Stories of Hope

Our will to make it!

All 3 of our children are autistic
All three boys are miracle babies, they all have a reason they shouldn’t be alive, but they beat the odds… when i was 18 weeks pregnant with MaCaleb i had to have emergency galbladder surgery due to severe pain and being jaundice, but somehow he survived My next pregnancy was Twins Cadence and Madalyn, at around 22 weeks Madi’s heart stopped, i continued carrying her to ensure Cadence’s survival,Cadence somehow kept thriving though and a few weeks later i delivered Cadee at 4lbs 2ozs, and my angel baby Madi And then there was Marchie a baby boy born dieing, as soon as the doctors figured out what was wrong with him and how bad it was, they had him flown to the nearest NICU, about 100 miles away…MaCaleb 11 is autistic, has bi-polar disorder, ADHD, migraines, and a severe anxiety disorder. Our youngest March age 7 is austistic, OCD, SPD, ODD, has many delays, he was a NICU baby, he spent the first 6 months living in the NICU, while in there he had many blood transfussions, heart surgery and many other things. He was never expected to survive to his first birtbday but has beaten all the odds so far, he has a weak heart, hypo plastic lungs and severe asthma. And then there is Cadence age 8, medically cadee is much worse that his brothers… he has aspergers, epilepsy,elisodic mood disorder, fibromyalgia, arthritis, episodic mood disorder, vitamin D and B deficiencie, severe anxiety disorder, EOE, a year ago Cadence had a stroke and a seizure leaving him with less muscle tone on his left side, it also caused a TBI (traumatic brain injury) its left him with short term memory, forgetfulness, confussion, and severe tremors. 3 weeks ago Cadee almost died because of valproic acid poisioning that has now caused damage to his heart, liver, and kidneys. My husband and I dispence over 3 dozen medications multiple times a day, and we have a little over 2 dozen doctors. Our doctor’s offices range from an hour away to 6 hours away.

Tabatha Barnes
Carlisle, PA

Our Wiggles

Exactly 22 months ago God sent us the most beautiful angel... he lights up our nights and brightens our day like no one can imagine. He's a loving, beautiful little boy and fills up the room with his presence like no one else. Mr Wiggles, as we call him, turns 22 months today... just a little shy away from turning 2 years old! Around 12 months of age we noticed something different about his speech (regressing), and the way he reacted in social situations... not too social, not too talkative, shy, scared of loud noises and not open at all to "new" people touching him. Thank God he has very stubborn parents and family and we didn't stop with just a concern.

Today Wiggles was diagnosed with mild Autism. Yes, my Wiggles. I am not sad, I am not upset... I was most upset about not knowing and worrying. I thank God for him every second of my life and as I learned today, he is a BIGGER blessing and a GIFT more than we ever would have imagined. God has many big and beautiful things waiting for our Wiggles... and we will all be by his side! -- and yes I reposted his Nachoooooooo Halloween costume pic because he is just soooo cute!

We will be forever grateful to early intervention... he has been undergoing occupational and speech therapy recommended by his doctor even before he was officially diagnosed, as well as changing his diet drastically (no wheat, casein, soy, gluten and no processed foods). In only 3 months we have seen a WORLD of difference! Don't ever wait on doing something for your child. As soon as you have ONE concern... ask... It is never too early... or too late!

Sandra & Nestor
San Antonio, TX

My Life So Far

At 3 and a half years old I was diagnosed with Autism. My parents didn’t know what to think or how to help me at first. All my parents knew about this condition was what Rain Man displayed. My parents had to go through hard changes to get me to act like children my age. I had years of therapy for speech and behavior, until I was 14 years old. In fact I spent 3rd through 5th grade in Rio Vista Elementary School in a single classroom for Special Ed students. Even though we were not learning all the things that kids our age were learning, our teacher, Mrs. Olson refused to give up on us and believed in educating us at all costs, even if our school wanted to baby us.

After I graduated 5th grade Mama, Papa, and I came across a small private middle school known as Messiah Lutheran School. What concerned my parents the most was that there was no Special Ed there; this was regular education. I wanted to go anyways, the only problem was because I did not have the same education as a regular 5th grader I would have to take it all over again; I agreed to it. For the next four years I stayed at this school and learned how to take notes, interact with other students, and get familiar with change.

Then it was time for high school; I went to Grant High and took mainstream classes – with the exception of Social Skills class and at the end of the first year I aced all my classes - even math. By 12th grade, colleges were calling my name! I graduated in 2013 and made a speech which I put on YouTube: Bonnie O'Connor Think Different. I am enrolled in LA Valley College right now and plan to transfer to a University (not sure which one yet), and I have worked three different jobs separately. I am 19 years old now and I don't believe disabilities have to destroy your dreams or goals. When you fall you can back up.

