Stories of Hope

My handsome Nephew

On October 19th 2007 Jacob Anthony Gambardella jr. was born the moment I looked at him I fell in love. He was perfect. At age 4 my sister noticed something was different about Jake he wasn't very social he liked to play alone so she got him tested for autism. She got the results back and Jake had aspergers. At age 5 Jake went to school all of us afraid school would be hard for him. He got home his first day and he loved school he loved his teacher and made a friend. Autism doesn't make Jake any less of a child he is my best friend me being 20 and him being 6 he makes me laugh smile and gives the best hugs. Jake is more than a nephew to me he is a gift from God. Even during his melt downs he still amazes me. I love you baby Jake. I will always be here to support you and be by your side.

Kayla Hanback
points, WV

My defining moment

My only daughter was the proud mom of twin boys. I couldn't have been happier. From their first day I spent every day helping her care for them. They were healthy & beautiful at birth, and continued to flourish, meeting the expectations of infants. Aidan was the serious one, with a sweet nature. A cuddly boy. Brennan, the smiley one, was a firecracker. Happy, wiggly, a bit quicker than his brother to meet each milestone. Both boys were a Gramma's dream. As the months went by, we grew more & more in love with each of their individual personalities. Then, when the boys were 9 months old, I was holding Brennan (our firecracker) in front of me, nuzzling & kissing his face. I reslized that he wouldn't make eye contact with me and turned his face when I went in for a kiss. Honestly...that was the moment Autism changed my life. There were many more moments like that before we even admitted to each other that we saw something wrong, and heard the words "diagnosis Autism". But that was the defining moment. The boys are still the loves of my life, & I continue to help care for them most days., but that day stands out as a defining moment in all of our lives.

Cheryl Mcclements
Holly Springs, GA

a new aspie

The day I received my Asperger's dx my life changed forever. I finally had a "because" to the why's in my liffe. It brought me closer to my family & once I went through the cycles of acceptance & denial I felt I belonged finally to others like me. I'm now a proud aspie.

Lance Filip
Willowbrook, IL

My Autistic Son...LEX

Hello, my name is Kendra. 5 years ago yesterday I was given the most amazing miracle. A baby boy. After a few hours of birth he was rushed to univercity of chicago childrens hospital. Due to seizures and apnea. He was monitored and tested for a few weeks their until he was finally able to go home:) monthes later he seemed on paceuntil, my husband and I saw anoher child his age. How much they could talk. Of course we didnt think much of it. We made excuse after excuse...until finally a couple years ago we finally decided to fully rechearch what was going on in our sons life. We had another son 18 monthes after Lex was born. And when he (Max) had started putting sentances together and answer simple questions...Lex couldn't. That was a little wakeup call for us afrer some denial! Finally April of 2013. I took Lex to rileys childrens hospital in indianapolis indiana. Lex was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Since then he has gotten percriptions for some speach therapy and occupational therapy. He is starting a new school were he can get one on one attention. He is so excited and loves it! He just before school had experianced another seizure...his first one since he was a newborn. So we are still watching closely for him and taking all precautions we can. Of course prayers would be appreciated;) Thank you everyone for your time.

kendra
Highland, IN

Matt-Attack isn't Autistic - He's Awesome

March 21, 2012 was the day we finally got our official diagnosis. The Neurologist looked over the desk at my husband and I and said "Your Son has ASD; we are classifying him with Aspergers". We had danced around this diagnosis for a couple of years after he'd been improperly diagnosed with two other conditions.

The Neurologist said he was extremely high functioning and very bright and advanced for his age. Though we knew it was coming it didn't make that blow any easier. The doctor confirmed that everything as we knew it was about to change; little did we know how much.

Having a child with special needs of any degree is life altering and March 21st of 2012 will forever be embedded into my brain. Since that day we discovered a lot about our son; ourselves and the support system we thought we had in place. Our lives literally changed almost instantly and we quickly got over the pain in our hearts and jumped right into what do we do to make everything easier for our child and for our family as a whole.

Since the official diagnosis our son has made huge strides in a short amount of time. My husband and I have gone at it alone with very little help and support. But together as a family we stand proud regardless of the relationships that have suffered because some could not handle our new normal. Matt is now 11 yrs old; a 5th grader and an awesome big brother to his 5 yo sister. He goes to an after school therapeutic program which he loves; has a mobile therapist once a week visit our home to help us as a family manage his condition and is one of the top students in his class. He is mainstreamed with no IEP and makes us proud every single day. We'll continue to jump those small hurdles together as a strong family unit.

