Stories of Hope

kenna and gabes story

My daughter kenna was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4 it has been a long road she doesn't communicate well but we have a picture book that helps us understand her. My son Gabe was just diagnosed at the age of 10. He suffered a stroke at birth and has severe trauma to the right side of his brain. His neurologist kept saying its behaviour problems and not to worry. I new something wasn't right and the way he acted. He claps his hands and makes weird noises so as a mother I had him evaluated at a behavioural center and got the diagnoses of moderate/severe autism and with therapy and coping and anger management classes it will help him deal with it. Its hard raising 2 kids on the autism spectrum but it has made me a stronger parent and more understanding to there needs. I love my children they are my angels.

april swenson
cloverdale, IN

Jayden's Autism

My son Jayden was diagnosed with severe autism when he was 2 years old. When we 1st found out, it was like me and my wife Lisa got hit by a bus. We knew about the complications that come along with autism, especially when it is a severe case. for the !st year it was an emotional roller coaster for me. At times out of the blue i would just cry because i would think about how much more difficult life would be for him than people without autism. meanwhile my wife showed unbelievable strength, hardly ever even flinching over the situation. i decided to make a song called "MY Autistic Son" as a way to release my feelings. Right now Jayden is 3 and a half years old and has been getting services since he was diagnosed. We have come along way since the diagnosis and the days of feeling sad are pretty much behind me. he is a beautiful boy and brings much joy to our household. Probably the only time in the present that gets to me a little is when he is walking up the stairs, cause i see how difficult a time he has with what other children tackle so easily. Time has made me understand that Jayden is a work of perfection in God's different way and even though we try natural treatment I am completely happy the way things are. I love Jayden more than anyone could ever imagine.

Robert Lopez
ridgewood, NY

Gift from God

Growing up with 6 people in a 2 bedroom place, kids where seen & not heard. I always thought that is how it was to be. I never knew any different. I never knew anything about Autism till I had my little girl.
I wanted to learn about Autism because I knew that when I first found out about my MS, I wanted to know everything I could about it. One of the biggest things I learned is that MS & Autism are a lot a like. I knew this would help me to help my daughter. I also found out that a lot of what I knew about kids was not true. I knew from the very beginning that God had given me a great gift, But I didn't know how big a gift. She is the only reason I'm still alive today.
People have told me that she is to depended on me. But if a child can't depend on there parent in life, who can they depend on. She depends on me to help her understand the world. This will not change till the world changes the way they look at people with Autism.

Tara Smyser
Mechanicsburg, PA

Cole's Story

This is our son Cole. By the age of 1, we noticed that he wasn't developing like others his age. We thought that he would eventually do everything baby's his age do, but at his own pace. When he was 18 months old, his family doctor told me that she thought he was behind, and she wanted him to get checked by a pediatrician. We knew ourselves that there was something wrong with Cole because by 18 months, he wasn't saying any words, he didn't respond to his name, he didn't point or wave bye-bye and had an odd obsession with wheels and fans. I did some research on Autism and after that I knew that he would get the diagnosis. When the time came for his visit with the pediatrician, I prayed that I was wrong. I wasn't. And before his second birthday, we got the diagnosis. I don't think there is a worse feeling in the world than someone telling you there's something wrong with your child. I was angry, sad and I blamed myself. I wondered would my child ever have a "normal" life? Would he get to do the same things every other child does? After the diagnosis, it was no time until we started therapy. He's only been in therapy for two months but we see changes in Cole everyday. His eye contact is so much better and he's doing lots of gestural communication. I can't wait to see what else he will do in the months to come. He's the apple of our eye and makes us proud everyday! Everyone that knows Cole absolutely adores him and we have an awesome support system. I'm not sad or angry anymore because I know how truly blessed I am to have such a smart, handsome, fun loving, AMAZING son. He is my world and my reason for staying strong and positive!

Jill Yetman
St. John's, Canada

Christina

This is Christina. She is an amazing child and the love of my life. She has Autism...but it doesn't have her. She came in to my life about 5 years ago when I met her father. I always wanted to be a mom, but I married late in life and never had children of my own. To be quite honest, I was nervous about the prospect of raising a child with Autism. But from the first time I met Christina, she had my heart and I knew she was not going to be just my "stepdaughter", but my daughter. She is the apple of her father's eye and his pride and joy.

She has the most beautiful smile that lights up a room. She loves to giggle and has such an infectious laugh that it is impossible to not giggle right along with her. She loves to tease and do what ever she can just to make you laugh. She is a character. She has the kind of personality that just draws you in and everyone that meets her loves her.

She loves her pepperoni pizza and her "cold white ice cream". She swims like a fish and would spend all of her time in a pool if we let her. She has a room full of stuffed animals that are all her "friends"....but her favorites are Sonic the Hedgehog and Tom and Jerry....those go with her every where she goes. She loves to watch movies and can repeat lines and scenes from her favorites word for word. She is very smart and a good student and according to her teachers, a joy to have in class.

Yes, Christina has Autism...but I wouldn't want her any other way. I am so proud of her and so proud to call her my daughter. I love this kid with all my heart.

Tina Forbes Carpentier
Mitchell, IN

My Survivor

My son was born at 35 weeks with gastroschisis (all of his intestines were outside of his body). It took 12 days and 4 surgeries before everything could fit back inside. He wasn't able to breathe on his own for 3 weeks and was in the NICU for 6.5 weeks. At 1 month old, he became very septic from a central line infection. His whole first year was spent in and out of the doctors and ERs with different GI complications.

