Things have been a little crazy around here lately and I can't believe I have not posted once in the month of April until today!
April is Autism Awareness month and I especially want to thank all of those who supported the "wear blue on April 2" event. I was actually attending a conference about Autism and social relationships that day.
I can't believe the Iowa Walk Now for Autism Speaks is only a little more than 2 months away too! The team has raised over $700 so far and we are well on our way to meeting our $2000 goal. Melanie has finalized the design for the t-shirts and I will be submitting the list of sizes to the printers this week, so if you would still like to walk, you have a few days to sign up and email me your tshirt size.
Mike found a great website that we joined that does research on how Autism affects family, finances, relationships/marriage, and many other things. We have entered Brycen's information on this site (IAN- Interactive Autism Network) and have answered a few background questionnaires so far. I have found some fabulous articles they have published on the above topics...and reading these was a huge relief to me. I have many people that support me...family, friends, and other parents of children with autism...but I always question if my thoughts, fears, etc are similar to these other parents and how they differ from parents of "typical" children. I know a lot of people in the past have told me not to worry about the future yet as there is so much time for research to progress...and a lot of people have given me great advice about how to deal with sensory issues or how to stay "positive"...but this is nothing compared to reading the statistics and comments from parents in same situation that are SOOOO similar to my own thoughts and fears over the last year. When I have enough time on another day, I plan to post some of this information so those who are interested can have some insight into all of this. Like I said, it gave me relief and validated all of those feelings I have had over the last year!
Anyway, thanks again for all the support and for making others aware of such an important epidemic that is taking over our children!
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller
Saturday, April 10, 2010
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Autism and Our Family
"Autism"----It's one word that can change the life of a child and family in so many ways. Autism Spectrum Disorders are being diagnosed at a rate of 1 in 68 children currently. If you do not already know someone that has been diagnosed, the statistics say it won't be long before you do.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
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