High-Functioning Autism can be a challenge in a lot of ways, but none so much as ridigity. The decision to support a cause or idea, beyond what would seem normal is familiar territory for parents of those with autism. Kids can be downright unreasonable. This is especially true of kids on the autism spectrum.

It is not easy being a new mother, but it is also not easy to be a newborn baby. There is much more to learn about newborn babies than is typically discussed in doctors’ offices or hospitals. Even books about newborns often don’t provide enough information about some of the complexities of newborn care, such as colic and acid reflux, even though these are quite common problems.

Not I'm not complaining. Exactly. It's just that when our 23-year-old came home to have surgery done and then planned get back into the groove of his chosen profession (designing and producing video games), we figured, "Great! We'll have our beloved son with us to take care of and then he'll get the hell out again! Except.

We've all seen the toddler throw a temper tantrum when it was time to leave the playground.  Mom picks her up and struggles to the car with this unhappy toddler.  We've seen the elementary age child attempt to negotiate 5, 10, 15 more minutes. I tried something to help curb this and amazingly it worked for both of these age groups, including preschoolers.  The technology of cell phones aided me in this feat. 

Recently, I have given in to the fact that I'm a geek. I have fought it for many years, but I can no longer hide it. I have worked in technology for the past 10 years as a web/software developer. For years I have made fun of my male co-workers for going to movie premiers at midnight, opening night (I'm talking Star Wars, X-Files, etc). For going home and playing World of Warcraft or XBox for hours at a time. But it's time for me to admit my geekness, and be proud of who I am.

When a little girl grows up, no one prepares her for how many times her identity may change.  There's the obvious one: becoming someone's wife.  I call it “obvious” because of the name change possibility.  Most people correlate changing your name with changing your identity.  Some women think they can maintain their identity by maintaining their maiden name but that's not the case.  Whether you decide to take your spouse's name or not, your identity still changes.  If your identity changes when you get married, then it also changes if you get divorced. I believe the biggest identity change a woman goes through is the one when they become a Mother because from that day forward, their life is forever changed.