Since coming home from the NICU and over the course of his first 2 years, we have been working with in-home PT (Physical Therapy), OT (Occupational Therapy), SLT (Speech and Language Therapy), ECSE (Early Childhood Special Education) and CDS (Children's Development Services).

Around 18 months, I started to become concerned with some of his behaviors and sensory issues and sought out an evaluation from a developmental and behavioral pediatrician.

At 23 months old, he underwent the ADOS testing (a standardized testing which is considered the golden key for autism diagnosing) and was diagnosed with autistic disorder. He also had a CDS evaluation which determined he was exhibiting global delays and mixed receptive-expressive language disorder. His OT evaluation placed him at the developmental level of 12 months old.

At 25 months old, his SLT evaluation placed him at the level of 11 months.

He is 27 months old now and we are still only just beginning.

Sarah Thibault
Rockland, ME

SARAH

My name is AmyRose, I have an amazing daughter who is now 7yrs old who has opened my eyes and has shown me that Autism is not black and white. When my daughters doctor told me my baby has severe signs of Autism my heart sunk with fear, all I knew than were movies which were not helpful'.. Of course I did what was best, evaluation's..therapy's. I didn't educate myself than, looking back now I know it was my way of denying the situation. One day at my daughters preschool parent teacher conference one of her teachers asked me how is Sarah doing with the potty? I had said we weren't making progress and she smiles and tells me how my daughter has been using the potty in school for awhile now. That was the last day of my ignorance. Today my daughter is now going to a great special needs school and she amazes everyone everyday. She sang at her 1st grade assembly and became her schools shining star. My family and I were in tears filled with so much love and joy. I am so very thankful that my daughter is who she is. One day I'm positive she will be the next Meryl Streep. <3

Amyrose Caldrone
New York, NY

Hi I'm Alex Jae and Autism does not Define Me!

Hi! this little man's name is Alex Jae and he is 8 years old. My son was diagnosed with autism at the age of about 18 months. We noticed something was different with Alex because he never made eye contact or pointed at things, he also wasn't talking yet. He started showing signs in he's art abilities. At 18 months Alex, was drawing perfect trees with apples and birds flying in the sky. It's then when I realized he was special. Very scared and anxious I took Alex to get Evaluated and there he was diagnosed with Autism. I was devastated at first because I knew so little about autism, but since then I have learned to appreciate him more and accept he's way of communicating and life. He is so full of joy and creativity and I can't imagine my life without him ever!!! He is my only child and my b.f.f. Alex suffers from a mild case of autism and he's biggest challenges are language and social interaction. I have him in a very special school where the ratios are 4:1 and it has helped him progress enormously, as well as O.T and Speech Therapies when I can afford them, since I can't seem to get government help for him. He loves to play computers, read , and spend time with his family. He is very sweet and loves to kiss ... especially girls !!! He is a true artist and he's passion is drawing animals and Pokemon characters. I have boxes and boxes of drawings... Although Alex's speech is delayed he always manages to ask me for Chicken Nugget Happy Meals from McDonald's every Tuesday since they are $1.99. He's favorite restaurant is Outback and He is infatuated with Pokemon. He has chores and helps me with cooking and groceries...These Kids are a True Blessing <3 Education and Acceptance is key. I am very proud and will pledge to continue learning in this journey with him. ;)

Ximena C. Conejeros
Miami, FL

Sweet Kayleb

Kayleb was born a healthy happy baby. He lagged behind in milestones, but naturally we assumed that was due to our comparison to his older sister who was extremely ahead of the game as a baby. He ate well, he giggled, and he found items that he enjoyed, while they were not what we expected, we always assumed it was a "phase." Around 18 months I began to notice some things that I found odd. Kayleb didn't have any words aside from the repetitive "mamamama" and "dadadada," he wouldn't respond to his name, and the words "no, sir" (while repeated many times over those first few months) never took and I would physically have to remove him from the situation. I began to notice that he would act repetitively when playing (open and close doors, spin tires on play cars) but showed no interest in actually playing with the toys. My husband was not as aware of the signs of Autism as I was, so his natural reaction was to wait it out. I remember talking to close friends about my concerns and finally deciding for myself to call his pediatrician to make an appointment. My mother came along and for an hour we hashed out all of our concerns, we were referred to a developmental pediatrician, and every kind of specialist under the sun. Hearing was great. Eyes were great. But it was before even these results came back that I knew my son had Autism. Kayleb, now 2 1/2, is in occupational therapy as well as speech therapy and in just the last few months that we began has come LEAPS and BOUNDS from where we started. I am just so very proud of my son. Its the jumping up and downs and high-fives over just a three letter word, then repeating that little word hundreds of times just to hear him say it. I wouldn't trade our path for any other in the world. Kayleb is my perfect son, and I thank God that he was my blessing.

Sarah Dickens
Hillsborough, NC

Our wonderful little boy

My name is Jamie, and on February 11th, 2013, my son Mason was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, just a few weeks short of his 2nd birthday.

These past months post diagnosis have certainly proven to be quite the journey for our family. Mason has of course gone through his challenges, we have our struggles, and we have wondered what the future holds for him. But the further we have come along this journey, I have come to realize that we need to try and live in the "now," live for today. We have to enjoy every accomplishment (and there have been many!), every smile, every great therapy session, every beautiful moment we have with our son. The official diagnosis of "autism" doesn't define Mason, but rather it has given us an avenue to allow him to get the extra help he needs, and assist us in learning how to help him.

We have decided to choose faith over fear, and I truly do have faith that no matter what this journey holds for Mason, he will grow to accomplish things beyond our wildest dreams. We believe in our son.

Jamie England
Ridgewood, NJ