#youmightbeanautismparentif

Nov 25, 2011

I only started using Twitter a couple of months ago because I just never understood the concept or the appeal. Now I love it! I have met so many wonderful people on there! There is also a lot of real time discussion and support. On November 20th Elise who tweets under @RaisingASDkids started a fantastic trend called #youmightbeanautismparentif. Elise also blogs and here is her blog post on starting this trend with @ManyHatsMommyMI.

This has been a huge trend on Twitter and I have “met” some new great people to follow and interact with. We all have similar but different stories. I love my son but sometimes there are challenges and it is good to know that I am not alone. I encourage everyone to go on Twitter and check out the hashtag!

Since I am smart enough (haha) to follow both of these wonderful moms on Twitter I watched the trend start & immediately tweeted something along the lines of @RaisingASDkids this is awesome! And she replied with something like well join in!!

Okay so here are mine:

#youmightbeanautismparentif you have to go to five stores to find the right flavor of poptarts

#youmightbeanautismparentif your child taught themselves to add at age 4

#youmightbeanautismparentifyour child helped their teacher figure out what was wrong with the computer

#youmightbeanautismparentifyour child wakes you up at 2AM to tell you how they fixed the computer that you spent hours trying to fix

#youmightbeanautismparentif you are on first name basis with the customer service rep at health insurance company -Give me my money please

#Youmightbeanautismparentif you find yourself hunting for silly putty for your 14 year old and he is super excited to get it!

#Youmightbeanautismparentif you are constantly asking your 14 y.o. “What’s in your mouth?” And it is never food or gum.

#youmightbeanautismparentif you have to stand in the aisle for an eternity while your pre-teen smells every single deodorant before buying 1

#youmightbeanautismparentifyour heart literally stops when your spouse says “are we out of ______ food item” when trying to pack lunch

@DefytheSpectrum #youmightbeanautismparentifyour kid drowns w/syrup but only at waffle house because he won’t eat waffles anywhere else! (in response to: @DefytheSpectrum #youmightbeanautismparentif he won’t eat the waffle/pancakes until EVERY PIECE has some syrup on it.)

#youmightbeanautismparentifyour kid used up all the colored ink printing out all the pokemon characters (was few years ago)

#youmightbeanautismparentif you pack a meal for your child when you go to a family dinner (the few times you go)

#youmightbeanautismparentif you are relieved the principal is calling about his frequent tardies!

#youmightbeanautismparentif you realize Sheldon is repeating something your kid has already said #BBT (in response to: @RaisingASDkids #youmightbeanautismparentif you child knows every line Sheldon every said in every #BBT)

#youmightbeanautismparentif You say “don’t chew on the wire” and they say “I am not chewing, I am just putting it in my mouth”

#youmightbeanautismparentif you bought extra thick, extra insulated, extra covered wires for charging wireless controls 14 y.o. gaming room

#youmightbeanautismparentif you consider the day a success because your kid went to school without (much) arguing & you didn’t get any calls.

#youmightbeanautismparentifyour child has told you that his cat is his best friend. (he has, more than once) #cats

#youmightbeanautismparentif you have cleaned chocolate sauce off of your ceiling.

#youmightbeanautismparentifyour 8 y.o. child asks you to take him to the limited time Einstein exhibit at the science center

#youmightbeanautismparentif u still have to pack a lunch on a day the class is having a party w food. “not foods I like!”

#youmightbeanautismparentif u r trying to decide which Einstein poster to buy for ur teenage son’s room for Xmas.

#youmightbeanautismparentif you have to explain “inappropriate reading” of his fav fiction book during class lectures. “but I love to read!”

@WonderfullyFi #youmightbeanautismparentif you think sleep is overrated. Bring on the coffee! LOL (in response to: I can’t find the original post but it was something like not getting enough sleep!)

#youmightbeanautismparentif you find it acceptable when your child lays down in the booth at the restaurant

#youmightbeanautismparentif you can understand “eye language” from your child.

#youmightbeanautismparentif you understand the meaning behind different animal sounds your child makes

#youmightbeanautismparentif one of your child’s favorite holidays is “Pi Day”!

#youmightbeanautismparentifyou bought 5 pairs of the same pair of shorts but in different colors because it was just easier that way!

#youmightbeanautismparentifyour child is refusing to wear pants or a jacket until there is snow on the ground

#youmightbeanautismparentifyour teenager dresses like Dr. Sheldon Cooper #BBT

@JitteryPlanet awesome! or #youmightbeanautismparentifyour child once turned thermostat all the way down to try to make it snow inside (in response to:@JitteryPlanet .@AspieSide or #youmightbeanautismparentifyour child is insisting on wearing gloves in the house because there is snow outside!)

#youmightbeanautismparentifhave to ask “will you eat square pizza from pizzahut, it’s what is on sale?” & almost faint replies “yeah, why?”

#youmightbeanautismparentif ur child still gets upset every time he sees burgerking bc they changed their chicken nuggets

Brand New #youmightbeanautismparentif

The following I was not able to get on twitter yesterday & really it probably needs the explanation anyways:

#youmightbeanautismparentif you actually tried to explain to your child that they are allowed to go through this door to get your attention:

(explanation: at the waterpark there is an “adult” hot tub. It just means they serve alcohol and is a place for adults to relax without a bunch of kids. There is an outside section away from the bar and kids come out to get their parents all the time. I am guessing the sign is there so kids don’t come and hang out. We always tell him he is allowed to come get us. Of course my kid was standing on other side of door unable to walk through the door. I can only imagine what his friend thought but his friend was dutifully standing with him. Since we were only in for about 20 minutes I know they weren’t standing there too long. When I said something to my son about how he is allowed to go out there he pointed to the sign and said no he isn’t. I tried to explain but realized I was going no where fast so I just dropped it!

Other Twitter posts:

I have seen so many other posts on twitter that I love and have favorited! I would love to list them all here but it would be impossible. However I do want to point out some other very awesome trends & a couple of my favorites from them:

@AutistLiam#youmightbeanautieif People accuse you of “choosing not to speak” because you can speak some of the time

@AutisticSpeaks #youmightbeanautieif this #thanksgiving, your 24th, was the first year you ate everything offered at the table.

@HardAspie #YouknowyoumightbeanAspieif You have writ a poem to your calculator.

@Soundless2 #youmightbeanaspieif hide in the bathroom at parties to get a break from everyone.

Other blog posts of collections from #youmightbeanautismparentif

I am JuJu

Caffeinated Autism Mom

Diary of a Mom

Unhandicapping the Disabled Life

Mozart, Picasso & a Princess 

If you also have a blog post related please add in comments! Of course any other fun comments are welcome too!

Update:  ManyHatsMommyMI posted info on her blog with a Linky so go link up your #youmightbeanautismparentif blog posts there too!

New ones:

#youmightbeanautismparentif you are debating about going to high school with your kid on monday to make sure the day goes okay

#youmightbeanautismparentif just told your 14 yo other kids goofing off while he was talking were just covering their lack of knowledge

#youmightbeanautismparentif you started a blog to share your story with your teenage aspie just to help other parents

#youmightbeanautismparentif you are willing to do ANYTHING to keep him from being tormented from other kids

#youmightbeanautismparentif your teenager just got excited when he heard looney tunes music on TV