-
Suck It Up, Buttercup
Have you met my friend Adrienne? Not only is she smart, talented, beautiful, and a great mom, she’s also an amazing writer who was honored at this year’s BlogHer as a Voice of the Year. She’s also, very often, the voice in my head that keeps me from saying stupid shit out loud to people…
-
Parents of Disabled Children Giving Up on Illinois
By Bonnie Miller Rubin and Monique Garcia, Tribune reporters May 28, 2011 Chrisa Hickey, a northwest suburban mom whose 16-year-old son hears voices, has bought property in Wisconsin with an eye to the future. She wouldn’t leave Barrington for career, retirement or the more languid pace of small-town living. Her relocation plans are strictly a…
-
There Are Two Sides to Every Story
I’m on a bit of a rampage tonight about a fiction, short film that just wrapped filming on So Cal called “IEP.” The director, Jason Gilmore, lists the plot of the film on the film website this way: “IEP is a short film that tells the fictional story of Xavier, an 8-year-old African-American boy in…
-
The Backstory – Part Five
So Tim started his sixth therapeutic day school program at Metro Prep in Des Plaines. While we really liked the staff there, particularly Tim’s therapist and his one-on-one aide, Tim’s rages were getting more intense and more frequent. The school operated on a point system – get points for doing positive things, get points taken…
-
The Backstory – Part One
So I guess I should start from the beginning, right? Tom and I were married young, at 23. Not teenage-young, but a lot younger than most people get married these days. We had our oldest son right away, and after he was about a year old, we thought we’d like to have a second child.…
-
Welcome
Imagine it – a new baby, beautiful, bright, happy. What a good baby – sleeps at night, eats well, smiles and meets his milestones. Then – at year 2, still no words. Year 3 – rage – uncontrollable rage, for no obvious reason. Year 5 – fleeing from teachers, hiding under desks. Year 9 –…