Articles and Essays
My Husband And I Don’t Wear Wedding Rings
Am I really giving him ‘permission to cheat’?
Read the full piece on www.independent.co.uk
How you can help your child learn to get organized, without yelling
When emotions run high, we panic our kids, too.
Read the full piece on www.washingtonpost.com
I Discovered My Own Disability After My Child Was Diagnosed — & It Made Me a Better Parent
I love them now for who they are — not for who I try to force them to be.
Read the full piece on www.sheknows.com
How being rejected by my father a second time helped me heal
He told me horror stories about my biological mother, told me he wanted to do better.
Read the full piece on www.aljazeera.com
Finding the missing piece: What happens when adoptees become parents
The spectrum of the adoptee experience is vast, and the conversation often feels dominated by adoptive parents.
Read the full piece on www.washingtonpost.com
They rage, and I struggle to help: What it’s like parenting children with mental illness
And within this whirlwind of attachment, anxiety and guilt, there is my daughter.
Read the full piece on www.washingtonpost.com
Looking for signs that my child will be okay after a psychiatric hospitalization
As he heals, I see his friends and teachers begin to peek over the walls and through the cracks.
Read the full essay on www.washingtonpost.com
I’ve Kept My Binge Eating Secret For My Entire Life.
Here’s why I’m speaking out now.
Read the full essay on www.huffingtonpost.com
Something Magical Happened When My Autistic 10-Year-Old Started Listening To Eminem
“I don’t know if Eminem is autistic or not,” I tell him. “YouTube says lots of things.”
Read the full essay on www.huffingtonpost.com
Staying Home Without a Village Can Be Hardest on Parents of Kids With Special Needs, Here’s How to Help
During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents like myself find ourselves struggling even more. Here’s how our loved ones can help.
Read the full piece on www.parents.com
A Year into a Pandemic, This is What America’s Literary Scene Looks Like
Washington Writers’ Publishing House managed to launch an anthology in a year with no in-person events or editorial meetings.
Read the full piece on www.washingtoncitypaper.com
Food and COVID-19: Release Valve
When I make bread, I focus on the feel of the dough, the windowpane test for gluten elasticity, the delicate question of adding a pinch of flour.
Read the full piece on www.entropymag.org
The Pandemic Made My Husband a Better Dad
This year has been awful in so many ways, but I’ve never been more grateful for my husband and the father he’s become.
Read the full piece on www.sheknows.com
Battling My Daughter’s Anxiety, One Baking Project at a Time
Modeling perseverance and resilience, surviving failure, celebrating the process.
Read the full piece on www.kveller.com
Students with disabilities need accessible learning platforms.
As students start the 2020-21 academic year, we’re entering into a new normal — one with more digital learning than ever before. Schools must take steps now to ensure this new normal includes — at last — accessibility for all.
Read the full piece on www.richmond.com
How Going Virtual Has Opened Up the DC Literary and Storytelling Scenes
For some, it has made events and workshops more accessible.
Read the full piece on www.washingtoncitypaper.com
Stuck at Home, Families Find Themselves Drawn to Art
Here are the many ways local parents are enjoying at-home arts activities with their children.
Read the full piece on www.washingtoncitypaper.com
Forgiving myself as a mother, especially now
All three of my kids are watching documentaries, sprawled around the living room with individual screens and headphones.
Read the full piece on www.motherwell.com
Why Moving in With My Aging Parents Was the Best Thing for My Kids
“You’re moving in with your parents?” my friend asked. I laughed, and then cringed, at her incredulous tone. How to explain?
Read the full piece on www.sheknows.com
Taming Your Child’s Tantrums
How to stay calm when tempers are flaring.
Read the full piece on www.washingtonfamily.com
Inclusive Language Matters in Children’s Literature
Children’s authors can build bridges.
Read the full piece on www.thinkinclusive.com
Teaching Self-Advocacy for Students Early
It’s a long journey, and not always a smooth one. But nothing compares with watching your child successfully advocate for themselves, speak up, and soar.
Read the full piece on www.yourteenmag.com
Connecting With My Autistic Son: Paving Our Way Through Stories
We meet on this path and continue walking together. We will widen it as we go.
