Stories of Hope

Until all the Pieces Fit

One year ago, my life-changing journey began, involving seven unique teenagers: Richard, Vincent, Daniel, Joey, Nick, Billy, and Dikembe.

After graduating from college with my Bachelor’s in Secondary Education, I struggled with finding a job. I practically thought it was the end of the world. Sometimes those negative thoughts occur but I am quickly reminded of how lucky I am for receiving a special opportunity. I accepted an instructional assistant position in a high school Autistic-support classroom. The first week was rough. Being that I knew absolutely nothing about Autism or Special Education for that matter, I did not know what to expect. Reality struck me and it was painful: one student flopped onto the floor and continuously squeezed the lead teacher while another screamed due to struggling with a task. One student used a talking device because he was non-verbal while another wore head phones often because of the high level of noise. The first thought that flashed in my mind: how could I have been so oblivious towards special needs children?

It was during that year when my thoughts and perspectives on teaching had suddenly changed. I didn’t want to be just a teacher. I aspired to be the teacher that goes above and beyond in meeting the needs of ALL students.
I would be lying if I said there are days that I don’t dream of having my own classroom or perhaps teaching general education; however, I also would be lying if I said it would be easy to leave my students. They have impacted my life in such a significant way. They have taught me more than all the textbooks and lectures I received during college. People say, “Things always happen for a reason,” and I believe they were my reason.

My post-grad journey reminds me of a puzzle. I was never quite ready to become a teacher….until all the pieces fit.

Connie
Philadelphia, PA

one in a million

whatever the actual numbers may be as to the frequency of autism, whatever the cause or causes may be, i'm of the mind that my daughter is one in a million!

she was born to my biological daughter, 6 weeks early and due to an abrupted placenta an emergency C-section was done. she weighed only 4 pounds 7 ounces. her birth mother had threatened to abandon her, and had abandoned a child she'd given birth to years earlier, so i adopted the tiny thing. my life has been enriched, and i have learned so much!

i knew early on, at about 3 months of age that something was really quite wrong. she didn't want to be held but had to be tightly swaddled. she cried if eye contact were maintained. she had other physical disabilities as well due to the birth trauma, a slight spastic diplegia or cerebral palsy, and after her first vaccination at 4 months of age, she began to have horrendous seizures.

she didn't speak until about 3 1/2 years old, instead using movie lines to express herself. she stimmed with her fingers in front of her face and by staring at running water.

now she is 11 years old, and outside of the inability to self-calm and tantrumming, it would be difficult for a stranger to know she has autism. we caught it early. she had speech therapy, and other help to overcome the hardest part of her experience of being a neuro-diverse child.

she's my one in a million miracle! my life is blessed by her every day. raising her and homeschooling her teaches me to think in ways i'd never imagined, it has been an intense journey, some of which was a bit confusing and scary, but worth every minute!

moon batchelder
pace, FL

My life with Autism, Aspergers, and ADHD

Hi. My name is Megan and I have Autism, Aspergers, and ADHD. I was diagnosed with Autism, Aspergers, and ADHD on February 27th 2004 when I was 7 years old. It can be hard at times having Autism, Aspergers, and ADHD but it doesn't stop me from doing what I like to do. Here's what I like to do: Zumba - I'm a licensed Zumba instructor and I want to teach Zumba to others with Autism, Aspergers, and ADHD. I also like to sing. As a matter of fact, I like to sing to every song that comes on the radio. Another thing that I like to do is color and play with my little people because it gives me my quiet time in my room. The future for me is unknown and I know that there will be hurdles, but lucky for me I have a really strong support team and I plan on getting over every single hurdle. <3

Megan Wolf
Oakdale, CA

aeroplanes are our life

Lucas is obsessed with airplanes and knows the airline safety demonstration word for word all in the family almost does as well as we hear lucas saying it over and over,,,,, Lucas started his obsession with airplanes a couple of years ago and started collecting peoples airplane boarding passes,,,, this has also helped him with his geography,,,,, http://youtu.be/t7KwyzB6VRE as you can see in the you tube clip,,, Lucas has autism and to see him standing and speaking is very inspiring,,,,,, Lucas had his dream made come true by Virgin Australia,,, http://youtu.be/t7KwyzB6VRE

