i would like to take you on a journey down the road less traveled. A journey I never expected to take, one that has changed my life forever. 10 yrs ago we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy and we called him benjamin. He was perfect in everyway. Then one day i took him in for his routine check up. i am sent to a specialist and next thing i know I am hearing words like , therapy, not normal, developmental delays...somewhere along the way the owrd "autism" comes up.What is autism ? I never even heard the word. But by age 3 Ben was officially diagnosed with it.
So like any parent would do. I research it. Get as much infor mation as I can. What i learn is astonishing. this cant be happening to me, my family, to my son. But it was. And just like that my world was turned upside down.All of a sudden i am faced with the knowledge that Ben will always be this way. He will always struggle socially, academically, developmentally. Now the daunting task of figuring it out how to best help him. Once the shock, the grief, the anger and the denial all wore off.. i was able to face it , accept and make a game plan to embrace it.
Awareness and knowledge is so important today more than ever. to educate everyone we know what autism is. how much it impacts our lives and teh lives of the ones we love. How hard everyday can be in the life of a child with autism. Not being potty trained til he was 7. Not being able to communicte what he needed or walk on his own til he was 4. Being overly stimulated in his environment. Not knowing how to express his emotions so we know how to help him. Being in his own world and not letting anyone be a part of it.
Nobody knows what causes Autism. And there is currently no cure but there is hope that one day that will change. that one day no parent will have to recieve the devestating news that thier child has autism. Until then all we can do is spread awareness and raise funds to help find cures and help families get the help they need for thier children.
We never would have made it where we are today without the help, love and support of so many around us. We relyon the strengthof our faith of those who love us and most importantly, love Ben. We watch him grow and learn like any other kid, yet we also watch him struggle and process learning so differently from other kids. Nothing can replace the learning and life lessons I have recieved because i have been lucky enough to be Bens mom. i find comfort in knowing that im not alone. that we can make a difference in our corner of the world.
April is autism awareness month. And May 1st is the annula autism walk. We would love any of you who are able to join us. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers on our behalf. We love you !
Join our team and make a difference
specail thanks to Mike and agility physical therapy for being our team sponsor ! you rock !
