Hope

When you have a child with autism the littlest things can become the most amazing things. Yesterdays amazing event was Austin made himself a sandwich. May not sound like much to most, but as a parent of a child with Autism it means hope! Hope that some day Austin will be able to live on his own and make his own dinner.

Hope is a wonderful thing. I sometimes think sometimes people forget how important it to keep the hope and faith alive. When you get the diagnose there are a lot of people out there, especially the medical community who will tell you to go home and learn to deal with it, because this is the rest of your life. For me that statement was given to us by a neurologist. My first thought was a curse word and “no this is not my life”. I am so glad I had that thought because my life is so much better today because of my attitude.

Ok, I am not going to lie to you Autism is far from fun. It has some really bad days. Like one day last summer where I woke up and Austin had dropped all of the food out of the pantry and the fridge and pretty much ruined about $500 worth of food. Or the days where he cries for no reason and I can’t figure out where he hurts or what is wrong. All those poop smears we have cleaned over the years. I could go on and on about those not so fun days!!!

Then there are those exceptional days like yesterday he made the sandwich, the day continued to get better. We went to a friend’s house for dinner and there he actually played with a toy appropriately. Ok it might have helped that it was a little claw game that had nerds in it and he really wanted the candy, but I’ll take it. He also played with his iTouch and watched TV with the other kids and we got to enjoy the other adults company. It’s nice to be able to enjoy a normal family day.

Austin amazes me everyday, not just because he can make a sandwich, but because we didn’t listen to that neurologist. If we had, my beautiful, amazing young son would not be where he is today. Each day he amazes me with the “little” things he does. Most would not even notice these small accomplishments, but I certainly do! The hope for the future is so bright for him it’s nearly blinding for me and all who support our family.

I hope through this blog that I can spread some hope to parents who are new to the diagnoses and to let them know things do get better you just have to keep and open mind look for the opportunities this journey will bring you.

Here’s to hoping today and tomorrow are as amazing as yesterday.

PITA up and do something to show someone around you a little hope.