Bonnie Joy O'Connor
North Hollywood, CA

My missing piece.

My beautiful baby boy Ryan who is on the verge of turning 3 in January 2014! His first year of life he hit all his miles stones besides talking.

When he was 15 months old, and still hadn't tried to start putting together any words, so I got a little nervous. I reached out to other moms and their advice was to call Early Invention. We did the global evaluation and I came to realize he was behind on a lot of things. It was so hard to hear. I guess I must have been blinded to the truth, or the fact he is my first child and didn't know any better. We decided to start with speech and developmental therapy, which then led into occupational therapy, behavior counseling, and developmental playgroup. It is definitely rough juggling all that, setting up meetings, and working a full time job. We occasionally take a week break from it all to get time to spend with each other.

His sensory issues is what I think plays a huge part in all of this. The flapping, the constant need to be moving, and the urge to bite. Thank goodness for occupational therapy!! In October 2013 he was diagnosed with "moderate" autism. You would think thru all we have been doing therapy wise, and basically knowing what they were going to tell us that it wouldn't hurt so bad. But it did. But man oh man how special my sweet son is! He has his strengths in so many areas and now is trying to say more than 20 words! He is a wiz on the IPad, and a very loving boy.

I wouldn't have guessed that my child would be autistic. I wouldn't of ever thought I'd be as busy and have such a complicated life as i have now. But I wouldn't change my son for the world! I was missing something in my life before him, and then I found "My missing puzzle piece!"

He is my son, and I am the proudest and the luckiest mom there could be!

Jedta Meeker
Pekin, IL

Blessed with Bailey

It was this time 12 months ago we were handed the piece of paper with the autistic diagnosis - our son bailey was just about to turn 3. He was non verbal, showed no emotion, no imagination and severe self harming behaviour - the psychologist report indicated he was developmentally a 1 year old. This was the day that broke my heart, I went through depression, denial, anger and came out the other side ready to fight for my son. Our 12 month journey has not be easy we have weekly occupational therapy, psychology, speech therapy and bailey attends ECDP plus kindy 2 days a week. On top I run son rise based therapy from home. We have significantly changed our diet.
Today my son is verbal - he can put sentences together, he plays with toys how they are intended, he is fully toilet trained, his niche is numbers and letters, he shows emotion and starting to understand empathy, his fine and gross motor is all age equalivent, his sensory processing disorder no longer an issue and all round he is just a happy boy and I am considered the paranoid mum because no one knows he has special needs.
I often think back to those days that were so challenging 5 + severe self harm meltdowns - skin ripped from my arms, hair pulled out of my head, his head banging and hospital visits, the scream that goes straight through your body. Looking at him in the revision mirror exhausted because it took my 45 minutes just to get him in his seat and he is still screaming, gouging at his eyes and face, ripping chunks of hair out from his head and I was completely helpless.
Today I am his helper - when he feels himself going he calls me and says help me my mummy squeeze me.
Hardest job in the world but hands down the most rewarding one!!! Love you Bailey x

Jessica Merritt
Queensland, Australia

God's gift to our family

When I was 20 years old, my husband and I welcomed Dane into the world. He was a healthy, 8lb 4oz, beautiful baby boy! He hit all his milestones during his first year, even walking at 10 months. We noticed that he wasn't starting to talk by the time he was 18 months old. Our entire family voiced their concern for Dane's speech development. We decided to contact Early Intervention, and by the time he was 2 years old he was enrolled in speech and developmental therapy weekly. We have seen major improvements in Dane throughout this past year, due to the therapy. We eventually added an occupational therapist as the top priority for therapy, because Dane struggles with sensory processing, leading to many meltdowns throughout his days. After a few months of occupational therapy we decided that we needed an actual diagnosis of Dane's condition, in order to understand "the missing piece" of the puzzle. Just two months ago, Dane was diagnosed with autism disorder. The news broke my heart. A million questions ran through my head about his future. After some time went by, I realized that my God is able to heal every single disease and disorder that this world contains. I pray every single day that Dane will not only have a good week, but I thank Him in advance for the miracles that He is going to do in his life. God gave Dane to our family as a precious gift. He has been working in our hearts to give us patience beyond all understanding. I love Dane with all of my heart and more, and I would not change him for the world, but I would change the world for him!

Brittany
Chandler, AZ

Autism will not have Aiden

Aiden is the rock of our family, he is the strongest most loving soul in our lives and he has had our hearts since the day he was born, there is so much more to share about Aiden that there simply is not enough paper in the world to write everything about our little love. We don't believe that autism is a incurable disorder all it takes is knowledge and understanding to help your autistic child move forward.

