The Beginning!!!

   I thought it was important to take you back to the beginning of our Autism story. It began when Seth was born but we didn't really know till he was 3 and not really talking. He only said about 3 words or so, and would scream when we wanted something. It was hard for me to figure out what he wanted most of the time. I had many people tell me he will talk when he is ready. It was heartbreaking for me to see him struggling and not be able to help him. I remember one time when my sister was visiting and we were getting ready to go outside. I got him all ready and he wanted to go and I told him he needed to wait for me to get ready. Well, that did not go over well and he had a meltdown and started screaming. Normally I would hurry and get outside to avoid a meltdown, but my sister made me sit on the couch with her and wait. She said he needs to learn to wait patiently because you can't always hurry. So, I sat on the couch with tears rolling down my face because my little boy was struggling and I did not know how to help him. Eventually he stopped screaming and sat down on the floor. I said, are you ready to outside and he shook his head yes. I helped him up and hugged him. This is pretty much how the past 15 years have gone. The behaviors have been out of control at times. Things get broken, someone gets hurt, there is usually yelling, frustration, and many tears. It has been a long, hard road!

   When it was time to send him to school it was bittersweet for me. I was terrified for him, but glad to have one-on-one time with my younger son. I knew that there were trained people who knew how to help my son. He had a team of people helping him, and they made all the difference. I am confident that he is who he is today bc of them and a Mother's prayers. He learned to talk, read and write. As much as I love my son I could have never done what his amazing team has done for him. It is scary with all the meetings and having a team of people working with your son. Not long after he went to school I went through a divorce and became a single Mom. So having a great team of people was important. Hopefully you will be as fortunate as we were to have people who truly love your child. They made sure I was part of the team and talked me through everything. He made many issues to work through and still does. He has behaviors that can be hard to manage at times. Through their help I was able to find Doctors and medications to help him. It has been a long journey for us, but I think we have finally turned a corner with him. I wasn't sure if we would ever see this day.  There is hope! Things can turn around and change, but not without lots of prayer, hard work, an amazing team, a family that never gives up, and a strong will. I come from a stubborn family and that has come in handy for this fight. It is a fight...the fight for your child's life! 

    In the next few posts I will talk about specifics of this journey like meltdowns, IEPS, some of the characteristics of Autism, things that have worked and not worked for us, medicine, programs, school, and much more. It is a full time job having a child with special needs. It can seem overwhelming at times bc it consumes every area of your life. Unfortunately, sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. It is a very hard, lonely journey, but I hope this blog gives you hope that things can get better and you can get through it.  My faith in God, my church family, my family and friends has been so important in me getting through this. In the moments when I thought I could not go on it was my faith in God that helped me. I knew He was with me every step of the way. He was making a way where I didn't see one, He was providing for us always. I have no idea what the future holds, but I know we will get through it. When I got his diagnosis I prayed and told God if He gave me a peace about it I would do what I could to help others on this journey. So, I hope sharing my story the good,  the bad and the ugly helps someone going through this. It helps me to recall where we were and where we are now. 

God Bless,
Danelle