Anonymous
brisbane, Australia

Kelsey's Cinderella Experience

I am the mother of a beautiful 10 year old daughter with autism who is now a pageant queen. We have posted her stories on this website previously and I wanted to share an update. Kelsey competed in her first pageant this past weekend. We were nervous because she had no previous pageant experience but wanted to try. To my knowledge, she was the only special needs contestant at the pageant. Her dance teacher and her daughter volunteered to be her mentors/pageant coaches and they showed Kelsey important things like walking on stage, smiling and being self-confident. They are terrific human beings who care about my daughter.

I tried to prepare Kelsey for the reality that most girls who participate in pageants do not win a crown and a title. I explained to Kelsey as we were driving to the pageant that the most fun part of the evening was getting to walk on that stage with all of the other girls and it is okay sometimes not to win as long as you try as hard as you can. She looked at me with her mega-watt smile and said "don't worry mama, I am going to win a crown tonight". I worried the entire evening because I did not want her to be disappointed and discouraged. Throughout the competition, Kelsey was poised, self-confident and very happy to be on stage. When I tried to help her walk up the stairs to the stage, she looked at me and said "mama, I can do this myself just like all the other girls". When they announced that she had won in her age division (10 - 12 year olds), I wasn't the only person in the audience who was crying. Little girls' dreams do come true!

Carol Norris
Bonaire, GA

I didn't let NLD slow me down

I have posted before to the blog and had an amazing response For those of you who don't know me or my story, I was diagnosed with non verbal learning disability (NLD) when I was 16 years old. At that time my parents and I finally had a sense of relief now we had an understanding. Now some people commented on my story a diagnosis proves nothing ! With a proper diagnosis we were able to learn my spectrum how I could successfully pass high school and the challenges I may face later on this diagnosis in a lot of ways saved my life. At that time I was severely depressed and self harming and in no way benefiting myself or my parents. I challenged myself to be better, instead of the constant feeling of being different or alone and that no one would understand what I was going through. My mother thought fitness fitness was an outlets to stimulate my mind manage my NLD and anxiety. After a year of her prying I finally joined and I have lived in a gym ever since it changed my life. Recently I received my master fit coach certification with the help of koko fit club where I work and train. To the parents who have children with NLD it can be frustrating and stressful and some days feels like all hope is lost. Don't give up I beg you not to. My parents never gave up on me, they pushed me to be better. They did so much research and worked with me in so many ways so I could be successful! I have two amazing parents. So many people have told me I'm a role model for them and inspiration I never thought I would hear that and it's so humbling ! For the kids and adults reading this with NLD or on the spectrum or struggling remember this, you are not different you are unique and have special gifts to share with the world. I found mine in fitness and training. You will find yous.

Tyler Hutchinson
Salem, NH

let the children teach

At age 4 my beautiful daughter was almost expelled from pre-kindergarten. That's where it all began. We fought diagnoses and medication for everything from ADHD, anxiety, bi-polar, oppositional defiant disorder and at least four more. She began to struggle so bad that she was removed from the public school system at age 6. She then ended up in a mental facility for 3 days because the medication drove her over the edge. Finally I found someone after having had 3 full neuropsychological assessments, 5 counselors and 3 psychologists in addition to the assessments, that was willing to consider autism as a possibility. Finally she was eligible for a proper autism evaluation and there was no more doubt. Sadly though she was diagnosed shortly after her 8th birthday making her ineligible for any state supported care. We have since been able to get her into some supportive programs. She is back in school. Working through a self contained program. She has become so much better socially adjusted and I have learned so much from her. We call autism her "special ability" (she thought of that) and she is doing amazingly well. We cycle sometimes but thanks to my beautiful daughter I have learned so much and her and I have become serious advocates in our community.

