"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

Friday, May 21, 2010

Study debunks the myth that parents of a child with autism have higher divorce rates

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/639278.html

I don't really need an article to tell me about divorce rates, as both Mike and I have parents and grandparents that are still married and honestly, I think that may be the most influential thing when determining if someone is more likely to divorce over another. I agree that parents of children with autism have far more obstacles than the parent of the typical children, but I disagree that we have more obstacles than parents of children with other chronic and life long disabilities. With Autism, my son does not have a shortened life span...he may be at higher risk of accidents or running out into traffic and may be more likely to be seriously injured that way, but overall he should live a full and healthy life if I keep him close and do my best to protect him from those dangerous situations. I can't imagine being the parent of a child that faces death on a regular basis or a parent of a child that has to have frequent surgeries on major body parts like the heart or brain. I think those things are far more stressful than the symptoms of autism would be...the only difference I can see is if the surgery can cure something, that would be a relief in the long run, whereas we all know there is nothing to cure Autism.
So back to the divorce article, I honestly have no clue how a single parent of a child with autism could do it! It's stressful enough when you have another person to talk things out and to help make decisions, as well as to take over for a few minutes during a meltdown so that you can take your own time-out. If I didn't have Mike to do that...well, I don't even want to think of that because it's not going to happen.
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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.