Read the full piece on www.yourteenmag.com
GarageBand Changed How My Autistic Son Interacts With The World.
Long gone are the days when I viewed technology as an opposing force that detracted from my child’s learning and growth.
Read the full piece on www.smartphones.gadgethacks.com
No I in team.
When our baby was born, my husband and I were panicked islands, but when our son received an autism diagnosis, we had to become a team.
Read the full piece on www.motherfigure.com
My kids began to thrive the minute I stopped scheduling them.
For us, life is so much more fun this way.
Read the full piece on www.todaysparent.com
Finding the Right College for a Student with ASD
For students on the autism spectrum, college can be a time of social anxiety and overwhelming choices.
Read the full piece on www.teenlife.com
Three Births
Because every birth is sacred and hard. However our babies arrive, we did it just right.
Read the full article on www.motherfigure.com
How ADHD, Anxiety, and Other Disorders can Mask Autism Spectrum Disorder
It’s a complicated path for parents, doctors, and educators, but even more so for our kids. In this article, we’ll examine some of the most common comorbid disorders and illnesses that impact our autistic children.
Read the full article on www.parentingpod.com
Students With Disabilities Deserve Inclusion. It’s Also the Best Way to Teach.
Students with disabilities face substantially increased rates of abuse and restraint in schools. As an education and disability advocate seeking to change that, I frequently encounter well-meaning arguments for separating higher-needs students from the general population.
Read the full article on www.edweek.org
I Love Parenting my Autistic Tween
It’s 5 AM, and my 11-year-old son is standing at my bedside, shaking me awake. He needs to tell me about something he learned in science class yesterday. Not related, but also very important, he wants to read me a section of the novel he is writing.
Read the full article on www.scarymommy.com
Restraining Students with Disabilities is Harmful
As an education and disability advocate, I work with many parents who have kids on the spectrum or who struggle with other disabilities that are not always visible. Many of these disabilities involve behaviors that are expressions of anxiety or depression but that present in confusing, easily-misinterpreted ways. For educators, and even doctors, this frequently leads to a behavior-driven response.
Read the full article on www.baltimoresun.com
How To Rekindle Love After Kids? Try Fresh Limes.
The green metal lime press was a luxurious wedding gift from my husband’s best man. I had never heard of such a thing before scrolling through the registry options. But I loved to bake and my fiancé’s favorite dessert was key lime pie. I’d create marital bliss in pastry form, a foundation of our relationship in the balance of sweet and sour.
Read the full article on motherwellmag.com
I Didn’t Think My Grumpy Dad Would Like Living With His Grandkids — Until I Saw Him Bond With My Autistic Son
When my husband and I first discussed moving into my parents’ home, my 71-year-old father was less than enthusiastic about the idea. My parents no longer needed (or were able to care for) such a large home. As they got older, I wanted to be able to cook for them and help around the house. My mother did not want to live in a retirement community, but my father wanted privacy and time to relax in his retirement — and my three kids have never been quiet, respectful of closed doors, or good at taking it easy.
Read the full article on www.firstforwomen.com
When Autism Isn’t Typical
“Your son is such a rude boy!”
The assistant principal at my son’s school spoke loudly, her voice piercing through the phone. I found out later that my five-year-old was hiding under her desk, punching himself in the forehead, melting down in pure terror.
Read the full article on parentingpod.com
An Open Letter To My Autistic Son’s Teacher
When we met, I was the angry, hovering mom you dreaded interacting with. Emails, phone calls, in-person meetings ― your lips tightened before forcing a smile. You knew moms like me and children like mine. When my son ran from the classroom, you’d roll your eyes. When he’d pace in the back of the room, you’d shush his muttering.
Read the full article on www.huffingtonpost.com
This is Inclusion
My son gets off the school bus into a crowd of students. Kids run in every direction, yelling and laughing, and he chirps nervously in response. His fingers do a quick stim—a fluttering motion in front of his mouth, as if he is playing an invisible trumpet. He takes a deep breath and wades into the stream of activity.
Read the full article on www.arlingtonmagazine.com