Stories of Hope

This is Aidan's story about how he feels having Asperger's

My Aspergers :

Asperger’s syndrome isn’t a disability or a disadvantage . Asperger’s isn’t a disease you can cure , nor something you should distinguish children by. Asperger’s is a part of who you are . Life wouldn’t be complete without children who have Asperger’s . If you have Asperger’s or know someone with Asperger’s , do not, not include them or make them your “cheat code” . Do not beg for Asperger’s . I assure you it is no joy or gift . A kid with Asperger’s will dislike or like something in general . Like me , I hate loud noises but love technology . If life excluded people with Asperger’s, the world would neither be a better or worse place . It would be off balance . Children with Asperger’s are a part of the world’s balance . Without them , the world would be different and strange . So Asperger’s is nothing to be sad or happy about . Asperger’s is just a part of life . Thank you for taking the time to read this .

Sincerely ,
Aidan C. Freischlag

helen
wilson, NY

My son's story...

For so long we have been conditioned in the world of education. We have been told their way is the best way, or in some cases the only way. We have been told they know our children better than we do. We have been told our children are menaces, when in fact they were extraordinary and it was lost on the narrow minded thoughts of the administration.

Anthony has Aspergers and went through hell all through his public school years.We were always assured he was safe in their hands.

Anthony was degraded by teachers, principals, special education, and of course his peers for being different. He is a tactile child and had been called a "budding rapist" because he touched a girl's puff paint on her shirt. He had been called a "serial killer in training" He drew blood on a hunting picture and "guns", that were in fact needles used for saving the hunter's life in the ER because he was shot. He had a vocal tic and was even told by his teacher she wished she could throw up on his shoes because the sound made her sick! The final straw was a teacher who gave a child a squirt gun to wake my son (who was under the influence of ADD meds because she "couldn't handle him".). He had an instant melt down. She jerked him up by his arm and forced him into a corner and cried himself to sleep!

My son has been through hell and back! The education system is NOT prepared to deal with Asperger children. They are looked upon as unruly and disruptive. They are considered learning disabled, when in fact they are "little geniuses".

On the day I finally, once and for all, removed my son from public education he informed me he was going to take his life if he had to continue on. His needs were NEVER met, and the lies were multiple.

I now have him home and educating him myself through unschooling. Never again will I put my child through that kind of torment and hell!!

Gretchen Herrera
Lexington, SC

Different is okay!

I knew J was different from 2 months old. He was my 4th child and cried all the time. He developed but was slow to make eye contact. He smiled and was happy as long as things went his way, but wouldn't talk to anyone. He would say the sounds animals make but not say mama. I sought help from his dr. He said that he was fine. I knew better and bought videos that helped non-verbal kids to talk. He began to speak. Eating was an issue. He vomited every meal. By 3 y.o., he would only eat chicken nuggets, and fries and had no impulse control. He would rage! He rarely played with toys but once, I gave him a toy dinosaur. He loved it and asked for more. By now we had baby number 5. He helped to save J. His "I do it by myself" attitude made me push J in ways I hadn't before. J became capable as he watched his brother and as we expected more of him. At 5, I began to home school him through charter school and he went twice a week to class. I sought help from his dr. who still said he was fine. My mom's heart knew better. I entered college, studying special needs children. I saw shades of J in my textbooks. We began the interventions that I learned. J is 14 now and doing so well. He is an A student and is gentle, empathetic, and very relational. He has social anxiety and is still picky about food. He was 13 before we got a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome. He's in peer group therapy, learning to cope with anxiety and to interact with the world around him. He has a small area of interest but we work to broaden it. We still home school.Please don't deny signs of your child being on the spectrum. J's better for the early intervention he got from a family that pushed him to learn to live in this world that isn't always kind. He knows he's different, but that's okay!

