My hero

My son Philip is my hero. He works so hard and has come so far to embrace his differences and use them to his advantage. Even with having to deal with bullying from 5th to 12th grade he never tried to avoid school. He just kept working hard on developing social skills and self advocacy skills. By 10th grade he had a small core of friends, and became a bit more flexible. At one time, he would have a fit if anyone called him anything but Philip. When we met with his science teachers at an award ceremony for science (Phil won this award every year in high school) he called him by one of his many nicknames for him and Phil just laughed. My husband and I looked at each other in amazement. By the time he finished HS he had earned a Regents Diploma, was on the high honor roll for his last 3 years, and was student of the month. He plays Challengers Baseball, Special Olympics softball (he has won 4 medals), and had a part-time job. It just showed me that if you pushed and worked with the school districts and made sure you took advantage of every program you could, life gets better. We always look at the positives. We have a son who never lies, is never afraid to show his love, and is one of the most caring, loyal, loving, kindhearted person you would ever want to meet. I look forward to see how much further he goes as he continues to work on becoming more independent and aware of the world around him.

Karen Delaney
Liverpool, NY

My Grandson Ty

My grandson Ty is a 14 year old that touches the lives of many people on a daily basis. He has a heart as big as the great outdoors. I can't even begin to imagine my life without him in it. He was diagnosed just over a year ago with autism even though his mom knew/suspected long before that. Ty is a fun-loving boy and everyone that meets him loves him. I in fact have a t-shirt that I enjoy wearing that says "I ask God for a blessing and he gave me my autistic grandson" and believe me he is a blessing to me everyday. I LOVE MY GRANDSON TY!!!!!!!

Lola Woods
Cleveland, OK

More Than A Smile

My brother is four years old, and he has Aspergers, well that's what we think. I love him so much. He has the brain of a two year old. He loves Toy Story, Cars, and Spongebob. He recently made a big box his "house". He loves that box so much. He even tries to put our cat and chihuahua in it. Talking is a challenge for him, but when he first did, we (my family) were all so surprised. He just started. It was amazing. It was a blessing. It was just so random and out of no where. I'm really glad he did start talking. Because, there was a boy and a few other kids beating him up a his preschool. He would come home with scratches and black eyes. One day, he came home and said, "Hit. Mom, I got hit." Now, since then, it's stop. And, he comes home with a smile on his face. But, to my mom, step-dad, and I, it's more than a smile.

Alivia Severson
Cedar Rapids, IA

Literally

My son Chris and I were making strawberry shortcakes one night. When we were done he said he wanted a particular one. Then he changed his mind and wanted a different one (they were all the same size). I said "Chris what is the difference?" He quickly responded " The difference is subtraction." I was baffled at first, but the realized I was the dummy. He answered my question correctly.

Faith Roland
Cedar Springs, MI

Autism and Kendall

Autism has touched our family in a big way!One little fellow w/ a great big smile & blue eyes keeps us all on our toes.He's such a delight to have in my life.He is my son,Kendall.One day we went to visit his father for lunch. Kendall wasnt feeling well.We came home and I gave him a piece of candy.He dropped,turning blue,not breathing.I thought he was choking.I panicked.I called 911 and the ambulance got lost on the way to my home. My baby still was not breathing.My oldest grabbed him up and we racedto the ER.I was doing 90 all the way,blasting thru red lights and praying that a cop pulled me over,maybe he could help my baby.I made it to the ER & they whisked my baby away and gave him anti-seizure medicine.I thought my son was going to die.They did a spinal tap to check for meningitis,did all sorts of scans.Everything was normal.They got his seizures to stop.The Dr couldnt tell me what happened,other than he had febrile seizures.I took him to the Dr the next morning.The Dr looked between his fingers and told me he had contracted Hand,Foot Mouth Disease,from a shopping cart.Kendall's development slowed from that point on. He began banging his head to stimulate himself.He formed a bone callus on his forehead.He also scratched and bit himself.I took him back to Children's Medical Center and was then referred to a Autism Specialist in Roanoke, Va Was tested @ the age of 4. His diagnosis,High Functioning Autism.My son has many meltdowns a day. He hyperventilates.He calms himself with pain and it breaks my heart.Our little family of 5 has learned to cope and help him as much as possible.I'll stand by this precious miracle for eternity. God gave him to me & he is a true blessing.

Jenzy Ryan
Collinsville, VA

My Daughter is my inspiration!!!

My daughter was diagnosed with PDD NOS at the age of 3 and our journey began. I was new to all of this and had to learn quickly what Autism is and what I needed to do for my daughter. We began speech therapy, ABA therapy, OT and a special needs preschool right away. She made amazing strides beyond my wildest dreams thanks to many amazing therapists and teachers!!! We went through a move from GA to TX when she was 5 and that set us back in every way. I then found the strength I didn't know I had and have fought for her to get what she needed from the school system here and resume her therapy. I then met some amazing ladies that would change my life forever. I became part of a group here, Fort Bliss Autism and Special Needs Support Group. I soon found my self leading this group along with two other Moms that have been there for us every step of the way. In this past year I have watched my daughter grow and accomplish so much! I have also been on a journey of attending classes, conferences and helping other families along their journey. I have learned so much and found so much strength to just keep going all because of my love for my daughter. We have been blessed with the gift of early intervention and I just can't say enough how much this has done for my child. She is in a mainstream class in 1st grade, does cheerleading and dance and I couldn't be more proud to be her Mom!

