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A Candid Conversation...Aging & Autism
A candid conversation between two moms of adult son's diagnosed with severe autism. Join them as they question the next leg of the...
johannec189
Apr 14, 20221 min read


Autism Awareness Month
Two moms who raised sons on the autism spectrum share their personal and sometimes heart-wrenching stories about challenges, courage and...
johannec189
Apr 2, 20221 min read


Birdhouse Tilt
The birdhouse my dad built many years ago took a beating over the last New England winter season of high winds and snow storms. This old...
johannec189
Mar 31, 20221 min read


Irish Dancing Shoes
I was leaving work last Friday chatting with a teacher, when another coworker stopped by to wish us a good weekend; quickly followed by a...
johannec189
Mar 23, 20221 min read


Happy 29th!
As March comes to a close, my son will celebrate his birthday and enter the last year of his twenties; marking the end of another decade....
johannec189
Mar 20, 20221 min read


The Luck of the Irish
I looked at these photos with awe and amazement. John Leddy, my great grandfather, dragging a horse drawn plow across the field while...
johannec189
Mar 14, 20221 min read


Story & Sound
This morning I was compelled to listen to the sounds of one of my favorite songwriters. I searched the internet for the video I had...
johannec189
Feb 19, 20221 min read


A Different Kind of Valentine
I spotted the box by my side door. I didn’t order anything; what could this be? I thought. The return address was New Jersey. I knew in...
johannec189
Feb 12, 20222 min read


Over the Moon
The annual celebration of Valentine’s Day will soon be upon us. Images of hearts, cupids and candy imprinted with words of devotion...
johannec189
Feb 3, 20222 min read


Perception, Symbolism, & Autism
My son received a doll as a Christmas gift this holiday. As he pulled the paper off the box, he began to turn it into an upright...
johannec189
Dec 31, 20212 min read


Reflections, Stardust & Possibilities
Many I’ve talked to end the year 2021 exhausted. Time seems to have flown by and yet we still feel like we’re all treading water; stuck...
johannec189
Dec 26, 20212 min read


Giving, Receiving & Acceptance
With the holidays quickly approaching, I took a moment to reflect on all that has happened since 2020. Our world had been knocked out of...
johannec189
Dec 1, 20212 min read


Aging, Autism & the Autumn of Life
Autumn brings the brilliant color turning of the leaves and a cornucopia of harvest. It’s a time to slow down and prepare for longer,...
johannec189
Oct 20, 20212 min read


The Lost Phone
My whole life was in that phone. I panicked. My son was supposed to come home the following day and now I had no communication, cut off...
johannec189
Aug 24, 20213 min read


Transitions
As we move through these last days of summer, I think of all those special needs students who will soon venture out into another school...
johannec189
Aug 22, 20211 min read


What Do You See?
I sat in my garden with a couple of friends surrounded by flowers, a birdfeeder and an arbor covered with years of wisteria that had...
johannec189
Aug 12, 20212 min read


New Vibrations
In 1964 I was nine years old. The Beatles had landed in America and we all watched history in the making as “I Want to Hold Your Hand”...
johannec189
Jul 28, 20212 min read


Generations
Sixty-six years ago, my mother gave birth to six and a half pounds of me. I thought about my mother, her mother, those who came before...
johannec189
Jul 15, 20211 min read


Words...
Fifty-five percent of all communication is nonverbal, words comprise only seven percent of the whole. Yet words are powerful. They are...
johannec189
Jun 25, 20211 min read


The Music Lesson
It was the summer of 2016. I had just returned home from a James Taylor concert held in Portland Maine. A friend had invited me to go on...
johannec189
May 31, 20212 min read
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