Keep calm…Benny on! Special needs parenting is hard. I thought I would mention that just in case no one already knew this just by observing the brightly lit chaos surrounding our everyday life. Most people that venture into our home, and notice the ever ready on-demand coffee made, acknowledge immediately that, indeed, we, the Benny people, depend heavily on the brew made from beans. Keeping calm…Benny-ing on is harder than it looks. I realized on one especially exhausting day that we could not keep going without getting Benny on some kind of calming meds. Something to slow him down in his over...
Who is Blaze? Blaze is a horse Benny met a while back on a therapy exercise. The following is a story I wrote as through Benny’s eyes and heart about this harmonious experience on top a horse! Although Benny’s face is turned away in the picture, I love the expressions on everyone else’s faces! Benny was so wild and boisterously laughing that he had us all laughing with him. This is the way of special needs children. This ability to make others happy is a part of their beautiful life! My name is Benjamin, but everyone calls me Benny. “Come,...
The picture above is of our Benny’s signature shiver. (Also, note the amazing crop of hair! 🙂 ) He does this shiver in anticipation of just about everything in life. It has caused me to acquire ants in my pants and to jump up and down on the inside with pent up energy when I am trying to move on with my day, and he takes his good old time to shiver. Shame on me. Every single time he gets a glass of milk he shivers. Whenever he glimpses a tube feed coming; shiver. Oh boy, a bath; biggest shiver...
How do you know what Benny Boy wants/needs? People often notice us communicating with Benny, and fetching something for him, or nodding our head yes or no, yet he didn’t speak a word. “How do you know what he wants?” I’m often left a little blank, and I stop and think, how DO I know what he needs? He tells me so many things right in front of people that it’s sometimes downright hilarious! First off, we have taught him a little sign language. We teach him a sign the correct way. He shivers and shakes in anticipation when he sees...
Angel Eye Benny He’s my Bubby. He has angel eyes that sparkle and shine. When his verbal skills to form actual words are not a part of his life, his eyes tell me many stories. He says exactly one entire word verbally. It’s MOM! It makes me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy. Every morning when his amazing daddy gives him a bath, he asks right away, “Mom?” This kid melts me! Back to the angel eyes and the tales they tell. I can read these eyes like they are a part of my soul. My God intended...
