The Beginning of a VERY long journey

They say that having a child diagnosed with Autism or a related ASD disorder can be devasting to a family. That often people go through a period of mourning once they learn the news.  I can't say that I was devasted at the news. It was really more of an annoyance to me.  I looked at it more along the lines of  "Great! Another thing I'm gonna have to deal with!"

I, like most stay-at-home moms, am driven crazy on a daily basis. Trying to maintain a household on little to no money and catering to the "I'm Hungry Choir" which performs live in my kitchen 5-6 times a day is truly stressful and exhausting. Then you add to it the school drop offs/ pick-ups, chauffering to extracirricular activities, and the harassing trips to Target & Wal-Mart to "window shop" and you will find yourself like me... slow to get out of bed and praying each night that God will send you a nanny who works purely for the joy of serving children. I am sure that perhaps in an alternate universe my supernanny exsists. However, in this universe, there is only me. So you can see how the news of having two ASD kids mentally annoyed me. There is so much work and responsibility that comes with raising a special needs kid. All that work added on to the work I already had on my plate sent me into an overload. What happens in an overload? Avoidance! You wake up and think, " I dont have the money, energy, or time to do everything that I need to accomplish today. I can't do it! I just can't do it!" So you don't. At least at first you don't. Eventually you realize however that your kids are depending on you and you alone because no one else is going to help them. That's when you become the warrior.

Jenny McCarthy named her book Mother Warriors. Before I had learned of my children's diagnosis, I listened a great deal to Jenny talk about her personal experiences with Autism. I grew to admire her and respected her a great deal. I loved the name of the book and I loved the reasoning behind it. Mothers of ASD children often must become champion warriors for their children because EVERYTHING is a fight! I never thought in a million years that I would be one of those women. It wasn't until parents I have spoken with told me how inspiring and helpful I was that I realized I was one of those women all along.

There is nothing about me that is different than the average everyday woman. Perhaps I might even be more lazy than they are inherently. However, when it comes to my children and their needs, I race to the battlefield with weapons in hand ready to fight any person that stands in my path to getting the help and services that my kids need. I do not win every fight. I often must walk away with very little progress. But every battle infuses me with more knowledge and passion. So I walk away, go home, and plan new strategies. For the next time an opportunity presents itself, I will be ready to charge the field once again.

For all you mothers out there of ASD and special needs kids, I hope my blog might inform and inspire you to fight for children and to continue the fight no matter what the outcome.

God Bless!