Sarah Wheeler

3 weeks ago | romper.com | Sarah Wheeler

Dear GEP,My 8-year-old has been begging me for a puppy, and I worry I am losing my resolve. Part of me thinks it could be sweet and give him some good company; part of me thinks it will ruin our lives. Are pets really worth it? Could we just get goldfish or what?

3 weeks ago | momspreading.substack.com | Sarah Wheeler

Earlier this week I wrote about RFK’s dangerous, offensive, and incorrect comments about Autism. The internet is afire with reactions to this crap. There’s good serious stuff like this joint statement from dozens of Autism organizations (including ones often at odds with one another!) agreeing that:“Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism. Decades of scientific research confirm there is no causal link. Public health messaging must be grounded in science and protect all communities.

3 weeks ago | momspreading.substack.com | Sarah Wheeler

It’s Autism Acceptance Month, and last Thursday I met with five other parents and a teacher in our school library to do our annual Autism Read-In. As usual, the effort was completely last-minute and a bit miraculous, but also as usual, people showed the eff up.

1 month ago | momspreading.substack.com | Sarah Wheeler

This Sunday, The New York Times Magazine published a long article by journalist Paul Tough (I remember as a baby teacher reading Whatever it Takes on a plane and being ALL IN) about what is behind the surge of ADHD cases in the U.S., whether stimulants actually work, and whether we really know what we think we do about ADHD. By the time my alarm went off at 9 west coast time (and after about 30 minutes of customary snoozing), my inbox was filled with links to this story.

1 month ago | thecut.com | Sarah Wheeler

After I gave birth to my first child almost ten years ago, I was a mess. I had a very specific image of the kind of mother I would be — somehow both obsessively devoted to my child and effortlessly easygoing. I was neither, and the resulting dissonance between the plans I’d made for my parenting persona and the reality of life with a newborn was almost unbearable.