Stories of Hope

Charles Jr.

My son Cj is 2 years old now. Up until he was 1 year old he was hitting all his milestones most of them he was doing early. He said mom, dada, yum yum, he clapped, he always looked people in the eyes, he responded to his name and played with his toys. He was early with crawling and walking. He stopped giving eye contact, didnt respond to his name, stopped saying dada and yum yum, no more clapping, and he mouthed every toy. Around the age of 1 I noticed he wasn't responding to his name anymore, he had just had tubes put in his ears about 3 months prior so we thought maybe he had hearing loss. We went through a series of testing and finally we had a sedated abr test done which showed his hearing was normal. At that point I went to the web to do some research. Autism popped up and I went through the list of things associated with autism. I asked a friend if she thought Cj may be autistic. I knew she worked with autistic kids in the past and she said she really believed my son had autism. I made an appointment with the pediatrician and at this time Cj was about 15 months old. His doctor spent about an hour with us to observe Cj and watch how he interacted with us and toys. She then sent us to have him evaluated for autism, he was 17 months old. A month later we went in for his results and at 18 months old Cj was diagnosed with autism. Cj has 4 therapys a week, he has 2 speech therapy's, 1 special educator, and 1 occupational therapist. He started those at 16 months old, now only 8 months later he is giving alot more eye contact, he is playing and observing his toys, he has started to say some words every now and then, and he is getting to the point where he plays with his big sister and cousin. I believe early intervention is key and it really helps.

Anonymous
Baltimore, MD

My Sunshine

I am blessed to have 3 beautiful daughters . They each bring so much joy to my life. My youngest , has Autism. She amazes me every day . She brings such perspective into my life ,and she a very pure soul. She is extremely smart , She has one of the best personalities I have ever seen . She has taught me more than anyone could ever have , or ever will . She has opened my eyes and walks me through a new door each day . She will turn a bad day into a warm hug ,she makes me cry tears of joy and makes so very grateful that I get to walk this Journey called Life , with Her , by my side . We share a special Bond ,even though she cannot explain her feelings to me , I can somehow feel them in my heart ,to a point . She will blow your mind , enlighten your heart , and embrace your soul . She is MY Sunshine .<3

We all need to educate the world about Autism. I was clueless until about 4 years ago . And now I am this Childs Voice . And we all need to be the Voice . Teach others about Autism . Show them that the spectrum is just a different path , not the wrong path . We are blessed to have some Amazing ,Loving people in our little world , and we are extremely grateful for each and everyone of them <3

DeAnna M. Steinberg
Topsham, ME

My Son Logan

Logan Jones an amazing teenager with autism. Just started high school and he does not like change. Change is one thing that really messes with him. But he is doing great in school. He is mom and dad's treasure. It was hard to deal with, till we knew what was wrong. But turned out to be a amazing boy.

Robert Jones
Moundsville, WV

my inspiring miracle

My soon to be 11 year old son has autism and he inspires me daily because he never seems discouraged that he is different or that he has more challenges then other children his age. It's obvious he is a different kid when around other children but easy to forget when there aren't other children to compare him to. He has many gifts and a phenomenal memory. He is as good as Google maps, being that he can travel once some place he has never been and months later and he will know exactly where he is when is going. How many are terrible with a sense of direction? I hope he can remain sweet and so caring for others and I pray he will have people along the way who care back to him. I love you Jackson to the moon and back to infinity and beyond!!!!

Wendy Murray
Platte city, MO

My Super hero Jacob

My son Jacob is 9 years old, at 3 he was diagnosed with Autism. He didnt start speaking till he was about 5, He went from one word sentences to speaking in full paragraphs, When we our out and about Jacob can photographically remember the whole neighborhood from street signs to different buildings and only been there one time, He goes home and creates his own neighborhood with exact set up as the previous place we were, He has every Beatles song ever made memorized, His favorite Hey Jude, He is one of the smartest children in his class ( 3rd Grade ) His reading skills are at a 6th grade level, His favorite place Chuck E cheese and his fav thing to do after school is get on his lap top, He teaches me something new every day, he is my inspiration, He is very hyper and OCD with almost every day routines, He is my super hero =)

Sarah
JOPPATOWNE, MD

Unconditional Love

My baby brother Joseph Anthonie Perez was born October 26th, 1998 he arrived to this world 6 days late but over all was a healthy BIG 9 pounds and 14 ounces. When he was 2 years old my baby brother got very sick his blood pressure dropped & he almost died he shorty got diagnosed with anemia the doctors told my mom and family that my brother would possibly not reach the normal mile stones most kids make. But to not worry he will catch up with the other kids as time goes on. Time passed and my brother was 4 years old he still was not reaching the normal milestones children should at this time my brother was only saying a few words like " No " , " Yes " , Sissy ( Sister ) or Mommy. He hardly said a word and when he wanted to say some thing but couldn't he point or mouth the words. My mom took my brother to the doctor they ran some simple tests on him and the doctor told us my brother has a mild case of autism. At age 4 my brother started speech therapy he went from not saying anything at all to a few words he is 15 years old now a high school soft-more he plays Basketball, Bowling & track n field on the Special Olympics team. He talks so much now he is an inspiration to me because even though he still struggles to speak some times he always has a smile on his face. He is so smart & i love watching him learn new things everyday he loves helping people & he loves making people smile. My baby brother has this unconditional love that is so pure and simple I learn new things from him everyday I am so proud & blessed to be this little man Sister.

