Natalie has 3 Kids!

Heartwarming story about Natalie Kolody in the Chicago Tribune's article called "Family has 3 Kids, Unlimited Judges."  She is a mom who travels a lot because she is a software salesperson and has three children with special needs.  Her stay-at-home husband helps her with raising her kids.  Her oldest child has Asperger's Syndrome, the second oldest has sensory processing disorder, and both the second oldest and youngest child have pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).

She also faces challenges from other people misjudge her children when she and her family are out in public.  The children get overstimulated and the other people don't understand what's really going on with them and confront Natalie with statements like "you need to discipline your children" and "you need to make them behave."

I find it a bother that other people have no clue about what the real situation is and quickly pass judgment on others when they don't know the truth.  It's happened to me most of my life.  They had no idea that I was going through depression and frustration over my career and personal life issues.  I experienced sensory overloads when I was a child (stomach and chest pains were a big distraction for me and got me bent out of shape).  Of course, I didn't know I was experiencing sensory overloads because I didn't know there was a name for it.

I did find it annoying that other people didn't know what was going on with me when I was quiet and not talking to people.  They actually believed that I was purposely being snobbish towards them and/or being rude.  What a load of nonsense!  I just didn't know how to interpret the social situation.  Some settings I've been in (school, work, receptions, attending concerts or some public event) never looked like I had to socialize with the people around me.