Jennifer
Green Bay, WI

Big Questions Begin...

I'll never forget the day Griffin came out from his bath, wrapped in his Sesame Street towel, and asked, "Mommy, do I have Aspergers?" I immediately was filled with shock and relief. My husband, Tom wasn't home and I knew this was a conversation we needed to have with him together. I scrambled for my words. Knowing he was not going to stop asking until he got an answer, I still tried to prolong a response. "Well, sweetie I think we should wait for dad," I replied. " But, Mom, I want to know what you think," he said. How could I look at him and not respond? "Honey, I really don't know. How would it make you feel if you did?" I asked. "Well, I would feel cool because my friend Roger* has it, and he's cool. But I'd also feel sad that I would always be scared of things." My heart just about broke and at the same time was filled with love and gratitude that I had a child that could so beautifully express himself.

The conversations we now have are so amazing. Tom & I have always been honest telling him that, like everyone, he has things to work on; that he has an amazing brain; and, that we will never stop trying to get him the help and understanding he deserves. But now we are able to really dive into this with him, sharing our thoughts and getting a clearer picture of his. Previously, I had struggled with what to tell him, and how to tell him. I felt like I was betraying him, lying to him. How could I tell him anything when even the doctors still had different opinions?

We explained that there is no blood test to know for sure, but that he has characteristics that look most like Aspergers and that is what his doctors, his dad, and I think too. He now proudly tells people that he's on the Autism Spectrum and has Aspergers. He's such an inspiration to me and I know he will do great things!

Missy Vaughn-Dean
Chicago, IL

Autism does not define you

Hello I'm shelby I'm 16 and high functioning autism. I also suffer from depression anxiety gentic lung Diease alpha 1. Here's my story

In school as a girl I always had teachers treat me like I couldn't do my own work they'd try todo it for me . Which really aggreavatited me. Kids in school would treat me like I didn't know what they were talking about like I was dumb .
I showed the teachers I could do my own work even started on advanced courses 4th-5th-6th grade. I made friends who really didn't treat me different. By 7th grade it was over for me. I got bullies by students and a teacher. She'd pull me aside in class cause I was "fat and stupid " or call my mom a bitch " in front of the whole class. To make a point I was diffent I didn't belong in her class. I came home with bruised ribs from her students former friends of mime. By the end of 8th grade I stopped going to school did online. I didn't want to be around anything like that again. Does autism really make me that different that everyone thinks they can walk over me. I had enough in 10th grade I'm still terrified to go into our high school over the years before. It isn't fair what happened. Just because I am different. I realized that but what can I do? Let me tell you what I did. I do my online School I can't wait to do culinary yes my autism still affects me BUT I have friends who treat me equal my family doesn't mind it ( except maybe my sensory on food I'm picky xD) but I moved on and Learned AUTISM DOES NOT DEFINE YOU , YOU DEFINE YOURSELF. Beacuse no body's perfect but who wants to be when you can be yourself !

shelby bell
Yukon, OK

Raphael

"God heals" that's the biblical meaning of his name, he is our second child. He was diagnosed with ASD when he was around 2, life was like facing a blank wall then, he is non verbal, no eye contact, delayed mental development and poor social skills. We dont know what he needs or wants unless he cries. He doesnt know pain either that,even if he is bleeding he will just brush off the blood.

Raphael has been attending special education for about eight years and he has improved a lot, he talks a lot although some we still can not understand, he can express himself now if he is hungry, needs to go to the toilet and many other skills. He also loves to sing, read books or look at the Pictures, and his hand is very fast to operate electronic gadgets especially mobile phones.

We still have a long,way to go but i believe in time he will get all the pieces together. He still earns curious and sorry glances from people when we are in public and i simply tell him to say hi everytime.

He is a sweet and smart boy, and he has every right to be treated fairly, and i dont encourage people to pity him. In our country although,people hear about autism they dont understand it well. And there is no clear support program from our governmeng. But it should not be reason for us to give up.

Rachel Deocampo
Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines