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Stories of Hope

Share your inspiring, hopeful story of how autism touched you.

My son change me to a stronger women .

My son William. Born 2003 . @ first life was kind of ok I had a child before William and she was an awsome baby... William was quite different. He was an adventure. At about 12months William stop sleeping thru the night. He always had a routine. Wake up at 12am sleep at 4-5am. I could not understand. What was going on. As time pass he had these habits to line all his toys. Flap his hands ect. At about 15 months he still had no words. @18 months I really thought he was deaf do to I having family who are. So I decided to take him to a speacialist and right of the bk she said the word (autism. Pdd.nos) what in the world is that I thought. I went home and did so much resreach online. Bought books , videos. I was 100% dedicated to learning more about autism. He his 9 now and it is still a great adventure and roller coaster. But we deal with. It as if it is a life that god had choosen for us and we expected it. I would not ask it any other way. :)

Damarys
Lawrence, MA

Our son

Our son is part of us, being different makes him unique.We look past the autism and see him, our son.The hansome ,cheeky ,sparkle thats growing up in his own unique way.just makes us adore him more.love Mum xxx

Adrienne Larkin
Fleet, United Kingdom

My wounderful boyfriend

I just wanted to share my story about my wounderful boyfriend who has got aspergers. I first met my boyfriend, shaun, when he was 23 years old, he told me he had aspergers and i had never heard of it before so i did have to do some reserch about it. He is the most wounderful person i have ever met, he is so caring, thoughtful and so intelligent! Individuals with autism are amazing people, and 4 years down the line i am still learning new thirngs about autism and the way shaun is everyday. I just wanted to share this and i love him so much and he is so special in his own way :)

Emily blunt
Birmingham, United Kingdom
MY CHRISTMAS GIFT

MY CHRISTMAS GIFT

My son William was a gift from God. He was born on Christmas Day in 2009. Ever since that day I have been blessed with this child. As months went by the bigger he got, little did I know what was happening to my baby. Between 8-9 months he was unable to finish easy tasks for as a normal child of his age, he didn't say a word other than momma or papa up until 13 months. Things began to start worrying me. Hearing my closed minded Hispanic family comparing my son with other relatives was frustrating for me. I went days crying and thinking I was not a good mother. It was then when I finally decided to take him to a specialist to find out what was going on with my son. Even though at that time he was 16 months I still needed to hear that my son was perfectly fine. Shocking was to me when the specialist told me he had Austin spectrum disorder which we still had to do several test to confirm it. I was scared and didn't want to believe at first but I did my research. I got more involved with his activities, I enrolled him in Leaps and bounds, I read what I could to help him out. He changed my way of thinking completely. I became more aware of people with special needs which before I didn't really acknowledge them. My son is so smart and with his love makes everyone put a smile on their face. My Hispanic family started to accept my son just the way he is and notice his ability of accomplishing tasks that normal kids won't be able to do at this age. My son has Autism and I learned to accept him with love.

Alejandra Sanchez
compton, CA

My life

I'm 21 and autistic. I know lots of trivia. I was diagnosed at age nine. They first diagnosed me as bipolar. I took medicine since second grade. I love life and very religis (dont know how to spell that word). I also love to read and started reading at age four and got to read chapter books. in second grade.

Ashley ling
Nampa, ID

Who taught who?

When We look back on our son's 21 years, I sometimes wonder who learned more? As we tried to teach him all we can about the world, I think he has taught us more than we knew about this world. Keith is an amazing person with a beautiful heart that loves to make people laugh. High functioning,his dream is to touch people through movies. He wishes to be the next Steven Spielbourg. We continue to try to keep his dream alive while bringing reality to it also. This makes us realize how difficult life really is for these children/people. As children there are all kinds of options within a school, but as adults it is a different story.
As a parent part of our job is to help the child prepair for the world, an adult with autism has more challenges ahead because the help available is limited and financially out of reach for most. So what now? We continue to try to see things through his eyes and think positive. Keith has a way of making us look at things in a different way and for that we are eternally greatful for being blessed enough to have him in our lives. He is the most amazing person we know and we are honored to be his parents!
At times I just hear him saying "it's ok, mom", with that smile and it makes everything brighter! We are truly blessed!

