Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
I am proud of all of our children and I am always hesitant to single one out. In fact, in this post I will not identify the child I am speaking about. But one of our children was struggling in school last year quite significantly. While I would not say there are no struggles, it … Read More “Good News: School Turnaround” »
I have recently come across comments by people on the Autism Spectrum Disorder who find the labels “autism mom” and “autism dad” offensive. This rather surprised me. The idea is that autism belongs to the person who has ASD and not the parents. It is wrong for parents to take on this identity, as if … Read More “Should Parents Call Themselves Autism Moms and Dads?” »
Of all the roles that I have, the one I feel the most pressure for is that of a parent, especially a Christian parent. I want my children to grow up to be good and emotionally healthy adults. But I also want them to become followers of Jesus. The scary part of being a Christian … Read More “What to Do When Your Child Says They No Longer Believe” »
I have been engaged in a number of roles throughout my life. I have been a pastor, teacher, chaplain, salesperson, warehouse worker, painter and numerous other things. But there is one job that I have had that is the hardest. Being a dad. You might think that I say this because I have children with … Read More “The Hardest Job I Have Ever Had” »
It is common for parents to share their wisdom with each other. Experience provides little tips that we can share with others. This is completely natural and a good thing. But be careful with the advice that you give to parents of children with autism. I recently was talking to an autism mom whose child … Read More “Be Careful With the Advice You Give Autism Parents” »
One of the fears of many Christian parents is that their children, who they raise in the church, will end up walking away from the faith. Statistics show that many of the teens who are active in youth group disappear during the college years. This is something that neither parents nor the church can ignore. … Read More “stickyfaith” »
While we often hear about the people with autism who are the mild end of the spectrum, there are people who are on the more severe end. This video is a good picture of what it is like to have children on the severe end. These two boys are very much like my own two … Read More “Coping With Autism and Puberty” »
I won’t deny that there are difficulties that go along with being the parents of children with autism. We have had quite a few crisis moments over the years. The fact that both our children now live in a group home tells you that it is not easy. Sometimes we only hear the hard stories. … Read More “The Other Side of Being an Autism Dad” »
There has been a new research study that has looked into the potential relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. You can find the research findings in this article from the Journal of the American Medical Association. You can find a news report on it here. Not surprisingly, they found that there was no link … Read More “Autism-Vaccine Research and Why It Won’t Matter” »
I am angry and I will tell you why. Let me give you the back story first. Our two oldest children (14 and 12) both have severe autism. Both of them also live in groups homes, although separate ones. That is about to change. The agency that oversees them arranged for both our son and … Read More “Family Ties” »
As a parent of special needs children, I try to stay positive. I look at the bright side. I rejoice in the little victories. I celebrate those moments when everything works. All of that is true but special needs parenting is still very difficult. Our two children with autism live in group homes. While that … Read More “Silver Linings Have Clouds” »
Being a pastor is a high calling. It can be both an enjoyable and fulfilling career. One of the challenges of being a pastor is that there are many bosses, whether official or not. A congregation can make a pastor’s time good or bad based on how they feel the pastor is doing. The pastor … Read More “Pastors, Families and Priorities” »
A number of years ago, there was a big rush of families in the West adopting children from Eastern Europe. Since their orphanages were full, it seemed like a great idea for everyone. However, as the children began to get older it was obvious that something was wrong. Many of them had a form of … Read More “The Connected Child” »
So it is good news time again. Good news. That means I am supposed to share some good news. Even though it has been a rough, rough week. Let me share what I have been thinking and then tie it into good news. I am a dad. I have become a dad five times, two … Read More “Being a Dad” »
Autism has been a part of my life for about thirteen years. As an autism dad, my experience has  been similar but different from that of my wife. I would never want to impose my experience on other autism dads but there may be areas of overlap. This is my story. The journey begins with … Read More “Confessions of an Autism Dad” »
My good news for this week is about Amanda being away in Cuba for four days. The good news is for Amanda. She really needed this and I am glad she went. We are not exactly rolling in the money right now but this was a quality investment. We cannot be there for our children … Read More “The Sound of One Hand Clapping” »
This is blog post that original appeared on the SGM Radio blog. When I got married, one of the things that I was really looking forward to was becoming a dad. I was excited about the idea of playing with my kids, teaching them things and being with them through the milestones of life. When … Read More “Autism Dad” »
I have shared many times about our two children with autism. It has been a struggle dealing with all of the things that go along with autism. But that is not what I am talking about here. What you may not know is that our three youngest children were born addicted to crack. Their birth … Read More “When Children Look Normal” »
One of the most difficult days in when a parent receives the diagnosis of autism for their child. I still remember the doctor walking into the room with a box of tissues. I had no idea what autism was but I knew we were in for a long journey. I found this open letter to … Read More “Dear New Autism Parent” »
Father’s Day always has mixed emotions for me. It makes me sad because I miss my dad a lot. It makes me think about all the times that I gave him Old Spice for Father’s Day, even though there was no way he could use all of that in a year. In fact, I don’t … Read More “Happy Father’s Day” »