Anonymous
Inland Empire, CA

How being an au pair for autistic children changed my life

Couple of years ago I went to America to be an au pair for a family in California. When I arrived they had 3 children but the host mom was pregnant with the 4th one. Taking care of 4 kids was scary for a 19-year old me, but you can't even imagine my surprise when I found out that TWO of the kids have autism.Darius was the oldest one and had autism, but a ''mild kind'', but JJ had ''severe kind'' of autism. When I first arrived to the family Darius was so talkative, happy, playing with me, he was like all the ''normal'' kids so I didn't know in what way he was different. JJ on the other hand was all quit, didn't want to look at me, talk or interact in any way. I thought maybe he is just shy. After a couple of days spent in their family, after everyday's sessions with their therapist I god the picture of what autism is. Darius and I would sing all the time, play, he would help me a lot with other kids, even the newborn. But JJ would NEVER look me in the eyes, he didn't talk talk much, he was scripting ALL THE TIME, and sometimes I would get so frustrated with all of that because I didn't know how to handle that.After couple of months looking at how therapist interact with them, and work with them, I started applying those things to them also. I started practicing talking with JJ, interacting with him more, he would help me make the beds, with the breakfast, and after a couple of weeks he started doing those things by himself and I was so happy.Having a kid with autism is really hard. I can't tell you how happy and blessed I was when JJ look me in the eyes for the first time. Those two kids inspired me to be a therapist for special needs children. Autistic kids all live in their little worlds and they choose who can be there with them. <3 them

Au Pair
Osijek, Croatia

My Life With Autism

My daughter was diagnosed with classic autism on February 1,2012. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was overwhelmed with so many emotions. My heart broke into little pieces.
I was scared and didnt know what to expect. I got Early intervention services for my daughter right away. As soon as she started her services I saw a change. A change that would amaze me. You see, I was so worried about the "what if's" instead of focusing on "she can and will". Since my daughter has started Early Intervention she has learned all the basic skills she needed to learn. When you see your child progress its priceless. What gave me the strength to keep going on this journey was support from family and friends, a understanding and accepting that my daughter may be different but it doesnt change the fact that she can and will show her true beauty and will not let Autism define who she is. Never lose HOPE

Jill Rodriguez
newark, NJ

A modern day miracle

When my husband and I received the diagnosis that are two year old is severly autistic, our world fell apart. We left the doctor's office feeling numb and all alone. Two weeks later after the inital shock subsided, we knew we had our work cut out for us. The first thing we did was stopped feeling sorry for ourselves and for our son and decided to conquer "this autism". Even though we were told that the possibility of him ever speaking, be academically inclined and interact socially had a poor prognosis, we didn't give up hope.

Eleven years later and a lot of hard work, patience and perseverence my son is verbal, social and high functioning. He plays sports, piano and is doing great academically, especially in math and science! Last month he attended the school dance and asked three girls to dance with him, and they did. He certainly does not lack any confidence in that department!

Don't give up hope, the impossible is possible! With prayers and support from family and friends, not to mention INTENSE ABA therapy, the light switch came on for him and everything came together nicely. The secret is this: be consistent, do not give in no matter how hard and difficult it is to deal with the melt downs, otherwise you're not doing any favors for your child or yourself! Celebrate the achievements, don't be discouraged from any set backs as autistics are entitled to have bad days too! And integrate your child with typical children as they will emulate them and build on their social skills appropriately. If you suspect your child is autistic, seek a professional immediately to confirm the diagnosis and start ABA therapy immediately as time is of essence. The longer you wait, the longer the recovery will be. Being in denial will not help your child in the long run.

Elena
Toronto, Canada

Life on the Spectrum’s Edge

I still remember the day the letter came from the director of “Steve’s” daycare, labeling him “a danger to himself and others.” He was three years old.
Steve had had a meltdown. He had gotten upset and had lashed out, knocking over a wooden bookcase. It had almost fallen on another child.
We found another daycare center, but one day, I was called to pick him up for god. Another rejection, and it hurt. I found him in hysterics, crying, “Help me, Mommy. I can’t stop.” I didn’t know what to do.
We talked to everyone, but it was not until after eight years of consultations and treatments that he was diagnosed with autism and anxiety disorder.
When he entered sixth grade, the public school assured us that they were equipped to work with Steve, but his teachers wouldn’t even speak to him directly. I just kept getting emails and phone calls and being summoned for meetings, in which they made it clear that his problems were a result of my failings as a parent.
There was no way for me to continue working and parenting my boys, so I quit my job and put Steve in a different school that had autism support.
Now, Steve attends our area’s most challenging high school. They adjust for him, but he still has debilitating anxiety attacks. We have learned that Steve’s memory associates homework with the trauma he experienced during that nightmare 6th grade year. There are days when he can’t cope and needs to come home. Other parents get calls from the school nurse; I get calls from the school counselor.
Last year, he told me that the day I quit my job was the day he stopped contemplating suicide, because I was fighting for him. I’d saved his life without realizing it.
Steve is going to be okay. He has a brilliant mind and is in an accepting environment. It may not be easy, but after watching so many people fight for him, he has learned to believe in himself.

