I was glancing through Brycen's baby book the other day and ran across the pages where the parent writes a letter to the baby. Mike and I wrote these letters to Brycen shortly after he was born, over 3 years ago! We would like to share with you what we wrote then to our sweet, precious, gorgeous baby boy!
A LETTER FROM MOMMY
Brycen- I always knew I wanted children and as soon as we were in married in April 2005, Daddy and I decided to let things just happen. Daddy says he knew I was pregnant before I did, so I decided we had better find out since I wasn't feeling good. I was so excitede when we found out in December 2005 that I was pregnant with you. After the first few months, I was feeling much better and started to read all about you and how much you were growing inside me. I loved going to every doctor appointment and hearing your heartbeat, and seeing the pictures of you at my ultrasounds, and imagining what you would look like! I knew I loved you from the moment I found out about you and I didn't think I could love you any more, until the day you were born. That's when I realized what everybody says about unconditional love! Remember that Daddy adn I will always be there for you and will always love you more than you'll ever know.
A LETTER FROM DADDY
Brycen- You already have made Mommy and I so happy. Seeing you for the first time nearly made me cry with happiness. I promise to teach you everything that I know and more. My goal for you is to be a better man than your Daddy. You also can come to Mommy and I for anything because with our love, we will always help you. July 24th is most definitely teh happiest day of our lives and the fun is just beginning. We are excited to see how your puppy, Mason, welcomes you home. Thanks for making our lives complete. I love you!
"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, October 21, 2009
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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.