I am a mother.  I have two beautiful little girls Lily & Maggie.  They are twins.  Fraternal.  9 years old. Lily is on the spectrum.  Maggie is not. Lily was diagnosed with autism early in her life.  As time went by she also showed signs of dyspraxia & childhood apraxia of speech was later diagnosed. After time she was also diagnosed with ADHD. Sensory Integration plays a key role in all of the words written above.  You could say that sensory integration dysfunction is the reasoning behind dyspraxia.  Without proper integration of the senses it is difficult to move through space & plan it out.  You could also say sensory integration is crucial to apraxia of speech.  Without proper body awareness and coordination speech movements cannot happen. You could say the same for ADHD. You could say the same for autism.

After the diagnosis I began reading & researching. Learning.  Because knowledge is power.  Then someone told me I should join a support group to meet others like me.  So I became Freebird Speaks.  I’ve been on these support groups for almost 4 years & I’ve met & learned a lot from other mothers & more importantly autistic adults who have helped me to understand my daughter in ways books can’t teach you.

I spend my time making my children happy. They are my world.  I homeschool them for the time being with a blend of Montessori/Speech inspired materials and we study common core too.  It’s been very rewarding.

I am a wife.  I’ve been married for almost 19 years now to my husband.  We used to work together in the film industry & I was his right hand.  Now that I am the mother to his children he works freelance.

I am me. I love writing, poetry, reading about the human mind & how it works & learning all there is to know about my children’s worlds.  That includes autism. I love helping people because it helps me. My special interests include Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and a love for educating and education.  I play piano, love Janis Joplin & wear cowboy boots.  I love music. I love coffee and painting. That’s all for now folks.

Freebird