Parenting With Heart & Mind

Parenting With Heart & Mind Dive into our world as we share our unique journey through heart disease and autism.

Stingray touch tank success! The gentle glide, the smooth texture, and the cool water made it such a perfect sensory mom...
11/18/2025

Stingray touch tank success!
The gentle glide, the smooth texture, and the cool water made it such a perfect sensory moment.

The stingray went in for a HIGH FIVE✋!

The most handsome dinner date ✨⭐️We have always found it important to expose him to eating at restaurants and taking him...
11/14/2025

The most handsome dinner date ✨⭐️

We have always found it important to expose him to eating at restaurants and taking him out to the community. Even prior to being diagnosed with autism we knew this is a valuable skill to learn that many don’t even think about.

11/13/2025

Often times when we teach new skills to our autistic child it takes intense repetition. We do have a long way to go from parking lot independence but I am so happy we found this parking lot that is not very busy so that we could safely practice this incredibly important skill.

11/12/2025

Do you truly understand the life of a special needs parent?
The weight they carry every single day—yet they keep lifting, knowing there’s always more to come.

The schedule never ends. Our children are placed in every therapy imaginable, and we spend our lives teaching them how to live in a world that rarely pauses to understand their differences.

There’s speech therapy, ABA, occupational therapy, special education preschool, IEP meetings, provider check-ins, constant evaluations, pediatric visits, specialist appointments—where does it all fit in? It consumes everything, and still, we do it without hesitation, because love leaves no other choice.

If you have a special needs parent in your life, offer them companionship. They rarely stop to think about themselves. Sometimes a simple text can remind them they are more than a caregiver—they are still themselves.

11/12/2025

Not the hand flap toy 😂

11/12/2025

Let’s face it making sourdough can be a sensory experience and he loves to help me form the dough.

My Christmas decorating project!It was definitely a little more difficult than it looked.
11/10/2025

My Christmas decorating project!

It was definitely a little more difficult than it looked.

I need to find music lessons for him. He’s always been so musically inclined. My future rockstar!
11/09/2025

I need to find music lessons for him. He’s always been so musically inclined. My future rockstar!

The confusing parts of the autism brain.Just a month ago, he was eager to ride the horse and couldn’t wait to do it agai...
11/08/2025

The confusing parts of the autism brain.

Just a month ago, he was eager to ride the horse and couldn’t wait to do it again. But today, he firmly said “no” several times and chose to walk the pony instead. That’s the tricky part of autism — something that was once enjoyable can suddenly feel overwhelming or uncomfortable. Familiar experiences can become aversive due to sensory changes, emotional associations, or simply because the brain is processing things differently that day. What feels safe and fun one moment might feel unpredictable or “too much” the next, and that’s okay. His willingness to set boundaries and find a new way to participate still shows incredible growth.

11/08/2025

Teaching parking lot safety can be a challenge but we found this parking lot that was not very busy and had colored portions of the sidewalk that indicated the end of the sidewalk. We used this opportunity to practice safety in a parking lot.

There is a lot to unpack here as a parent.My child is minimally verbal. If you aren’t around him often the words he does...
11/05/2025

There is a lot to unpack here as a parent.

My child is minimally verbal. If you aren’t around him often the words he does use are not easy to understand.

He won’t come home after school and tell me this happened. And that is what always scares me. He can’t tell a teacher it happened or a safe adult. I will use this opportunity to try to teach him but it’ll be hours before I see him and will he even remember?

If I didn’t have an outside agency there with him would the teachers have noticed? It’s not their fault but this is our reality of living with a language disorder.

Yes the school did notify me and they did examine him but this will always give me anxiety during his school days.

11/05/2025

Non verbal, minimally verbal, limited verbal... talk to your speech therapist about getting a AAC device and give your child a voice.

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