My oldest was diagnosed with autism over 12 years ago (you can read her story here). From the day she was born I entered a world that no parenting book could guide me through. Ashlyn is now a teenager and we still have our struggles but she has far surpassed any of the outcomes we were given when she was a toddler. I do not blog about autism as much as I used to. We do not eat, sleep and breath autism anymore. It is part of our life but it does not define our family or my daughter.
If you are at the beginning of your autism journey the best advice I can give is to be your child’s best advocate. You as the parent know your child better than any expert ever will.
And have hope.
There is so much more available now than there was when Ashlyn was young and although the unknown may seem scary and you may not have the future you envisioned, things will get better and there is always, always hope for our amazing kids.
I realize that I am among a small minority of autism moms who have girls on the spectrum and so far (some how) we have survived grade school, dentist appointments, hair cuts, middle school and puberty and are working our way through high school so if you are on the same road and have questions or just want to connect please email me at fourplusanangel@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.
