"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

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

"Welcome to Holland"

As a professional in the Human Service field, I had always feared something may be wrong with my children when I was pregnant with them. But once they both were born and I was able to see them, hear them cry, feel them breathe, and count their precious fingers and toes, the thought left my mind completely. They were both born healthy despite a different complication with each pregnancy. Then when Brycen was not crawling or walking by the time he turned a year old, the thought once again crossed my mind but was eased by his doctor, research I did, and then went away completely when he began crawling at 12 1/2 months and walking at 17 months (still within the typical range). We went almost another year before the thought of an actual disability crossed my mind again...but this thought was here to stay. Of course I had hope...and I still have hope that Brycen will be one of the children with an ASD that show tremendous progress and eventually "recover" to the point that he may not even meet the criteria for an ASD! We will always have hope...but in the meantime, one of the reasons of this blog is so others can see the emotions we are dealing with having a child with special needs. Here is a "story" written by a Mom of a child with special needs...most people that have worked in my field have read this story before as it is a very popular story to share with those who work with the families of children/adults affected by disabilities. For those of you who read this for the first time...here is a glimpse into how we are feeling as we grasp the way our family's life is changing. http://www.our-kids.org/Archives/Holland.html.
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6 comments:

  1. Mrs RoushJune 24, 2009 at 5:18 PM

    I tried the link and it didn't work. I found it through the Archives on the main page though and it looks like it should have a .html at the end.

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  2. Timmer familyJune 24, 2009 at 5:23 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Timmer familyJune 24, 2009 at 5:26 PM

    All right...let me try this again without a 2 yr old hanging on me and trying to move the mouse:) I fixed it and thanks for pointing it out to me!

    ReplyDelete
  4. BarbJune 24, 2009 at 6:09 PM

    Melissa,
    That is one of my favorite stories. It really helped me deal with Em's ADHD and tourette's as well, which is getting worse by the day. Brycen is such a little sweetheart and such a gift as well. I am here for you in any way that you need even if you need to call me at 3:00 in the morning. Love you guys.

    Barb

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  5. AnonymousJune 24, 2009 at 7:40 PM

    I love the Holland story. Puts alot in perspective! Loved chatting with you this afternoon. I think sharing your thoughts will definitely be very theraputic for you and will be a good support system for you also. xo Nancy

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  6. ShirleyJune 25, 2009 at 7:52 PM

    Melissa and Mike, I really appreciate, as Brycen's grandma, that you're taking the time to include us all in your journey with Brycen. We'll get through this together with Gods help. I'm praying for you all. All my love and support always, Mom and grandma O.

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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.