P.E.A.C.E.

"Little people with BIG feelings don't need a piece of your mind.  They need your peace of mind."

Teaching Tolerance and Respect for Diversity

How silence can breed prejudice: A child development professor explains how and why to talk to kids about race by Brigitte Vittrup

Talking to our children about topics such as race, disability, and other differences can be uncomfortable.  It is, however, extremely important if we want to build a positive community and gift them with positive life skills.  This article by Brigitte Vittrup shares a few good ideas including sample script for responding to different situations such as a child's observation regarding the patrons at a restaurant and meeting an inter-racial couple for the first time.

“Actually, this is a Thai restaurant, so maybe some of them are from Thailand. It’s a different country than China, and they even speak a different language.”

“When you love someone, it doesn’t matter what color they are” or “Friends come in all colors. As long as they’re nice, they can be your friend.”

20 Things I Have Learned Since My Son Was Diagnosed With Autism

"A diagnosis is just a label" so some people say, it provides helpful information they explain.  It may be so for some, but when a label is put on our children, it strikes a note, sometimes a chord deep in our beings.  The label can be something simple such as tall or shy, or something closer to home like energetic or strong-willed.  When the preschool lead teacher told me that my daughter was precocious, I went home and cried because I could not make sense of the word in relation to my precious child and I wondered if I was doing something terribly wrong.

We do that, mothers, blame ourselves for just about everything.  When it comes to something deeper like a learning profile or a medical condition, the impact runs so deep and it is easy to feel very alone.  While this piece by Shawna Wingert does not provide a comprehensive view of what it feels like to be parents of children diagnosed with Autism, it does provide a sense of camaraderie and a little much needed chuckle for some.  

My favorite lines:

• 13. Being a student of my child has helped me learn more than any book, therapist, or website. Differences in brain function can be really hard to understand for the neurotypical momma. The more I pay attention to how my son thinks and responds, the more I begin to understand.
• 14. Autism makes my life weird sometimes. For example, I found myself in an aquarium store every single day last week. Every single day, for at least an hour a visit. It feels like a bizarre way to spend our time, but this is us, living our life well.

20 Things I Have Learned Since My Son Was Diagnosed With Autism by Shawna Wingert

Here's to living our life well!