Good evening everybody!

I spend most of my time on here blogging about my son, Sir Dantes, and the different experiences we have had due to his being autistic. Well, tonight I want to write about his sister, Ms. Maxie.

For so long now I have worried and wondered what the effect of having a little brother who needs so much attention has had on her. Do we give her enough attention? Does she get jealous because she doesn't understand; she is only five? Does she understand why we expect more of her while her brother seems to get more chances?

Follow up:

We have done our best to try to get her to understand. She is a typical child. She has met and exceeded milestones for her age. She talks. She understands social cues. She is a wonderful little girl, but at times I know she acts out because she wants more attention. So I am always resolute to spend more time with her and to be more patient with her. Despite my efforts, I always feel as though I am falling short because Sir Dantes demands so much time.

But maybe I am not doing as bad as I thought, and I owe her successes not only to myself but also to her daddy who spends so much more time with them than I do.

Before Sir Dantes was born, I read to Maxie everyday and night. I made her flashcards and took every moment of the day to teach her something new. We strolled in the park and played outside at every opportunity. I saw everything as a chance to teach her and help her little mind grow. Then, Sir Dantes was born and my attention was diverted and our strolls started to end. Many nights I was just to tired to read a good-night story. It became so much easier just to pop a movie in and give her a kiss. The flashcards began to collect dust.

When I finally secured a full-time job closer to home I began to make time again for all of the things I had stopped doing. Between her daddy's daily lessons (we plan on homeschooling) and my renewed efforts I am beginning to see improvements. I am no where near my goal of making all of the time I want, but I am spending more time with her. I am being able to make more mommy/ daughter time for her. Her daddy set her up with her own computer and learning games. We let her help with simple cooking and so on. And tonight I really saw proof that we are getting the equality more balanced.

After baths were over we sat down to read. I grabbed "Green Eggs and Ham". Now, I have read this book many times to both of them and they have the D.V.D. However tonight I let Ms. Maxie read. She read the entire book by herself out loud to me and Sir Dantes! I can not tell you how proud of her I am.

The first few pages were a breeze, probably because the rote memory of having it read to her so many times. But, as the paragraphs became longer she was really concentrating and she got it all right! She only confused "would" and "could" three times! I am so, so, proud of her! She did such a fantastic job. I am still grinning from ear to ear and I write this blog.

She has shown a lot of maturity although she doesn't quite understand autism. She has also shown that she needs our time. She is so smart and I am so glad that she is succeeding. And, she is showing me that mine and her daddy's efforts to spend more time with her is improving.

I can only imagine her difficulty to learn to live with an autistic brother is as difficult as having a son with autism. It is just a different type of difficulty. But, together we will all get it right.