Aiden was diagnosed with autism by the age of 3, as many other austistic children, he met all his milestones early on but when the hand flapping and late night tantrums begin that was our sign, immediately we had him evaluated through the Autism Network in San Antonio, TX.

Autism does not define Aiden, he has so many talents his feelings are just like yours and mine, he learns things because we show him and not just tell him, he still needs help with his social interactions because he gets scared with loud noise and when a lot of people are around and we know that too requires patience. Our family NEVER has had thoughts like "If he just would" or "Why can't he" after all he did not ask to have AUSTISM, our family views his autism as a different ability and not a disability, we look past his limitations and see the gift that autism has given him.

Aiden is well mannered and very polite, he will always say please & thank you and if he hears you sneeze even if he is three rooms down the hall he will say "Bless you" he loves riding the bus to school, loves making his rounds at his school campus to visit favorite teachers and office staff, loves his Ipad, loves his teacher Mrs. Davis, loves his family, loves hugs, kisses, loves Jesus and yes he knows what love is.

I can't wait to see what else Aiden learns this year and what he becomes in the future and this can only happen with us his family as his foundation.

Mary Camacho
Devine, TX

Au-some Boys!

At 18 I met my husband and his 18 month old nephew, Zach. Zach and I had a special connection. We were inseparable even though there was something different about him. His speech was advanced for his age but he wouldn't play with toys appropriately, was afraid of loud noises, and had meltdowns. When Zach was 7, he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.

15 years later, we now have 3 three autistic nephews with varying degrees of functioning. When our little boy, Troy, was born in 2010 we knew there was a chance he would be autistic. At 2 he only had a few words, he wouldn't play with toys appropriately, and loved to wander around doing his own thing. We put him in a regular preschool program prior to his diagnosis. They called me at least once a week to come get him because he wouldn't cooperate in classroom activities. Eventually, we were told he could not attend this school anymore. I was finishing my Master's degree and this was a major setback. I decided it was time to get help and find out if he was on the spectrum. He was officially diagnosed with autistic disorder, and this fall he is attending a developmental preschool class that will help him get the education he needs. My son is slowly adding to his vocabulary. He is a precocious guy with a sweet, fun personality. The characteristics that make him unique are directly related to autism and I wouldn't change him for the world. Despite having three autistic nephews, the news of Troy's autism sent shockwaves through family and friends. It took time for some people to digest the news and support us, and there are still some who refuse to believe he is on the spectrum. I get critical looks/comments when out with him, but to those who can't look past his autism to see his strengths, they are missing out on an amazing little boy who hasn't even begun to show us the great things he will be able to do. I have hope for Troy!

Charlotte Crary
Knoxville, TN

My Son Ryan

My son Ryan is now 5 years old. He was diagnosed in October 2012 with mild/moderate Autism. For us it all started with his well check up at the age of 18 months when he was not talking. We were told to call early intervention but we were in denial and felt like he would talk when he was ready. 6 months later he still was not speaking so after his 2 year check up we finally called early intervention. Finally before his 3rd birthday he started talking! We were so relieved but they felt he would continue to need therapy. He started speech therapy at a local school at the age of 3 1/2 and a couple months after that was evaluated and started a head start program that winter. 8 months later he was diagnosed. Finally we had a diagnosis! Today he is a happy healthy little boy! He started kindergarten this year and loves it, I am so proud of my little man :)

Brenda Gibson
Richmond, VA

My Nephews

My brother has 2 very severe autistic boys & another very high functioning. I am here next door and I take care of many of their needs.
They are the children God blessed me with. My 2 babies died before they were born, but I was saved to help and love these boys. The youngest is 17 now and I have been the mom around here for more than 10 years. When he touches me so gently or looks straight into my face I am overwhelmed by the love I feel from him. I have learned patience & tolerance through my service to them. I am humbled to have been chosen to love them. The 19 year old does speak with prompting. He loves to help. He'll clean off the table & closes cabinet doors I leave open. He knows what he wants to wear & tells me loud & clear NO if it is not to his liking. I have learned their signals & non-verbal gestures. They have brought a gift and the fulfillment I could never have had in my life. My husband & I live our lives around these boys & their older brothers. We are happily there for whatever they require. Their father is the epitome of selfless love & giving. He will do anything for his children. I have learned to be selfless & humble by tending to their needs. They have helped me to grow into the woman God intended me to be. I am forever grateful & in awe of the person I have become because of the innocent, loving ways of these young men in my life. They have taught me so much & the joy I receive is beyond anything I could have thought or dreamed of.

Anonymous
Lodi, NJ