Family
Autism: My 20 Years of Learning and Love
This is part two of a larger story. You can find Part One here. THE ADULT YEARS As Lesleigh moved into adulthood, we, her dad and I, had to transition with her. Once she turned 18, all of the supports for disabled children ended and she needed to transition to the adult support and related programs offered. The other thing that became necessary was getting her set up for the provincial support program that provided a small guaranteed income for people with severe disabilities. The application process was fairly straightforward for these supports and after a quick review and an interview she was approved for supports at the maximum allowable amount. A bank account was opened for her, with her dad acting as her support for managing the funds properly. We also needed to establish formal guardianship for day-to-day decision making, and trusteeship to cover any and all financial decisions. This process was far more involved that applying for the income support but with the documentation from her psychologist verifying that she had a cognitive disability and my connections with the right people in government, we filed the papers successfully. The entire process took approximately six months to conclude but when the dust had settled James and I were joint guardians and trustees for Lesleigh. As she was also now legally an adult, the persons with developmental disabilities programs connected us with an agency whose focus was offering meaningful activities and programing for cognitively disabled adults.
By Julie Buchy4 years ago in Confessions
The Heartbreaking Truth I Learned About Marriage
I grew up as an only child, so finding ways to entertain myself is not new to me. I enjoy my own company and love pursuing creative endeavors like baking, painting, writing, reading, jewelry-making, and other crafty projects. But I've laughed the hardest with other people. Spending time with the right people around me feels more exhilarating than the quiet pleasure that comes with being on my own.
By Kyra Bussanich4 years ago in Confessions
I've Learned The Horrible and Ugly Truth About What's It Like To Be A Stepparent
Nobody tells you the horrible and ugly truth about what it takes to be a good stepparent. It takes a lot of resilience and grit to make the relationship work. I would know because I am a stepmother.
By Oberon Von Phillipsdorf4 years ago in Confessions
The Key
My depression is keeping me up. More and more I can feel myself fading into the void of the abyss. I'm trying to hold it together but I only begin to fall apart worse as time goes on. I don't understand why my body is doing these things to me. To be so young and to have so much damage. It simply makes no sense. Is it a compound of all the physical trauma I have ever been through? Like just the most giant pile of crap anyone has ever seen? F*ck...... maybe that is the key. The key for the Drs to help me. I remember constantly going to Doctors as they wildly tried to figure out why I was in so much pain, but they never could. Maybe I have just cracked the code. It's all the years of abuse and neglect. When I was just a mere pre-teen, my doctors would question me rigorously to see if I was on illegal substances but that was never the case, obviously. It was the abuse.
By Beth Braden4 years ago in Confessions
I Saw My Daughter Act Like a Mean Girl and it Broke My Heart.
Until recently, I believed I could teach my kids compassion and empathy simply by leading by example. I have been working within the homeless community since they were very young and they have often accompanied me to different events serving our underserved communities. Naively, I thought this compassion would trickle down to their interactions with their peer group, too. However yesterday, I witnessed my daughter act like a mean girl and it broke my heart.
By Lena_Ann4 years ago in Confessions
The Right Wing In This Country Is My Family Write Large
I really, really did not want to write about politics on here. This is supposed to be a place for me to write about my family of origin, all the fucked up shit they did to me (and each other) in some sort of effort to understand myself.
By Mytoxic Family4 years ago in Confessions
