Early Intervention

Maybe it was the “Light it Up Blue” campaign shared by a friend that came across your Facebook feed. Maybe it was the teenaged boy on the swings at your local playground who vocalized so loudly as he seemed to climb perilously close to the sky. Maybe it was the girl in the movie theater […]

Take Care of Yourself

Every year during Autism Awareness Month I try to write about different themes, ranging from early diagnosis to adult life issues. It’s never a struggle to come up with topics (there’s always so much to write about), but one topic always finds its way into my writing, and it’s one dear to my heart. No […]

World Autism Awareness Day: A Call for Compassion

Twelve years ago this month the United Nations passed legislation to establish World Autism Awareness Day. Over the years each day has focused on a specific theme- one year it was “empowering women and girls with autism;” one year “inclusion and neurodiversity;” another year celebrating the ability within the disability of autism,” all important and […]

Keep an Open Mind

Fifteen years ago this fall an event occurred which forever altered the course of my life, and my son’s. I had taken my sixteen-month-old to see his pediatrician for a scrip for his recurring case of reflux. Instead I left with several badly mismatched copies of articles with the word “autism” in the title, and […]

Compassion at the Cinema

This past weekend I had the opportunity to take Justin to see the last of the “How to Train Your Dragon” movies at our local theater. This is a series we have both loved, as evidenced by the amount of times he has chosen to play the DVDs of the first two movies on his […]

March on Trenton

This morning I’m writing a “local piece” on a subject near and dear to my heart- school funding for the township of Brick and many other districts in the state under law A2/S2, passed in July. I’m writing about this not just as a concerned parent, but as a former educator as well. Due to […]

Autism New Jersey Transition Conference

This past Monday I had the good fortune to attend the Autism NJ Transition conference with a dear fellow autism-mom friend. I have to admit I wasn’t sure what to expect- would I be overwhelmed, or would most of the information be redundant since I’ve been watching a number of seminars from various organizations regarding […]

The Home Stretch

My severely autistic teenager is rocking out to Baby Einstein on his DVD player as I make the phone call that I’m hoping will make big changes to his life, and to his family’s. I’m put on hold for the briefest of moments to find out that my son has been accepted to summer camp, […]

What You’ll Take With You

Yesterday, you turned twelve. Officially, you are two-thirds of the way “cooked.” I’ve heard the last third goes by fast. Even my mom superpowers can’t slow down the passage of time. I want you to know I’m so proud of your unique soul. I’m proud of your accomplishments of course, but mostly exuberant that you […]

My Golden Years

I have a confession to make to all of you, although for those of you who know me, this won’t come as much of a surprise. I, Kimberlee McCafferty, am a planner. Perhaps I’ve given myself away over the years, as when I mentioned at Justin’s IEP meeting when he was seven that I really […]

National Council on Severe Autism

A couple of weeks ago while procrastinating from what I should have been doing and scrolling through Facebook I saw a post that immediately caught my interest. It was from the National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA) which I had never heard of, and the title read “Suffering in Silence: The Dark Side of Autism.” […]

Be Prepared

I am the mother to two wonderful autistic boys, whom I love to write about frequently. I will let all of you know that it has come to my youngest son’s attention that I have been writing much more about his severely autistic brother lately than him, and he is not amused. So in an […]

Taking a Chance

“He sounds like such a man,” my friend said after hearing some deep guttural stims over the phone as we caught up on each other’s lives and vented about our extra holiday pounds. “I know, he has the beginnings of a mustache” I replied, thinking happily that at least this would be my husband’s domain. […]

A Helping Hand

“Can I help you?” she said quietly, standing respectfully behind me as I tried to maneuver Justin off the ride at Great Adventure. I turned to make sure she was talking to me, saw her smile, and knew she was there to help. I was confident in another second or two I’d have him out […]

Resolution Evolution

It’s only January 3rd, and I’m already wavering on my “reduce chocolate” resolution. Maybe some things are for the best. Generally I am a person who takes New Year’s Resolutions seriously. The holiday reminds me of my teaching days, when the end of August usually found me setting up my classroom, excited about a clean […]

Dear Santa

Dear Santa, Yes, I realize I’m a fifty-something-year-old woman writing to Santa, but it can never hurt to throw out your wishes to the universe, so here goes. Hey, at this point when it comes to McCafferty clan happiness, I’ll try anything. So Santa, just to be clear, I don’t hold you responsible for anything […]

The Future

If you are just beginning your autism journey with your son or daughter, I imagine you are feeling at least a bit (understatement of the year) overwhelmed. Perhaps you’ve been able to secure that elusive appointment to get your child a proper diagnosis. Maybe you have passed through that gauntlet and are already lining up […]

Not Home for the Holidays

The holiday season is upon us, and as usual I try to take time (usually a few seconds at this time of year!) to reflect on how my two boys with autism are doing, and what steps I can take to make the holidays go more smoothly than in years past. My severely autistic boy […]

Go with Your Gut

It all started so slowly, so insidiously, I barely noticed. In late October of 2017, there was the repetitive movement of a slight bending of the head and neck of Justin, my severely autistic teenager. This followed with a twitch of the mouth here and there. Neither were a constant, but both occurred enough that […]

Grateful

Every year I try and write a “Thanksgiving post,” both in honor of a holiday I love and in an attempt to remind me of my annual New Year’s Resolution to think of three things I’m grateful for throughout each day. Most years I forget to do this by Martin Luther King Day. I will […]