Melissa Pennington
Gilbertsville, PA

My name is Luka

This is a story of a boy, whose name is Luka. A boy who has family, relatives, friends who love and accept him. Luka is the same like others of his age, but he is also different. Luka has autism. Autism don't make him better or worse than boys of his age, just different. Lets do something together to remove prejudices. Lets learn people that everybody is worth of love and acceptance being different or not.

Svetlana Stojkovic Tomic
Smederevo, Serbia

The year I drove Steph to school

My name is Pam I used to drive school bus but one year I drove the van I took a student to school who has autism never had so much fun that year driving her to school she had her up and downs but all in all she was special to me and still is I go to her birthday parties this year is her last year of school and Im proud of her and when shes sees me out in public I get the bear hug of the year thanks Steph for the memories

Pam Collins
Lorain, OH

My little Christopher

When Christopher was born, we always knew he was special. He has an obsession with figuring things out that stems to when he was just a baby. He was always into building and putting things together. Christopher is completely non verbal and was diagnosed with Autism when he was two years old. He is an amazing little boy that has the personality of an adult I think. He is funny, sweet and a character! When we first started noticing that Christopher wasn't making his milestones or keeping up with his sister, we had him evaluated at the Childrens Developmental Services Agency. They got him the help he needed and the therapy we so yearned for. After about one year of CBRS, Occupational Therapy and Speech therapy Christopher is thriving. He is still non verbal but babbles like a baby constantly. His mental capacity has reached about a 18 month old and he just turned three in July. When he was first evaluated in August 2012, he was at about a 9 month old. We have come a long way and it has been rough. This little boy is the light of my life! He gives me so much joy everyday because his heart is pure. He doesn't feel hatred or malice towards others. He treats everyone equally. He loves meeting new people and playing with new kids. His total innocence and pure soul make him the most amazing little boy. While we have a long way to go, Christopher is growing and learning everyday. I never use the words "getting better" because there isn't anything wrong with him. In the words of one of the most inspiring autistic people Temple Grandin, he is different; not less and I love him more everyday.

Jackie Reyes
Selma, NC

my life saver

My son is perfect. He wasn't diagnosed until he was almost 6 but I already knew in my heart that he was autistic. When he was almost 2 I took him to stat care for a cold and he threw a fit I had to wrap my arms and legs around him just to the doctor could look in his ears. The doctor made a comment about him being autistic and from then on I just knew. But Kolton was and still is a very hard child to read and even his preschool teachers told me not to have him evaluated but to "wait and see" . Kolton had to have tubes put into both of his ears right before he turned 5. Before that Kolton did not talk but maybe a few words here and there. We developed our own language he and I did. Now a year and a half later my little prince is almost to smart for his own good and he talks up a storm! He attends 1at grade in a small.classroom for autistic children and he loves it. His super power?? I am not quite sure of what that is yet but I can say he is an extremely fast learner and one of the kindest most well adjusted kid u will ever meet and in a world full of impatient troubles people, that's enough of a super power for me& I love you baby not!

nicki
Carrollton, OH

My Brother Kyle

My name is Kayla Smith. I have a 22 year old brother named Kyle Smith. My brother Kyle is lucky enough to have Autism. Although Kyle is 22 his intellectual level is that of a small child. Kyle can not have a conversation like most you and I could. He understands most things that you say to him, but can not process a response. Although my brother is two years older than myself, I always found great joy in helping my parents in taking care of Kyle.

When I was younger I didn't quite understand what the word Autism meant, let alone that it was not something that can be cured. I always thought "He will get better, it's not permanent" But you know what in a way I was correct; not in the fact that Autism can be cured but that he will get better. Throughout the years I have watched my brother progress from not having any form of speech to a simple yes or no or asking for more of something. From not knowing how to read or write to having the ability. Of course as most of you know; with Autism comes great talents. Kyle's greatest talent is video games. He doesn't have to sit down and read instructions in order to play a game. He starts the game already knowing what has to be done and how he needs to do it.

I have never looked at my brother as challenging but challenged and not defective but different. Autism is not something that should be looked down upon or shunned. Autism is a special gift from God. God gives you these special people so you can learn how to appreciate life in the aspect they do. Kyle doesn't have the opportunity to worry about bills, or a job, or even a significant other. Yet he still appreciates life and people in the way we all should. That's what Autism is all about, being different from the "Normal" but really... Who is normal? Maybe Autism is normal and we all are the ones who are different.

Kayla Smith
St Cloud, FL