’ve been in years. The boys are now actively planning our next adventure, and I can’t wait to see those family circles closing and forming all over again.

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