I was mad when Jill got out of jury duty just by saying that she was the mom of an autistic child.
For years I considered it simply my civic responsibility to try to get out doing jury duty, and especially so after I was called in August, 2001. Alex at that time was 3; he hadn’t started preschool, and at home he was a real handful when not going back and forth on his rocking horse. Sequestering wasn’t something I could handle as a parent right then; any relief I might have experienced while waited on in a hotel would’ve …read more

You know what I wish? I wish things were a little easier. I wish there were more tax exemptions and credits for special therapies and childcare. Our childcare costs are lower than they used to be, thanks to respite through our Medicaid Waiver, but they’re still higher than those for families with typically developing kids. Alex is almost 11 and can’t be left alone. Ever.
I wish those caring for a family member with an atypical situation were entitled to more paid leave. In a country where people without kids bitch about parental leave and co-workers who take time off to …read more

I don’t work outside the home, these days. Recently, there’s been some freelance work, luckily, but I don’t have to be anywhere. And given Alex’s schedule, I don’t see how I can. For a few years, he had an afterschool program that returned him home by bus at around 6:00, but that was only three days a week. This year, no after-school. He’s home at 4:30 every day. If there’s a job that would get me home in time to meet Alex’s bus (after meeting Ned’s bus at 3:30), I’d take it.
A lot of the mothers I know don’t work …read more