Cheers To 10 Years

Hello to anyone who remembers that this blog exists. I haven’t written in FOREVER, but I usually try to post something in April for Autism. Obviously, that’s coming up and I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve done in the past, why I started this blog, and what I want for the future.

In doing so, I realized that I’ve had Holistically Whole for 10 years! I really can’t believe it. Maybe blogging is dead – and I’m clearly neglecting my blog – but I’m not sure I’m ready to pull the plug.

How It All Started

I started this blog as a resource after my Christopher’s dental surgery. Christopher has autism so dental hygiene is difficult and he can’t sit still to have cavities filled. Like so many things in our autism lives, what is simple for most families ended up being a major ordeal for us. It wasn’t just the expense, or the extra time needed for the procedure, or even that he needed to have surgery. It was the hours of research I put in that caused so much anxiety. I needed to understand the dental materials, the medications, the logistics, and so much more. I joked that I did more research for his first dental procedure than I did for my graduate dissertation. I really wished that there was somewhere that had all of the info that I needed. But there wasn’t. So I wrote it. And then I wanted to share it in case in could help other parents in the same situation. And so Holistically Whole was born.

What started out as a post became a 4-part series, which eventually led to more posts about autism. Ten years later, I still refer to that article every time Christopher has a dental procedure. And recently, the Bioregulatory Medicine Institute shared it in their blog posts (here and here).

How It’s Going

I’m proud of what I’ve done with this website. I’ve had amazing guest bloggers, from parents who’ve written books and spearheaded nonprofits to an amazing group of nonspeaking spellers. Articles have been featured on other fabulous sites, like Finding Cooper’s Voice and We A Brave Together. My goal has always been to share our autism truth so that other families feel less alone. I aim to present our autism reality without sugarcoating it, while still offering hope. That can be a tightrope walk at time, and I sincerely hope that I come across as authentic. And if even one family has benefitted, this blog has served its purpose.

The Future of HW?

So (if anyone’s there) what say you? Should I keep going or have I outlived my usefulness? And if there is anything you liked about HW please let me know 😊 It has been my pleasure to share our lives over the last decade with you.