Now that my 9 year old son with Autism can read, he can do a lot of things with a simple checklist. This morning, I wrote down “the pancake recipe” to see how he’d do with zero help from me. He was able to do it totally by himself. In fact, when I’d look over to see how things were going, he’d say, “Mommy, stop watching me!” I wish I would have captured his proud smile! And I loved it when he went over to his sister and asked, “Would you like a pancake for breakfast?”
Making Pancakes:
1. Get out the big pan.
2. Put pan on stove.
3. Turn on stove to #7.
4. Get the big bowl.
5. Get out Bisquick.
6. 1 Cup Bisquick in bowl.
7. Put Bisquick away.
8. 1/2 Cup Milk in bowl.
9. Put Milk away.
10. 1 Egg in bowl.
11. Put eggs away.
12. Stir. Mix it all up.
13. Use 1/2 Cup to put pancake mix in pan.
14. Set timer for 2 minutes.
15. After beep, flip pancake with spatula.
16. Set time for 2 more minutes.
17. After beep, put pancakes on plate.
I'm a working parent with young adult daughter and son with Autism. I am an independent Product Management Consultant focused exclusively on helping companies who serve children with special needs.
I'm also passionate about my kids, as I would expect any parent to be. I bring my project management skills home and my crazy knowledge about managing schedules home and use them both to manage my family. More importantly, I use these skills from work to manage my son's Autism therapy program.
Over the years, I've wanted to volunteer more with the Autism community. My form of volunteering is mentoring parents of friends who have found themselves in the difficult position of raising a child who has Autism. I have moments where I wonder where we'd be if I wasn't a project manager by trade, especially as I help parents who are struggling as this is new territory for them.
I recently was helping a long time friend who was dating a man who had a child with Autism. As I shared my ideas with her and strategies for how to make life better for this child, she said, "You should write all of this great advice down."
This blog is about capturing those ideas. I also hope it inspires other parents out there to not only be the best parent they can be, but to do that while still pursuing the dreams they have for their careers. I believe you can do both.
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Organizing Dreen 