Musings on parenthood and "Parenthood"

Yes, I know it's been a while since I have written here. Why? Summer with 4 kids is the main reason. The other is that I haven't felt the urge to blog. Nothing much has changed. Alex continues with speech therapy and continues to do fairly well albeit with the challenges that have always and will always be there for him.

That's the thing about something like SPD, ASD, or ADHD. There is no cure, there is no "growing out of it". Sure, some behaviors improve but there are always new challenges to take their place. It is not like an illness or injury when you can look back and say "remember when..." and recognize your child has healed or recovered. It just is. We are blessed. Alex is doing much better than I hoped for back when he was a non-verbal 3 year old. He has a new friend that lives down the street. He is participating in soccer and is mainstreamed at school. I try not to think too much about the future because that is when I get overwhelmed. I see my older sons in middle school and how vicious kids that age are and can't stand the thought of my vulnerable son in that place. I try to take it one day at a time while getting as much help as possible for him now to lessen his vulnerability when he is 12 and 13.

As I have blogged previously, I love the show "Parenthood" for it's sensitive and realistic portrayal of a boy with Asperger's. However, I was cringing last night about a new storyline that seems to have popped up: adoption. One of the characters and her husband are hoping to adopt. The "latte girl" at her office is pregnant and said she is not keeping the baby. This prompted Julia (who is hoping to adopt) to mention to family members she wondered if she could "buy the latte girl's baby". I think? it was meant as a kind of sarcastic joke (which wasn't funny) AND I suspect this storyline will continue and "something" will develop between the latte girl and Julia concerning the baby.

I read that one of the producers (or maybe writers?) on "Parenthood" has a child with Asperger's and that is why they have done such as good job on a subject where so many other TV shows and movies have portrayed only stereotypes. I can only HOPE that there is someone on set who can give the same kind of sensitivity to adoption but so far it isn't looking promising. I for one will be quite disappointed if the storyline devolves into a made-for-TV-movie type stereotype of adoption. Keeping my fingers crossed...