Stay with Me: Navigating Autism for the rest of Forever (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798182080514)

You never think that it could be you. Becoming a mother is a profound identity shift. Suddenly you have stepped into a role of nurturing, unconditional love, and responsibility. Layer that with having a child with special needs, and everything will be redefined. Your life, your priorities will shift for the rest of forever.

Lori Bell writes about the ups and downs of navigating autism with raw insights, emotional challenges, and inspiring moments. This is her second book, written about her son, Connor, who is affectionately called 'the bear.' Stay with Me (Navigating Autism for the Rest of Forever) is a way forward after your special needs child is no longer a child. This book, authored from the heart, addresses the next phase of life when taking care of a legal adult with an intellectual disability.

She writes: "As Connor reached the age of legal adulthood, things seriously began to shift. Terms were being tossed around like guardianship, developmental disability waiver services, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicaid. There was suddenly a lot of research and work to do to get our plans in place for the future. For his future. I had never allowed myself to intently focus on the reality of not being around to take care of my bear. I mean, we plan to keep him with us for the rest of our lives. Yet, a new wave entered our lives and relatively felt like new grief for the boy he would never be."

Yes, autism is going to unravel you and take you to the edges, but it will also rebuild you.

Lori Bell also is the author of Bear with Me (A Family's Journey with Autism) which focuses on her son's path from birth to diagnosis to reaching eighteen years of age.

Author: Lori Bell
ISBN-13: 9798182080514
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 06/30/2026
Pages: 148
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.46lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.32d