Laughed when I read this......

http://www.laurashumaker.com/why-autism-moms-act-the-way-we-do/ I hope this is okay for posting- I look forward to reading more of this mom of autism's columns- especially as she has an older son- I always wonder as these boys get older, do they outgrow certain behaviors, do they get more magnified, just a lot of wondering. But this made me laugh on this Monday morning.. so I thought I would share.... and it is all so true! Thanks Laura for giving us mom's who can relate a good chuckle! ************************************************ Why autism moms act the way they do July 28, 2013 · by Laura · 2 Comments I have changed since becoming an autism mom. I used to worry about how I changed and wondered it I’d ever be my “old self” again. I am not worried anymore. I’m grateful to Matthew for helping become the person I am today. What about you? The following is the third in my summer series: *** Why autism moms act the way they do I ran into a friend at the dog park this morning and she asked me if I was “OK”. “When I saw you last week, you looked like you were on the verge of tears.” What was going on that day? Oh yeah… In the spirit of Chantal Sicile-Kira’s terrific article Why do children and adults with autism act the way they do? inPsychology Today, I thought it might be helpful to to write an explanation of another mysterious cast of characters in the autism community: Autism mothers. Autism mom (me) holding it together--for now Autism mom (me)holding it together but about to snap Why to we act the way we do? Here are just some behaviors you may see in moms like me and what they could mean: 1) We cry spontaneously for what appear to be weird reasons. Our specialty is crying in public and at IEP meetings, and let me tell you, it is not pretty. Cashier at 7/11: “May I help you?” Autism Mom: sniff, sniff, sob…”I’m not sure.Thank you for asking. I’m just feeling emotional right now.” Why do we behave this way? We aren’t sleeping Our already busy and emotionally intense days are punctuated with phone calls that catch us off guard and hurt our feelings. Our child does something amazing or really funny, we tell a friend and it is clear they don’t get why it’s such a big deal. We hold it together until the nice cashier at 7/11 say’s “May I help you?” 2) We join a book club. We think it’s a good idea to do something intellectually and socially stimulating,and then we never show up. Why? Evenings are hard. Our kids need us. We are drained. We did not read the book and worry that we’ll say stupid things just to sound smart. We are nervous about hosting book club at our house. 3) We are socially awkward. We didn’t used to be, but now we blurt out bold statements like “Hysterectomy? I had mine vaginally. What about you?” (or worse “has your wife had one yet? “) Why do we behave this way? We are immersed in the world of quirky kids. We’re out of practice. We’re tired We feel so lucky to be invited places that we are manic. 4) We bristle when well meaning people say “You’re a saint” or “Bless your heart” or”at least the other two are normal” or …grrrr, someone real said this to me “At least you don’t have cancer.” WHY? Because we love and admire our children so much. We would rather be considered good moms than saints. *** Can you share some more autism mom characteristics? xo Laura