Nydia Caraman
Brandon, FL

Who taught who?

When We look back on our son's 21 years, I sometimes wonder who learned more? As we tried to teach him all we can about the world, I think he has taught us more than we knew about this world. Keith is an amazing person with a beautiful heart that loves to make people laugh. High functioning,his dream is to touch people through movies. He wishes to be the next Steven Spielbourg. We continue to try to keep his dream alive while bringing reality to it also. This makes us realize how difficult life really is for these children/people. As children there are all kinds of options within a school, but as adults it is a different story.
As a parent part of our job is to help the child prepair for the world, an adult with autism has more challenges ahead because the help available is limited and financially out of reach for most. So what now? We continue to try to see things through his eyes and think positive. Keith has a way of making us look at things in a different way and for that we are eternally greatful for being blessed enough to have him in our lives. He is the most amazing person we know and we are honored to be his parents!
At times I just hear him saying "it's ok, mom", with that smile and it makes everything brighter! We are truly blessed!

Anonymous
Brandon, FL
Alexander the Great!

Alexander the Great!

I had no idea what life could bring me until my son was diagnosed with autism almost 5 years ago. I was scared, had the initial feeling of guilt, fear, not just for myself but for my son. Through many years of educating myself and my family and everyone around us, I have come to realize just how amazing my son is and how foolish it was of me to feel guilty.

Alexander can conquer anything and does more in one day just to have a semi-normal day, than any of us does in a week. He works harder than any kid I see in his age group.

Alexander's diagnosis, while initally shocking, was a blessing in disguise. It opened up our eyes as a family to the world of infinite possibilities and taught us that we do not need to be like everyone else. It is unbelievable what these kids (& adults) can do with their hidden talents, their propensity for soaking up knowledge. Sure, they may not look you in the eye when they speak, but listen to their words; you will see how truly unique they are. If they do not speak, watch those facial expressions- they can be more meaningful than any words that come from them. Cherish the little moments where they offer their affection and never turn it away because you never know if or when you might see it again.

One thing this experience has taught me is that I have an intolerance for those who are not accepting of other's differences. Those differences are what makes each and every person, autism or not, special.

My words of wisdom: never give up, don't be afraid to work hard, because that person in your life with autism is completely worth your effort.

Natasha Harris (Alexander's Mom)
Hiawatha, IA

Benjamin's story

Benjamin has been diagnosed with Autism since September, although I had always known something was up. Benjamin struggles everyday, as he has an "Eating aversion Disorder." Which under his insurance falls as a behavorial disorder, so we can't get in patient therapy he needs. His eating disorder is so odd that doctor's have no idea how to help him. He has never eaten a table food of any kind because of this anxiety he has. He eats oatmeal bars, and soy feeding tube shakes through a sippy cup. That is all he eats on a daily basis, with maybe some stage 2 banana baby food. His shakes are also supposed to be covered by insurance, but are not, so it also takes a toll on our family as a whole. Everyday I just hope for a way to get him what he needs before he turns 4 in August. I love him as all mother's love their sons, but Ben is my special angel, and I want more for him than anything. The biggest thing I want for him is to experience food in a healthy happy way. Hopefully it comes. We have overcome so much that this is last on the Autism kick butt list.

Tyler
Harpers Ferry, WV

mi life with autism

im a 54year old wth autism al mi life ive struggled against the ods ov alwaes being told i cold never achiebne this or that -im savant in art an hav be drawing al mi life sinse an earli age -mi art communicates fore me when mi werds wont com out -autism is an everydae chalinges wth social an sensory yet creates beautiful inner worlds where art an musik ar expressed as a ways tu interact with the neurotypical world -autism dsnt hav tu limit u as a person it can be an advantage an gifts u with many abilitys ect dspite the negative thngs -i advocate an i spread awarenesness as its adli needed for al ov us with autism as its mi super power an im proud ov mi autism-society needs tu be inklusive of all people with autism an try tu acomodate our special needs as people-society needs tu giv autistik people a chance tu show rthe world that wth training we can liv on our own an be productive people an steriotypes that are negative about us has tu end

sanni
paonia, CO