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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
My Life as a Sweater
Last week I had one of those days where I felt like a failure. I was exhausted and depressed and totally overwhelmed. The day started out pretty well. Then around mid-morning a friend said that she didn’t know how I … Continue reading
Posted in Adoption, Autism, My Life
Tagged Abandonment, Acceptance, Adoption, Autism, Depression, Divorce, Open Adoption, Single Parent, Unplanned Life
8 Comments
Questions
I wrote last week that I have fallow periods in my writing life. I think the same is true with my daughter Katie. Sometimes she has fallow periods where nothing seems to be happening, and then BAM, she makes a … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Advocacy, Autism, Family, IEPs, Milestones, Speech Delay, Unplanned Life
4 Comments
Fallow Fields
I haven’t written anything for several weeks. Why? I’m not sure. Why do any of us lose momentum and stop doing something that we love, something we know in our heart of hearts is as essential as air? Perhaps one … Continue reading
A Shot of Kirsch and a Pot of Bubbling Cheese
One of my oldest friends recently gave me the recipe for her grandmother’s SPANISH enchiladas. She warned me they were not like “typical” enchiladas. I was stunned when I reviewed the recipe. No meat. Lots of olives and lard. No … Continue reading
Christmas Crafts, Part 3
Eventually it dawned on me that Michael purchased the North Pole buildings because I provided settings that brought them to life. Sure the hot tubbing elves were cute, but they’d be downright adorable when placed in the North Pole Woods, … Continue reading
Christmas Crafts, Part 2
It quickly became an obsession. Each winter Michael bought more North Pole buildings, triggering a town rezone. When he purchased the Glass Ornament Works and a gingerbread shop that blew smoke from its chimney, I built terraces designed to hide … Continue reading
Christmas Crafts, Part 1
Grandpa Jack collected Popsicle sticks the way most men collect baseball cards. There wasn’t a pipe cleaner or butter tub the man didn’t use. He wove potholders out of cloth loops and covered wire coat hangers with plastic braid. He … Continue reading
A Bitter Pill
Even now, more than five years after my daughter’s diagnosis, it’s a bitter pill to swallow. Why is autism still such a mystery? Why don’t we have more answers? Part of the problem is a lack of sufficient funding. In … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, Commentary, My Life
Tagged Autism, Crisis, Diagnosis, Media, Research Funding
2 Comments
Milestones
The other night, when I was putting my daughter to bed, she asked for the blue dolphin. I had no idea what Katie wanted, but her words were crystal clear, so I praised her as the speech therapists trained me … Continue reading
Thoughts on “Quiet Hands”
Despite what the New York Times and other critics say about memoir, I happen to love the genre—and not just because I write it myself. I love memoir because it grants me temporary access into someone else’s head. I learn … Continue reading →