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50th Birthday Acceptance Across An Aqueous Moon: Travels in Autism Adoption Advocacy Anger Anxiety Art Authenticity Autism Behavioral Issues Change Creativity Dating Divorce Expectations Family Fear Finishing Line Press Gratitude Holidays IEPs Letting Go Memoir Milestones Open Mind School Parenting Poet Laureate Poetry Rapid Prompting Method RPM Sensory Integration Shame Single Parent Social skills Soma RPM Special Education Special Needs Speech Delay Story The Blank Canvas Blog Hop Transitions Truth Unplanned Life Writing Life
Author Archives: Cynthia J. Patton
Poetry Manuscript Accepted for Publication
I am thrilled to announce that my chapbook manuscript, entitled Across An Aqueous Moon: Travels in Autism, has been accepted for publication! After a long, hot summer filled with plenty of rejections, Finishing Line Press sent me an email last … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life, News, Publications
Tagged Autism, Creativity, Gratitude, Manuscript, Memoir, Milestones, Poetry, Unplanned Life, Writing Life
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A Sensory Dilemma
My daughter’s sensory system is amiss. Or rather, it’s more amiss than usual. Let me explain. Due to her sensory integration issues, on any given day, Katie requires a tremendous amount of vestibular and proprioceptive input in order to regulate … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Alameda County Fair, Amusement Parks, Autism, Beach Boardwalk, Change, Discovery Kingdom, Marine World, Occupational Therapy, Proprioceptive Input, Santa Cruz, Sensory Integration, Sensory Needs, Six Flags, Special Needs, Swing, Tilt-a-Whirl, Unplanned Life, Vestibular Input
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Embracing Fire
I’ve written before that I’m an Aries, which is a fire sign, born in the Year of the Dragon (more fire). I’m also a rare INTJ in Meyers-Briggs terminology, which Newstrology converts to a dragon (still more fire). Could the … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, My Life
Tagged Acceptance, Aries, Authenticity, Aveda, Creativity, Energy, Fire, Meyers-Briggs, Newstrology, Passion, Power, pure-fume, Shame, Transformation, Unplanned Life, Writing Life
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Story Selected for Multi-Media Collaboration at the Museum of Motherhood
I am excited to announce that my piece, Waiting for Words, has been selected by Marjorie Tesser, Editor of The Mom Egg Review, as part of a new ekphrastic project called M.A.M.A. (mothers are making art). M.A.M.A. is a collaboration … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life, News, Publications
Tagged Art, Autism, M.A.M.A., MAMA, Memoir, Speech Delay, The Mom Egg Review, The Museum of Motherhood, The Procreate Project, Unplanned Life, Writing Life
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A Skirt Fit For a Princess
It’s October already and that means my brother Tom is getting married this weekend. And by married, I mean re-married. But as far as me, my mother, and two sisters are concerned, that detail is irrelevant. The race to find … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Autism, Divorce, Family, Marriage, Milestones, Practical, Practicality, Satin Skirt, Unplanned Life, Wedding
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Contemplating the Future
There are things that parents of children with autism simply have to accept–whether they like it or not. Some things are easier to tolerate than others. For example, my daughter will never pepper me with annoying, incessant questions, talk too … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Acceptance, Autism, Letting Go, Milestones, Sensory Integration, Special Education, Speech Delay, Transitions, Unplanned Life
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A Passion for Pluto
When I was in school, I learned that our solar system consisted of nine planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Venus was fiery hot; Mars the most similar to Earth. Jupiter had a bunch of … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Autism, Icy Body, Isolation, Jupiter, Labels, Loneliness, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, New Things, Outsider, Planet, Pluto, Saturn, Solar System, Underdog, Unplanned Life, Uranus, Venus
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The Perils of Puberty
I can’t ignore it any longer. My eleven-year-old daughter Katie has entered puberty. My sweet, helpful little girl has been replaced with a crabby, mercurial pre-teen who litters the floor with discarded possessions, eats nonstop, snaps at me, argues about … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Autism, Autism A to Z, Behavioral Issues, Change, Parenting, Puberty, Sensory Integration, Special Needs, Transitions, Unplanned Life
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Hello Middle School–An Update
My daughter Katie has been in middle school a little over a week. I am happy to report that despite my initial fears, things appear to be working out. She had a great first day. A great first week, in … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Advocacy, Annie Sullivan, Anxiety, Autism, Behavioral Issues, Change, Expectations, Fear, Gratitude, Middle School, Social skills, Special Education, Speech Delay, Transitions, Unplanned Life
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A Slippery Legal Slope
A California lawsuit is working its way through the Santa Clara County court system that left me pretty much speechless when I learned of it. Two families are suing a third, claiming their autistic son is a public nuisance. At … Continue reading →