Anonymous
Lakewood, OH

Don't judge with out knowing me.

Hi my name is Olivia and I'm 22 years old and i have a learning disability think just because I don't have a regular diploma I'm not smart. I am smart I just think different. I am a leader for young adults with special needs and I have my own business. But if I want a job I only have two options a grocery store or a place that hires people with disability's. I want to do more than that. I want to be someone that stands up for people like me that don't get a voice and I have to sit in the side lines. But I can't because where I live they really don't care. They didn't help me in school. So what I'm trying to say is we may not have a regular diploma or may think different. But I do know this we are as smart as anybody Eli's in this world.

Anonymous
Naples, FL

My Journey With Donovan

I always fondly remember my son, Donovan (now 2 years old), as a happy baby. It wasn't until he was at least 7 months old that I realized something was different about him. He watched his feet twirl and was delayed in sitting up, crawling, and walking. He received physical therapy and I was told that it took him longer to do all of those things because he has low muscle tone. He walked unassisted at 15 months old. A few months went by and he still wasn't progressing with his speech. At the next assessment, he qualified for speech, occupational, and developmental therapy. At this point, Donovan's paternal grandmother had mentioned Autism. I mentioned this to our 2 friends (involved in elementary education) who agreed that he had characteristics of Autism (dangling objects, lacking in speech, didn't pretend play, afraid of animals, toe walking, need to step on objects, etc.). We then started the referral process to Dr. Morton in Champaign, IL. We luckily only had about a 5 month wait from the time we got the paperwork sent in to the day of our evaluation. Our evaluation was December 4, 2013. Dr. Morton and his student were very thorough and did a great job assessing the situation. Donovan was diagnosed as PDD-NOS, which means that he has some characteristics of Autism, but not enough to specifically call it Autism. The new DSM-V removes Asperger's and PDD-NOS and just diagnoses as ASD. Luckily, as of right now, the old DSM can still be used to diagnose. I knew in my heart that he would be diagnosed that day and I think that's why I accepted it so easily. I knew that no matter what happened, he's the greatest blessing in my life and I'd do whatever I possibly could to help him. God blessed me by choosing me to be Donovan's mother. I couldn't ask for a better son. We may have challenges ahead of us as he starts school next year, but nothing is impossible with God. My favorite phrase right now is "Differently Abled, Not Disabled".

Ellie Boling
Irving, IL

Hoof Print's In The Sand

Hoof Prints In The Sand
Hi, My name is Meghan Dixon! I have Autism. Horses saved my life! Horses walked With me when No one else was there for me! Sometimes when ever I was so lost I had no one to turn to but my horse, Horses have always been there to catch me when I fall, Sadly as a Teenage I discovered that through my rise and falls horses were my only friends! I lost my way as a teenager because people were so cruel to me, When my heart was filled with sorrow and despair the horse carried me through my darkest days, When I would began to fade away, Horses showed me my way! When I was all alone, With so much unknown a long the way, The horse was my one safe place! They were my only escape, When ever I look into the eyes of a horse I can see and feel the healing hands of god! I can feel my life flash across the sky When I look Into their eyes Like we collide They give me the wings to fly! Horses have helped me understand where I am going. Horses show me what faith, hope and love is! Before I Had a life with horses I was broken and lost in a life that didn't want me! Without horses I am lost! Horses build me up, They never tear me down! Horses rescued my heart and soul, I was lost but now I am found because of the horse. They help me to understand The way I am! This is my story, I found the Hoof Print's In The Sand.

Meghan Dixon
Cleburne, TX