The storms off the beaten path »
My path parenting and educating a special child is completely out of the mould, and the uncertainty about its results brings recurring fear and stress which I must fight to continue walking.
Mafe Maria: Personal stories by autism parent mentor, Maria Stultz
My path parenting and educating a special child is completely out of the mould, and the uncertainty about its results brings recurring fear and stress which I must fight to continue walking.
Prompting and helping Joaquin to self-explore his beliefs and responses. Thank you Option Dialogue. Thank you Brain Engineering.
Talking with Kiki about school, college, work, and the need he will feel some day to be free from his parents and pursue and independent life.
Inquiry on a nagging stressful thought helped me clarify my purpose as Joaquin’s mother, shifting my focus from future outcomes to the tools, beliefs, and values I offer him now.
Observations and fear as we started transitioning from four years of Son-Rise and my attuned “Eye of Mordor” towards life without a social development program.
Two weeks ago, Joaquin decided that he wants to be the chef of our home; he wants to make his own lunch, his own way. I decided to support his independence with some structure: Only one time a week, he can make his own “rogue” lunch. I make my own with him. I deal with […]
Just like a menstrual period, yet not exactly with the same frequency and predictability, I seem to experience cycles of contractive energy… They manifest primarily by a very strong need for space: physical and emotional. I find myself wanting to be alone, still, and silent. Mostly still and silent. Yet, mothering a four-year-old Sagittarius so […]
Breathe. Pause. Close your eyes. Slow down – moving, speaking, thinking. Forget time – Don’t look at the clock. Choose freedom. Say yes – to yourself. Suspend all judgments.
Understanding the force behind my choices—love or fear—allowed me to start breaking “the rules”, and that way get to the true core of our Son-Rise program.
There is this big fat fear I’ve had for a long time, that as I get older evolves in relationship to the people in my life, but the core of it is still there. And now that I find myself every day telling the Universe that I want to advance spiritually, that I’m trusting, listening, […]
At the core of this belief there is the very big and fat red itchy theory that I may have planted in Joaquin the subconscious idea that the world is not safe; that he is not welcome in my life. Sometimes I’ve thought that Joaquin may have experienced the conflict I had as a stay-at-home […]
I’m the mother of an autistic child, and that –far from a curse, has made my life more extraordinary and amazing than I was planning for. The more I stretch out of my old beliefs and comforts, the more my son stretches through his limitations to come into my world.
A memorable experience of guidance: Turning a challenging moment in Kiki's social development into an inspiring opportunity to climb our mountain with joy and enthusiasm.
Challenged and discouraged by Joaquin's resistance to eat the nourishing food I started making with SCD. Fearful that my actions would not result in the outcome I was working towards.
From the trenches of our Son-Rise bubble, here are the highlights shared with friends , family, and our Son-Rise community during July 2010, our 3rd month into the program.
What unhappiness looked like when life was difficult, when I was just beginning my journey as mother of a child with higher needs, and I felt trapped and uncomfortably stretched.
One month after discovering my son’s autism and the son-rise program, I’m starting to see the wonder of the process unfolding and how it’s meant to “cure” ME.
Active, challenging, demanding, draining, and clingy... So I have a high-needs child. It's time to accept it, embrace it, and change my perspective, so I can give him the attention he needs without killing myself in the process.
As soon as I saw her, she reminded me of my mom. She looked mature, yet youthful. I liked everything she said, her experience, her presence at my house, and the best sign of all: Joaquin seemed to be ok with her. He ate his dinner peacefully, even with a “stranger” at the table. Then […]
It’s been almost two weeks since I was given the names and numbers of five 12–year–old girls who live in the neighborhood and perhaps could babysit Joaquin. Despite a recent horrible day of depression and swearing that I will NOT have a second child, I haven’t called one of those girls yet. Joey asks me […]
A little over a year ago, when I was a free, childless, freelance web designer, I had plenty of time to do things like: Encrypt my style sheets so plagiarists wouldn’t have such an easy ride with my portfolio site Put and manage traps to find out when somebody downloaded my portfolio site with a […]
No. Not from the breast… Turns out, Joaquin stopped breastfeeding exactly at the year without any trauma. It happened in the most natural, gradual, perfect way I could’ve possibly planned, except, I didn’t have to plan it and execute it. It just happened, and all three of us involved (Joaquin, me, and my boobs) didn’t […]
One-year-old Joaquin cries and screams his way out of Mothers Morning Out and I feel betrayed and judged by his caregivers. One more puzzling experience that made a lot more sense with our discovery one year later.
You’ve heard them. You may even be one of them. Without a whole lot of whining you dare to vent a tiny little fact related to how challenging your life has become with your (now seven months old) little bundle of joy, and Super Mom smiles and replies: “But they [children] are worth it”. Personally, […]
Monsieur Mandarine has tagged me, and what a great prompt for a post. The original meme (started by Litlove) attempts to gather information on cultural differences regarding parenthood. So let’s begin with some introductory facts for those readers not familiar with me: I’m new in the parents club and probably still have that smell of […]
Web design is cool and all, but after several years of doing it, just like with any other job, my passion for some aspects of it has diminished a bit. I’m not sure that I can pull this off, but if I could, I would love, LOVE!, to become an illustrator, and to get back […]
Only three days after my mom left — and really just one day alone at home with Joaquin — I started to worry… How can I be new to this baby every day?… The question was twofold: How can I always be energetic to be there for my baby day after day?… and also, where […]
Soooo…. It’s been four weeks since Joaquin was born… Those of you who have had babies — specially moms — will probably understand that as much as I’ve wanted to write about my experiences, and share that christmas e-card template I promised, it is really hard to get much done between baby feedings… It takes […]
Our sweet baby Joaquin is finally here! In just a few days I’ve lived the worst and best moments of my life. There are so many stories I wanted to share, like what it felt like to be among the 25% of pregnant women who deliver via a c-section. Obviously I was not prepared for […]
I think I'm finally ready to have a baby, and want it.