Kids & Family

Mother Uses Humor to Talk Autism, Wine and Teenagers

Dawn Barnsdale blogs on Patch about what she finds important.

Dawn Barnsdale loves her family — and her wine.

The married mother of three from Grosse Ile has a son with autism. She uses her blog to share comical stories, as well as information she finds helpful in raising teenagers. And, of course, to chat about her favorite wines.

Patch recently spent a few minutes chatting with Barnsdale about her blog and why people should check it out.

Tell us about your blog and what it's all about. My blog is about being a wife and a mom of two neurotypical kids and one on the autism spectrum. I write about my kids, school, and anything autism related. Sometimes I just rant! I also write about wine!

What's the story behind how it came to be? A friend of mine who has a very popular blog and Facebook page encouraged me to start writing. Between her and my husband cheering me on, I finally started!

What's been your favorite blog post? It's hard to pick a favorite- but I would have to say it would be Can you PLEASE STFU about dinosaurs?? PLEASE?!?!?

Why should people read your blog? I like to think I have a lot of information about autism, raising teenagers, and education. I also try to inject humor into things that might not seem humorous at first. But if you don't laugh sometimes, you might cry.

As an icebreaker, whenever someone is hired at Patch, they have to reveal their first concert and their most embarrassing song on their iPod. So, what's yours? My very first concert was George Strait when I was 16- many, many years ago! Most embarrassing song? It would have to be Spice Girls' Wannabe.

If there's a quirky question you wished you would had been asked, what is it and what's your answer? If you could be a superhero, which one would you be, and why? I would totally be Tony Stark/Iron Man. Multi Billionaire, handsome, owns the fact that he is Iron Man, genius, so very witty, complete smart ***, and did I mention filthy rich?

To be notified of her future blog posts, click "Get email updates" at the top of Dawn's blog.

If you have an interest you want to blog about, it's super easy to get started! Just head to our main blogging page where you can create a blog. You'll be asked three things: to name your blog, to write a short description of the blog and then to upload a thumbnail to appear on the account. Once you hit the create button, you'll be on your way to making your first blog post.

Any questions? Email Patch Community Editor Jason Alley at jason.alley@patch.com.



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