I first got diagnosed with autism in the 5th grade. My mom immediately put me in therapy and we found this group called friends club in Carlsbad. It was a group just for people with autism. I made so many friends and my confidence built up. My first day no one looked at each other haha. After a few sessions everyone started laughing and loving each other's company. My mom also put me in the Drake Institute that my Grandma paid for. It helped me pass the California High School Exit Exam. It was very helpful. And my mom fought hard to let the high I went to to let me graduate. She won and I graduated with my class of 2006. After High school, I went to Palomar Community College and studied Culinary until California cut it from every colleges' curriculum. After they cut my major, my husband who was a friend at the time showed up in his class A's and it was love at first sight. My husband and I met back in high school. We had Algebra and Geometry together. We started talking after he showed up and surprised me, we started dating right before he left again for South Korea which was his first duty station. He came back because his father 91 died suddenly. I was there for him and he cried on my shoulder. We started dating after that, and that Christmas Eve, he surprised me by proposing to me in his room which his mom and oma right downstairs. I of course said and yes and cried. and October 9, 2009 we tied the knot. and we lived in El Paso, Texas for 11 months and then moved back to our hometown where we lived to this day. And after trying for 10 months, on June 19, 2013 we welcomed our first child, a baby boy, Christopher Manuel Salcido to the world. I haven't let Autism affect me at all. I drive, have my own car, I'm a wife, a sister, a cousin, a daughter, and a mom.

laura salcido
fallbrook, CA