The Spaghetti standard
When self is the hardest thing to define
Seventeen Candles, Quiet Joy
On February 8th, my son Sheamus turned 17. Seventeen feels like a tall number. It stands there, shoulders back, almost adult-sized, asking you to notice the years that carried you here. We kept it simple. We always do. The small party happened on Saturday, the day before his actual birthday. Just the circle that matters most. Me, Sheamus, and my mom, his grandma. No crowd noise, no pressure, no forced smiles. Just comfort, familiarity, and the kind of calm that lets an autistic teen actually ...
Seventeen Candles, Quiet Joy
On February 8th, my son Sheamus turned 17. Seventeen feels like a tall number. It stands there, shoulders back, almost adult-sized, asking you to notice the years that carried you here. We kept it simple. We always do. The small party happened on Saturday, the day before his actual birthday. Just the circle that matters most. Me, Sheamus, and my mom, his grandma. No crowd noise, no pressure, no forced smiles. Just comfort, familiarity, and the kind of calm that lets an autistic teen actually ...
Letting go, Leaning in
What my son taught me about growth
Teaching vs Placating
The quiet shift
The Shampoo Struggle
The Shampoo Struggle: Sensory Sensitivity and Sheamus’ Hair Care Journey When people think about raising an autistic child, they usually imagine school meetings, communication challenges, or finding the right therapies. Very few picture the battlefield that can be a simple bottle of shampoo. But in our house, hair care has always been serious business. Sheamus has intense sensory sensitivities. His world is experienced at full volume, and that includes smells, textures, and how things feel on...
The Shampoo Struggle
The Shampoo Struggle: Sensory Sensitivity and Sheamus’ Hair Care Journey When people think about raising an autistic child, they usually imagine school meetings, communication challenges, or finding the right therapies. Very few picture the battlefield that can be a simple bottle of shampoo. But in our house, hair care has always been serious business. Sheamus has intense sensory sensitivities. His world is experienced at full volume, and that includes smells, textures, and how things feel on...
