One Last Overhaul

It’s totally official. I’m an autism mom. Both boys are on the spectrum for sure. I’ve known it and accepted it since day one. Friends, family, doctors and school admin have been in denial, which in turn, made me second guess what I knew in my heart all along. Because I second guessed myself I neglected my boys’ needs. That set us back tremendously. So no more follow the leader. No more letting people tell us what they think based on stereotypes and what they see in the media. No more feeling ashamed when I tell people my boys have autism because they don’t “look like they have autism”.

No more making excuses or feeling embarrassed by their loud noises or constant chattering (I yelled at a man in the grocery store the other day for giving my youngest son a dirty look and shaking his head at me. Don’t mess with mama bear!).

My kids might look at you when you are speaking to them, they might hold your hand or ask for hugs, they might smile and laugh at something funny. Autism Spectrum Disorder can affect communication, social skills, and behavior in varying ways and degrees in each individual. One of my boys has been speaking since he was 9 months old. My other boy has significant speech delay. But they both laugh at my stupid jokes. It’s a spectrum. There is a famous quote in the autism community by Dr. Stephen Shore: “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism”.

We are a proud autism family! Welcome😊