In honor of Autism Awareness Month- and my beautiful, healthy, happy nephew Logo ~From my sister:
Truth about being an Autism Mom
Lately moms who spill the truth about motherhood have been getting a lot of press. Oprah interviewed moms who spoke about how hard motherhood really can be and the lack of other moms giving you the full truth about it. So, here's the top 10 surprises in raising a child with autism:
10. Autism children need very little sleep. I still have nightmares of all the times I've been awake from 2-5 a.m.
9. Most autism children don't like very many foods. I wish my child came with cooking instructions, all the tricks my mom raised me on didn't work.
8. The first thing I think about when I wake up is getting my son's vitamins and other supplements in him so I can enjoy my day.
7. I had no clue how often I'd be paying attention to my child's poop... is it regular, backed up, what color and smell? These are all things the doctors want to know.
6. While grooming any child is busy work, try cutting the nails or hair of a child with autism. (We are talking hours of screaming!)
5. I never could have imagined the price tag of a child with autism -- the cost of therapies, lab work, doctor visits, educational testing. And you never feel like you are spending fast enough to heal them.
4. I was shocked at the guilt you'd feel that you haven't ever done enough to cure them of autism.
3. The tantrums and screams of a child with autism can disrupt the smallest of activities -- even going to the bathroom in quiet or trying to read an e-mail.
2. I never imagined the internal strength I'd need to find to withstand the judgments of others that I'm not just raising a brat.
1. Nobody ever told me how intense the joy is the first time your child looks you in the eye or says "I Love You!" or calls for you "mom".
*****I'm so proud of my sister and how she handles Logan's Autism- it's never been a denial or blame, but rather a "ok, he has Autism, now what, what can we do to make his life "typical?" Her days are filled researching, taking him from therapy to school to dr appointments and never with a complaint. There are days where it's an "off" day and days where he amazes all of us (he recently has learned many letter sounds of the alphabet-- he's on his way to reading- WOW). Logo has come so far in the past 3 years and he is being challenged daily with a huge support system of people who love him dearly. The best is yet to come! So when you hear the word Autism - here is a face of one little boy who is a child first who loves to play outside, likes to give and receive hugs, who greets everyone when he enters and leaves a room, who swims like a Champ, enjoys playing with his siblings, likes putting his feet in sand, water and mud, will go with the flow of a crazy 6 person family and oh by the way has Autism too.
