This is my beautiful daughter MaKayla but we call her Kayla. She was 6 years old in this photo but she is now 12. Kayla was diagnoses at a very late age, she was 9 almost 10. Her official diagnosis was PDD NOS because of her age but she now has an official diagnosis of Autism. I remember thinking when we got the diagnosis that she was broken and I felt like a horrible mother for feeling that way. Then God showed me that she was not broken she was just different and that he doesn't make mistakes and she was born just the way that she was always meant to be. She struggles just like lots of kids with autism but she is such an inspiration to myself, her father, our family, and everyone who has the joy of being able to know her. She is high functioning and sometimes people tell me that they had no idea that she struggled with this. One of the biggest blessings in all of this was having my daughter show me a different way to love, a more unconditional way to love. Kayla is just a loving little girl to people she knows and people she doesn't know....she is one of the most caring people I have ever known.
I look forward to continuing to watch her grown and learn how to do things on her own in her own way. She is a fighter and she doesn't let her autism keep her down. If it makes something hard for her she tries and tries again until she figures out how to do it. She doesn't even care that it may be different than the way that other people do it. She is definitely something special and anyone who has the chance to get to know her is blessed. I wouldn't change my little girl for the world and my husband and I will always be here for her to help her along the way and enjoy the ride ourselves.
Arunde, ME
