It seems like a lifetime ago that I was a professional other than a Mom but the truth is that it’s only been a few months… I’ve been a member of the Mainstream Media (TV news), worked for a political party and a couple of not for profits. Now… I’m a mom. I’m a degree-less therapist.
My son is on the Autism Spectrum (High Functioning). He is the joy of my life and the one who makes me cry. I hate to say that I’m disappointed or angry. I love him. He makes me laugh too. But I worry about him. Will he be ok? Can he function on his own? What will happen to him when I’m not here anymore? Will I be able to leave him enough to support him.
I worry about his future. He shows real interest and talent for video production, directing and computer graphics so I’ll have to work with him on developing these skills. J is very smart! But, he isn’t focused. He lives in movie-land. Maybe he could be a director… Maybe an artist or graphics designer. I don’t know. He never answers when I ask what he wants to be when he grows up.
This is the story of my journey with J and my transition from the real world. I’m still opinionated– and, if you read on you will know what my opinions are.
* Update– I am now a professional Parent Advocate. It is an honor to help parents navigate the systems of care and learn about their rights, their choices.
Hfamom's Weblog 
I wonder of you would be kind enough to consider signing up at the 1001 Generous bloggers site (http://mencap.wordpress.com).
This is a fundraising site for the learning disability charity Mencap. Please take a look and let me know what you think. We have not been up for long, 29 links in place, only 972 to go to make up the 1001 links we need.
I picked out your blog via the wordpress homepage as you have posted recently. Please feel free to email me if you would like to know more or if you just wanted to check this is not spam!
Kind regards
David
david [at] theheads.co.uk
Dear Hfamom:
Because of your interest in autism and autism research, I wanted to let you know that Chevrolet is partnering with Autism Speaks to generate awareness and raise funds for autism research during April – Autism Awareness Month.
Chevy has created a Virtual Test Drive through the Autism Speaks website (http://www.chevrolet.com/autismspeaks/) that encourages visitors to take a tour of the new Chevy Malibu. For every person that completes a virtual test drive, Chevy will make a monetary contribution to Autism Speaks, with a maximum total contribution of $1 million.
If you think your readers might be interested in helping raise money for Autism Speaks, please feel free to let them know about this program. You can read more about it here.
Thanks so much for your help with this, and please let me know if you have any questions.
Gayle Weiswasser
Dear HFAMom:
Thanks so much for adding your personal and positive voice to the Autism community with your HFAMom blog. As the web director for ADDitude magazine, I visit your blog as often as I can and I’m always blown away the gritty, informative, and inspiring words I find there and in other ADD/LD/Autism blogs scattered across the web. Which is why ADDitude has recently launched its first-ever blog roll (http://www.additudemag.com/adhdblogs/2/index.html) – an online index of our very favorite ADD bloggers.
We’re delighted to include links to your blog in our blog roll (http://www.additudemag.com/adhdblogs/2/index.html) and we know that ADDitude readers will enjoy your real-world perspective as much as we do.
We also know you’re always looking for new information about parenting children with learning disabilities, so we’re inviting you to link to this exclusive sneak-preview article from our upcoming Summer Issue:
Bullied No More!
Help your child bridle the school bully with strategies used by 11-year-old author Shane Taylor to defeat his classroom nemesis.
http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/3537.html
We hope you agree that this article will be a great resource for your readers. And we also encourage you to turn them on to other expert information and free resources available on ADDitudeMag.com. We’ve got active discussion forums (http://www.additudemag.com/adhdforums/index.html), free Printables (http://www.additudemag.com/resources/printables.html), Expert Q&As (http://www.additudemag.com/resources/experts2.html), and nearly a decade worth of magazine articles (http://www.additudemag.com/additude/archives.html).
Thanks for your time and your great blog, we hope you’ll stay in touch as we both grow!
Best,
Anni Rodgers