As we move deeper into May and move from Autism Awareness & Acceptance Month and into Mental Health Awareness Month, the transition feels different this year for families like ours. Especially for military families and neurodivergent households where the emotional load never really gets the opportunity to reset. April asked us to see autistic people […]
When Awareness Ends, Capacity Begins Read More »
When I returned to an office role this spring, we reached out to the daycare our youngest had attended for a full year before the pandemic disruptions, before essential academics became our rhythm. We hadn’t re-enrolled back then because he was aging out of the pull-up-friendly classrooms and wasn’t yet fully potty trained. But now,
The Childcare Exclusion Crisis No One Is Talking About Read More »
As Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month comes to a close, many communities proudly highlight their “sensory-friendly” events – spaces meant to welcome autistic children, neurodivergent families, and anyone who benefits from reduced sensory load. But too often, what’s advertised as sensory-friendly ends up looking like the scene so many families know too well: booming speakers,
When Sensory-friendly Isn’t Sensory-friendly: A Call for Better Community Planning Read More »
There’s a moment that almost every military family knows. The orders come in. The timeline collapses. And before you’ve had a single quiet moment to process what’s happening, the lists begin. Schools to research. Utilities to transfer. A house to pack. A child to prepare. A community to leave behind – again. And somewhere in
The Hidden Load: What Military Families Carry during PCS Read More »
My children don’t transition the way the checklist assumes they will. None of my three do. And if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance yours don’t either. The standard military transition timeline: Pack, move, in-process, enroll in school, settle in. This was designed around a version of family that doesn’t account for the child
When the Mission Moves But Your Child Doesn’t: Transition Through A Neurodivergent Lens Read More »
When “Wait and See” Means “Wait and Struggle”: What Military Families Need to Know About Learning Disability Detection As a military spouse and mother navigating the complexities of special needs in military life, I’ve learned that some of our biggest challenges come not from what TRICARE covers, but from the gaps families must navigate on
“He Said Dyslexia”: When Our Kids Name What We Haven’t Explained Yet My son usually tells me he went to “the office for reading.” It’s a phrase we’ve both come to accept – gentle, neutral, supportive. But one day, he said something different. “I went for dyslexia.” He said it like it was just another
“He Said Dyslexia”: When Our Kids Name What We Haven’t Explained Yet Read More »
Exposure vs. Timing: The Mental Load No One Talks About The Emotional and Mental Prep Caregivers Do Before Outings With Autistic and Neurodivergent Kids Caregivers live in a constant negotiation between what their child needs and what their own nervous system can realistically support. It’s not a simple matter of “just go” or “just stay
Exposure vs. Timing: The Mental Load No One Talks About Read More »
School starts back this week for many families, and if your house feels like it’s floating somewhere between “holiday mode” and “real life,” you’re not alone. Transitions are big for any family – but for neurodivergent kids and military households, they can feel like a full‑body experience. In our home, I had already started to
In Part 1, we talked about what makes “coming home” complex for military families. Now: how to support neurodivergent children when you get there. Holiday gatherings often come with unspoken scripts – how children “should” behave, how quickly gifts “should” be opened, how warmly relatives “should” be greeted. But for neurodivergent children, especially those growing
