Stories of Hope

adventures in autism volume #7

Adventures in autism vol#7....so when we took Gabriel to have blood drawn (based on aia vol#6 gummy vits) they had order my 6 year old with autism, who is still in diapers to pee in a cup! my first thought was dis belief ...they want him to do what!!! then they informed me i could take the cup home keep his diaper off and follow him till he peed and catch it mid stream! so i decided we were not leaving till he peed in the cup, i took him to the potty only to be told "no potty, all done potty" so i said "ok gabriel pee in the cup" he sat that there looked at me like i was stupid and then tried to pee! after several minutes i sat the cup on the ground and prepared to get up but he looked at me pointed at the cup and said pee. I disbelievingly picked up the cup and gave it to him and he peed in it and said "all done good job gabriel" ! So i have started potty training gabriel in a cup and today he stayed dry for 3 hours (while drinking). he peed in the cup 6 times in that hour! small victory in my fight against autism!

kristina
tampa, FL

Taityms Story

I had my daughter on June 20th, 2008. I remember it like it was yesterday. She was born at 8:18pm and when I looked up at her I was overwhelmed with emotion. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
Her name means "cheerful bringer of joy" and that she is.
Taitym is three years old. At two years old she was not responding to her name or making eye contact. I thought that Taitym had a hearing problem and took her to the doctor. I was shocked to learn that my daughter had Autism.
Taitym has temper tantrums, doesn't like wearing clothes or shoes, and has problems communicating. She sees a speech therapist and I have her on natural remedies and homeopathic medications through a Natural doctor as I am told Autism can be reversed.
She may have Autism but it doesn't define her. She is a wonderful, lovable little girl. She loves french fries and mac n cheese, she loves to watch tv and waves and says "Buh-bye" when I turn it off, she loves the park. (slides are her favorite), loves to swim and has recently told me that she loves me which made my heart smile.
When Taitym was born I didn't expect to be on this Journey but what a beautiful journey it has been. I pray every night that there is a cure and refuse to believe any different.

Christa
Hamilton, Canada

employment

just a brief note, my 26 year old autistic son has just been nominated as employee of the year. He works as a store assistant at the Co op. The wonderful staff have looked beyond what difficulties occasionally arise and they embrace what gifts Dominic brings to his employment... Thank you Co op, you have given my son a purpose!

Maureen Herworth
Sheffield, United Kingdom

Autistic Kids of Parents Who Also have Autism & Many Undiagnosed

Am gifted & cursed with Asperger's. Father was too, judging by his behavior. Know he was as face blind. Mother was further along the spectrum than I am. If I tried to get her to cuddle me, she would push me away. If I tried to climb in her lap she would shove me off. She asked one day, "Why are you being such a pest? Why don't you go play by yourself? I used to love to play by myself!" I was not allowed to have any kids come in the house or go to anyone else's house because "then we'll have to reciprocate." Father would not let us have a phone, go to church, PTA meetings or even funerals; nowhere he'd have to recognize folks. Suspect he was trying to hide his face blindness from co-workers because he would take us to restaurants & on trips. Was friendly to strangers he wouldn't have to see again. Have Asthma. Desperately needed clean house but Mother had hoarding OCD. Could throw nothing away, not even spoiled food. My attempts to clean up would cause her to have melt downs & I'd be in trouble for "upsetting your Mother." Stayed severely sleep deprived from breathing problems. Father saw nothing wrong with me having no friends or Mother not wanting me around. Actually glad to be along Spectrum because is where I get my gifts. But is VERY hard to be child of 1! On other hand they took me to zoos, museums & rocket launches. Encouraged my INSATIABLE curiosity! Mother realized I was smart, Kept them from putting me in with dummies. Have Expressive Agnosia which was not diagnosed. Failed classes because cannot follow Teacher's hand movements. But am VORACIOUS reader. Would not have learned anything new in dumb classes!

Elizabeth Hensley
Williston, FL

For the love of Donovan (2bornot2b4dj)

When I was 18 months my parents noticed a change in my behavior. I went from a bubbly, baby boy to a distant, lonely child with no fear. I stopped talking, slept only two hours per day, lined & stacked everything up by color, and I refused to play with my sister. My mommy spent lots of nights rocking and singing to me. She tried to gaze into my eyes, but autism wouldn’t let me look back. She tried to wrap her arms around me, but autism wouldn’t let me hug back. Autism wouldn’t let me sympathize with the warms tears falling onto my cheek from my mommy’s eyes. My mommy was heartbroken, yet determined to get me the help I so badly needed. After countless visits to doctors all over, my mommy’s suspicions were confirmed. I was diagnosed with autism.

My parents were determined to enroll me into an ABA program. They refinanced our home to afford therapy. The financial strain and stress mommy received from her employer was heavy. But my mom’s tenacity for my improvement was heightened the first time she heard my small voice after I started ABA therapy. In fear of losing her job my mommy applied for FMLA to ensure that I was at every appt. HR denied my mom’s FMLA request because HR “didn’t think autism was a serious health condition.” My mom exhausted her leave to take me to my appts. She was fired (by certified mail) for requesting FMLA to get me therapy. My mommy is like any other working mom who has a child with autism. My mommy is standing up for autism and working moms across the country by taking her employer to court to prove just how serious autism can be. We didn’t choose autism, it chose us.

Tomeka White
Lindale, TX

A mother knows best!

