Play BlogHer Matchy-Matchy: Have You Met These Autism Bloggers?

I'm a little late to this party! I just started blogging in April, and I'm very interested in the discussion about finding humor in our situation.

My blog is meant to be (sometimes darkly) humorous. My goal was to create something like the typical funny mommy blog but for us special needs parents.

I think timing is everything...it may not be the first thing that you want to read right after your child gets diagnosed. But eventually I found that I really needed to laugh.

I'm going to check out the blogs above and hope you'll check out mine...let me know if you think it's right on or off-base.

http://www.autismarmymom.com

Hi Chick Hatchers -- I don't know how old your child is, but as time goes on, laughing at it rather than letting it drive you crazy does get easier. I would have never thought that when my son was younger though! Maybe it's a twisted sense of humor at times, but it's become easier to laugh and appreciate the oddity of it all over the years. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't ask for autism in any way, shape or form, and when I first started attending a parent group that was mandatory for a program my son was in, I went home the first night sure that everyone there was nuts. "Honey, they LAUGHED when I asked a question about little dude's potty issues. LAUGHED." As time went on, I realized they weren't laughing at us, but truly, with us, out of commiseration and "boy do I remember those days." That led to "here's what we did to help..." and the support that made all the difference during a rough time. When we exited the program two years later, we too were laughing and helping other parents let loose and take a breather. My son is now nine, and while he's grown out of a lot of the things that made life hard as a younger kid, we still face issues daily. There are times when I find other autism moms online just to detract from what I'm dealing with. Knowing others are out there who can relate is great, and I usually end up laughing. It doesn't always remove the stress, but even a small break can help.

http://autismspectrum.wordpress.com

Dee

This is a great list of helpful bloggers. Thanks!

(And about the Matchy-Matchy game score... I got 4750 at :36. I guess my coffee kicked in!)

Thank you for the links to some great bloggers, many of whom I read, but I am always so happy to find more members for our tribe!

So what IS a good score here... I keep playing because I love matchy matchy games :)

Jen

www.jennyalice.blogspot.com ( http://www.jennyalice.blogspot.com )

www.CanISitWithYou.org ( http://www.CanISitWithYou.org )

My first score was .50, I think. (My lowest was .42 - and yes I'm tempted to play it again so I can beat whoever has the best score... who does have the best score? Maybe @honeybeast)

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings ( http://www.flamingohouse.net/ )

I'm sorry you're so stressed. But there is hope - I didn't relocate my sense of humor on my own; I found it through participating in the wonderful online communities of parents who also get what our lives are like. The stress didn't go away, but my attitude towards it (and my parenting in general) did, because I can talk to so many amazing people about how I'm feeling, and get relief from realizing not only that other people understand, but that they've got solid advice from their own experience.

So, please do explore the other blogs in this list. I would also encourage anyone who's not on Twitter to join. If you're looking for cool people to follow, I can help you. I'm at twitter.com/shannonrosa.

Please also explore my BlogHer article from last year, on how the Internet can be your own magical happy place, o parents of kids with special needs (it includes a list of cool people on Twitter):

http://www.blogher.com/let-internets-soothe-and-su...

Reach out! We're here!

Shannon Des Roches Rosa
Squidalicious.com ( http://www.squidalicious.com ) parenting first, autism second
CanISitWithYou.org ( http://www.canisitwithyou.org )
real tales of schoolyard terror and triumph

Buy Shannon a lemon drop (or two) prior to challenging her to a game of Matchy-Matchy.

:-)

I love the links in the comments (Make sure y'all have a photo in your BlogHer.com profile so you can be included in a Matchy-Matchy some day.)

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings ( http://www.flamingohouse.net/ )

4200 1:12 post-lemon drop, is that bad? :)

What an excellent crew. Thanks to the BlogHer editors for putting this together! I can't wait to check out your other voices and blogs (and podcasts, even!).

Shannon Des Roches Rosa
Squidalicious.com ( http://www.squidalicious.com ) parenting first, autism second
CanISitWithYou.org ( http://www.canisitwithyou.org )
real tales of schoolyard terror and triumph

Woot! My score was 4700 in 0:50 (I dunno, is that good?)

Thanks for the linky-love and introducing me to some new bloggers, too!

@Chick Hatchers, yes, agreed, there is very much that can be stressful. My dark humor certainly helps me get through the tough times. That and the company of some awesome blogging company. And being able to vent to others who totally get it without me having to explain it is PRICELESS! It helps me appreciate the good stuff even more, too.

http://maternalinstincts.wordpress.com ( http://maternalinstincts.wordpress.com/ )

That was jsut silly and oh so much fun:)

Elise

http://asd2mom.blogspot.com

Hey Chick Hatchers :) Not sure how old your child is, but I can relate to your not finding things so funny - when Josh was little it was most definitely NOT funny. But, there will be moments that come up and all you can do is laugh... Josh ate the dog's Christmas treats this year... has started sticking his head in the toilet because it sounds cool in there...will walk around the house wearing nothing but a Pull-Up and a pair of my heels... I have to laugh, and you will too one of these days, just hang in there :)

http://planetjosh.squarespace.com

I have been following some of these great bloggers already, but it was so nice to visit more :). I write and blog about life with 4 girls, the oldest (15 yrs old) of whom has multiple disabilities, including severe, low functioning Autism. I blog at http://www.welcometomyplanet4.blogspot.com.

I started blogging at mychildsview.blogspot.com to share some of what it's like living with a child on the spectrum. There is certainly never a dull moment, but I have yet to be able to reaaly find any of it funny. It's just stressful.

My matchy-matchy score was4500 in 1:13!

Autism doesn't affect our life. As the mother of twins with autism - it is our life.
I'm blogging the days at http://livefromthewangofamerica.blogspot.com
Gidge

Oh, I love this! I have just started writing about autism and how it affects our lives as a family. My son is 15 already, but until just recently I didn't write or talk about it much! But, now....I have written and even did a podcast! Going to check out all of these bloggers, too!
Here's mine:
http://letsbegreentogether.blogspot.com/2010/04/au... ( http://letsbegreentogether.blogspot.com/2010/04/au... )