Proud Mom of 2 Autistic Children

We started our journey with Autism back in the north suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.  I had been concerned about our 2nd son's delay in speech and odd manner of crawling.  I expressed my concern at his 14 month appointment and thankfully we had a pediatrician who was very on top of things (just one more thing to justify the hour long trips to his office).  Instead of telling me not to worry, or wait and see, he put us in touch with Early Childhood Intervention back where we lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

The evaluation uncovered what we already feared to be true - our son was developmentally delayed - and abruptly thrust us into the world of Autism.  Not the type of people to sit down over bad news, my husband and I spent hours researching the topic, joining all the online support groups, perusing the discussion lists, and reaching out to every expert in the field that would listen .  We even flew out to Detroit, MI in the middle of a blizzard to take our son to see Nancy Kauffman. We were determined to battle the illness head on.  

Our hard work paid off in spades when we were able to make local connections with nationally reknown therapists who could work with our son.   Employing the latest approaches and following an intensive schedule of therapies (Carbone, AVB, Greenspan Floortime, Craniosacral, listening therapy, brush therapy, etc) our son to quickly make gains! 

A few years later we moved to our current home in Dallas, Texas.  Less than a year after arriving we were once again stunned when our 3rd child - a daughter - was diagnosed with Autism at 14 months.  Thankfully this time we had an existing network of therapists and were able to quickly get her established. 

We are happy to report that both children are making huge gains.  While each day presents a new set of challenges, it also provides a sense of awe when witnessing the strength and perseverance of our children, not to mention that of my husband and our marriage.