As a single mom of two very wonderful children, a mom knows when something is wrong. And that one day came for me just recently. I had been noticing that my son was a little different than the kids at the school he was going to. Didn't make friends, always was looking for an excuse to not go to school, and struggled for hours after school to complete his homework. Once he finally was failling his forth grade year, i chose to take him to get an assessment done and see his doctor. That was the day i learned my son had autism (asperger's syndrome)!
He is now getting to ready to start school in fifth grade now but will now have the help he needs to pass his classes. He has a wonderful social worker he sees every week that is helping him understand why he thinks different than kids in his class. But my biggest challenge i am learning is how other people don't understand. My son uses his hands to communicate and feel, but i get so many people that yell at him every where we go. They look at my son and think that just because he looks normal he doesn't have a situation and just yell at him before saying something to me. then i have to deal with an upset son cause someone has yelled at him. Any suggestions how to help this situation?
For all the wonderful children with autism, to me you all and my son are more special than you could ever know! My son is so creative and can do things i never could imagine. And for that that is what makes him "mommy's love of her life! "

Amy Jo Park
Plano, IL

Letting Go

I had to fix my son Nicholas- his autism, other mothers on TV and in books had cured their children of this awful affliction, what was wrong with me? I worried every minute about what he could not tell me, what he could not understand that I told him. I did everything possible to make his life as sweet and as loving as I could because of this awful thing that he had. What kind of life could he ever have, no speech, little comprehension, he would never work,marry, have children or even tell me what his favorite color was. My heart was broken! Then one day I realized that everytime I spoke about Nicholas it was not really about his unhappiness, it was mine. Nicholas was quite happy if he had juice to drink, Winnie the Pooh on TV, a swing, riding in the car to go no place,butterfly kisses and an extra heavy quilt to sleep with. I am not saying there was not frustration, tantrums and the occasional bite to a sibling. But really Nicholas was fairly happy it was I that was unhappy. Once I let go of my idea that he could not possibly ever be happy having autism I began to see him as I saw my other children. He is 26 yrs old now. Day-hab is akin to the other childrens college. Moving to a group home was like going to a dorm. Home visits and holidays are filled with shopping trips, family parties, and yes still butterfly kisses. I am no longer unhappy I let go of Autism and saw my son as he is happy,healthy and loved. I hope other mothers can stop punishing themselves and know that while none of us like Autism, our children can have good lives.

Cindy Johns
Binghamton, NY

Traveler

Autism is a subject close to my heart simply because I myself have it. You wouldnt know because of early diagnosis and years of therapy though. I just recently graduated high school and one fond memory I have is the autism group we had. The other guys in the group looked up to me because I am well liked by my peers and because of my skills at talking with the ladies. I did my best while in the group to teach the guys what I have learned over the years, I can only hope they got something out of their time with me because I know they taught me a few things.
My parents gave up alot to make me the way I am today and I thank god everyday for their continuous support.
I feel blessed to have had such a unique experience as an autistic individual, when I was five the doctors referred to me as 'severely' autistic and now at 18 it's not even a question.
I want to spend the rest of my life educating people about autism because I know first hand the general public doesn't know enough about it.
I am a skilled writer and guitarist and my biggest dream is to write a book about my experiences with autism so that I can teach others with autism that it doesnt mean you have limitations, it means you have no limitations. It's also my dream to share the stage with John Mayer & Brad Paisley but I'll be realistic.
I'm gonna close by saying that ive met alot of different people in my time, but the nicest and most genuine are always autistic people. We arent biased and we accept you for who you are. We truly make the world go around.

Joshua Parks
Saco, ME

The Boy In The Window

We had our son in Sept 1992, an 11 year wait for me to have my little boy. I was so happy the day he was born, now I had my girl and my boy.
Around the age of 12-18 months, we noted that he was not developing language and was always very quiet and seemed so happy. He loved to sit on the back of our couch and watch every thing out the front window.
Through a series of Dr. appointments, by age 2 1/2 he was diagnosed with Autism and was still non-verbal. He started school and we got him into every therapy we could.
He will be 19yrs old soon and he still doesn't talk. We have behavior issues and he has developed seizures and has Raynauds Phenomenon.
But a coin has two sides and the flip side of this one is that he is the most loveable boy, he can give you a kiss and hug that will melt your heart and take away your bad day. We have purchased an I-Pad for him and he is using that for communication and it has made a difference with his frustration level.
He loves school and his teachers. Went to the Prom last May and had the most wonderful time, a first.
We all like to think that we teach our children, but he has taught us so much. I had years of experience working with Special Needs folks and thought I "knew" about it, but I have learned so much. My husband had not had much contact with the disabled and this has been an eye opening experience for him. He loves his son and would do anything for him.
We have also grown in our relationship with God, without Him, we couldn't do this.

Bonnie Hogard
Olympia, WA

A Comfort in Autism!

We have dealt with autism for forty-six of our son, Ben's, forty-nine years. I will be honest and say that it has been very difficult at times, but has turned into a blessing in disquise as the years have passed. When Ben was very small, my husband said to me, "Maybe he'll be your comfort in your old age!" I thought that to be ludicrous then, but it has proved instead to be prophetic. Ben is now a kindred spirit in many ways--even without speaking. His innocence and enjoyment of life's simple pleasures keep us aware of what is really important in life. He is my "spiritual buddy," and his problems brought both my husband and me into a personal relationship with Jesus many years ago, and it has given us the strength, peace, and hope to continue on. That is indeed a comfort that can't be beat!

Carole Norman Scott
Tulsa, OK