Jennifer Neal
El Paso, TX

How I fell in love...

I have always heard about autism, but never known it personally, until my nephew was diagnosed with it. I watched his struggles and gave him great support, and loved watching him learn and grow and develop. Then, I volunteered at a preschool for children with special needs, and a few of them were autistic. It inspired me to open my own preschool that was solely for children with autism, so they can have their own support to help them grow and learn! Now I am a huge advocate for autism awareness. I love to work with kids that have autism, and I really think they are great kids. Autism has changed my life for the better. It gave me a direction to go in my life, and it sparked a passion in my heart.

Katie Jo
Port Angeles, WA

Mixed Words

"Autism"-that's a funny word to me, in more ways than one! It's a new label for a condition that's been around forever, albeit misunderstood and misdiagnosed as well. I know this both as a nurse and as a parent of a child with "Autistic Tendencies".

I remember the phone call to my mother in Pennsylvania thirty-four years ago when my child, at age three, finally graduated to having her very own labels from medical and psychological teams after evaluations in the hospital..."They say she has autistic tendencies, ma"...I could've told you that, Leslie" "How so?" "You always were good with painting pictures and remember the drawings you used to do of the nieces?" "No, ma, I said, "Autistic"! "Yes I know, Leslie, what is wrong with you? I know what artistic is!"

Sept. 16, 1974 Kimberly was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (contractures at birth), Spinal Muscular Atrophy (muscle disease, wasting of muscles in the spine), dislocated hips, club feet, moderate retardation with autistic affect, 48 +XX chromosomes. All rare conditions, all with a grim outlook...labels with Doom attached to them. Speedwind to the future. I used to pray for two things. Please, God, that I may live to see the day when Kim would walk; and go to a regular school. Today, Kim is 37 yrs. young! Kim graduated High School, Special Ed. mainstreamed in art, music, and workshop...she makes jewelry, artwork, made some fine pieces of furniture; and even makes bears for hospital children as her pet project. She attends a day workshop..looking back from the past to the present, I guess you could say my mother was right after all! Yes, ma, Kimberly IS Artistic, after all! What IS that label "Autistic" anyway?! It must be another word for CREATIVITY! ***

Leslie Rittoper
Northumberland, PA

Truly Blessed to have Brandon in our lives!

Our son, Brandon, was diagnosed with autism (aspergers) at age 4. We started noticing something was wrong at around age 2. He hardly spoke, didn't like affection, had bad tantrums, hated crowds & loud noises. He couldn't handle change. It was agonizing as a mother not to be able to comfort your child, then feeling guilty for all the times you got angry and frustrated, when not knowing he had no control over his actions. It was a very stressful time in our lives.

Brandon is 8 now and is doing incredible!!! He is very outgoing and extremely smart!! He loves to be the center of attention now!

His current obsession is rocks & minerals. He knows every birthstone, the state rock & even the state minerals! He even entered the school science fair. He took pictures of his whole rocks & minerals collection and wrote about each one. He got 1ST PLACE!!!! He was sooooooo excited! He wants to be a geologist when he grows up!

Brandon is the most gentle soul and he has the biggest heart! He cares about everything and everyone. We were at a pizza place eating once and there was only one person working there at the time. I noticed Brandon looked sad, so I asked him what was wrong. He said "I'm worried about that man because he is working all by himself," I thought that was the sweetest thing.

He reminds me that we have to stop, look and care with all our hearts. Show we care at all times! I finally see the light and I know his future is bright and he will do great things! He will make a difference in this world and will teach everyone he meets to do the same! We are very proud of him!

Jo
Round Rock, TX

Kira's Journey with Autism

When Kira was two my husband and I started noticing some developemental delays and behaviors associated with autism.We noticed things such as,pointing to things and making a grunting noise,tipy toe walking,flapping of the arms,lack of speech,zoning out,high pitched squealing sounds,fear of loud noises and objects or toys that would move and make sounds. All these things were a concern to us so i contacted her doctor and set up an appointment to address these concerns to him. They asked some routine health questions and did a wellness check on her. Afterwards,her doctor told us that he saw no cause for concern and that she is just developing at her own pace and that we are just rushing and pushing her to do things she wasn't ready to do just yet and that we needed to be patient. For the next two and half years we noticed the symptoms weren't improving and she was developing new ones. All the symptoms listed above became more frequent along with the new ones such as,spinning/twirling,loss of vocabulary,strange and unusual hand movements,severe and frequent meltdowns and delay in motor skills. On March 12,2012 Kira finally got her medical diagnosis of autism. It has been a challenge raising an autistic child but we wouldn't have her anyother way. She is perfect just the way she is and is very loved by those who know her. Mommy and daddy love you so very much and are thankful that God blessed us with you.

Rosemary
Springdale, AR