Krystal Perez
San Antonio, TX

Noah's story

My son Noah loves Cars the movie, Lego's, and he loves the American Revolution. When he was around three loud noises scared him to death. He would run in any direction he could to avoid the noise even into the street. It was around this time we began to notice his differences with socialization and his obsession with certain topics. It wasn't until age 8 that we had him formally diagnosed. Through his evaluation we got a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder specifically Asperger's, a Developmental Coordination Disorder, and a Non-Verbal Learning Disability. As his mom, I always knew Noah fell on the spectrum. I never had him formally diagnosed because there is no cure for ASD, and if there was...I wouldn't want to change a thing about my son, he's sweet, loving, and curious. I would however like to change the way society sees him. We agreed to a formal evaluation last summer because with an "official" diagnosis he would qualify for more services outside of the services he receives at school. After his diagnosis, it was time to tell him. I found a wonderful video of a little boy from England with Asperger's. This boy reminded me so much of Noah, he too had a love for Lego and history. I sat with Noah and showed him the video. I said "this little boy has Asperger's, it's the same thing that you have". His first response was "I don't want to have that". I said "well lets watch the video and see what you think after". We sat together and watched when the clip was over Noah turned to me and said "that boy thinks like I think" and I said "yes, he does and he likes a lot of the same things you do". Noah said "well if he is ok with having Asperger's than so am I". That was the response I wanted. I want my son to be comfortable with who he is, to embrace his differences, and to grow into a self confidant young man. Isn't that what all parents want for their children?

Tracie Macomber
Berkley, MA

My kids make my heart smile!!!

I have twin boys that are 7 years old. They are creative, outgoing, smart, loving to no end, always smiling, and they are autistic. I knew from the time they were born there was something different about them. I did not know what that difference was until they were diagnosed with autism at the age of 1. For a long time I thought it was my fault and I was very angry. I would explode on anyone I thought was ridiculing my boys. I also have a very wonderful daughter that is 9 years old who is not autistic. When she was 5 and the twins 3.. we were at Walmart when a couple made a sideways comment about how loud my twins were being. I was so upset that I wanted to leave before I exploded. Then my daughter grabbed my hand, smiled at me and said "its okay Mommy". Then she grabbed her brothers hands and went up to the couple and said "these are my brothers, they are twins, I love them very much and they are autistic." The couple proceeded to ask me questions and we had a great conversation. That day my daughter taught me something...She changed the way i looked and interpreted how people react to my twins. Most people are just curious and need that curiosity filled with knowledge. There are still going to be ignorant people out there...but they have to live with their self everyday! I thank GOD for my kids each and everyday. I am so BLESSED. I would never even think of changing them if I could...Because of my children I am stronger then i could have ever imagined being. My children make my heart smile everyday. This was my life changing event. Mommy LOVES YOU Ahlyna Marie, Angelo, and DeAngelo!!!!

Jessica
DURHAM, NC

Ayden's Story

I had an absolute perfect pregnancy, no morning sickness, no problems during birth. He refused to breastfeed, didn't want to be held, if I rocked him it had to be on my knee, he didn't want my shoulder. He slept 10 hours a night at 6 weeks, and everyone told me how lucky I was to have such a good boy. At 10 months Ayden still wasn't sitting up on his own, I dismissed it as him just being a little behind, he was my first child and I had no-one to compare him to. At 12 months Ayden wasn't standing up, couldn't pull himself up on chairs and wasn't crawling yet. At 18 month's all babbling ceased to exist, I got nothing, and he still wasn't walking. He would spin anything he could, spinning around for hours in a computer chair was his favorite thing to do. He acted like he couldn't hear me when I called out to him, and the doctor was starting to worry.
We got into our car and took the 2.5 hour drive to see a specialist who after 5 minutes looked at us and said very simply "He has autism". I walked out into the hallway, sank down to the floor and cried for 15 minutes. This was the beginning of our journey. From then on it was therepy 5 days a week, 1-2 therapists a day. He didn't speak at all till he was almost 4.5 and the first time he said "mom" I again, sank down to the floor held my son and cried for 15 minutes. He is now 6.5, mainstreamed in our local elementary school and flourishing. He can name all the planets and their moons. He can name every shape imaginable and write like he's been doing it for years. He talks in full sentences, and I still want to cry every time I hear mom, although now I hear it almost every five minutes. He amazes me everyday, and it's been an amazing journey.

ashley weeks
mooers, NY

Pickle the Princess Angel Baby

My Pickle came early at 37 weeks gestation, weighing all of 5 lbs 11 oz and measured 18 inches long. She was the perfect newborn and was breastfed exclusively. I noticed right away that she was very different from her brother. She seemed much more sensitive to any kind of stimulation and found comfort in things that would normally irritate a child (such as loud vehicles or fireworks). At 13 months she was walking and barely babbling. She was all over the place with her milestones in motor skills. One very prominent sign she showed from around 9 months old, I didn't think anything of at the time. She was constantly stacking and grouping canned food. She's also always had difficulty with routine changes, calming down when something upsets her, and flaps her little hands if excited or unhappy. When she was close to 2 years old, she suddenly became very verbal; clearly reciting the alphabet, naming colors, counting, all things she had never done before. Being in nursing school, I began recognizing signs and symptoms and briefly brought them to her pediatrician's attention. She made a reference to Asperger's and recommended that we see a specialist and get a formal diagnosis made. It's been over a year now, my Princess Angel Baby (self-given title, lol) is now three years old, and I still haven't taken her back. My Pickle is just my Pickle - not a disorder. My fear is giving my perfect baby girl a "label" to be known by instead of the beautiful, smart, clever, witty, caring, nurturing, LOVING child she is. I know I should probably take her back to be evaluated, and I WILL...when the time is right. For now, I'm just happy with my baby girl and her handsome, brilliant, amazing 5 year old brother, who are both HEALTHY and PERFECT miracles that light up my life.

Anonymous
Redlands, CA