Its snowing!

Hello all,

  Well its been a crazy morning to say the least. First I had a hard time getting out the door because my daughter decided to hide when we were on our way out to the car this morning. This of course made my son think we were actually going to leave her at home. After getting everyone into the car I was sternly letting my daughter know that she needs to listen when my son pipes in "Mom I'm sorry" So I tell him "Your sister is in trouble not you" to this he replies "Yeah Autumn is being bad!" So I say "No she is not being nice right now that's all" Then my daughter says "Andrew is mean!" Sigh....I love them, but I can get so worn out trying to referee between the older ones especially when my oldest takes things so literally at times.

  So as I drop off my son to school I think to myself that the drama is over and we can continue on with our day, but as I leave the school parking lot some jerk speeds pass me because apparently driving 20 mph in the school zone is not fast enough for him. He honks his horn. At this point I have had it and its only about 2 hours into my day. SO I decide to honk back. This guy really makes me mad. IT IS A SCHOOLZONE! If he would take the time to OBSERVE the YELLOW FLASHING LIGHT that says 20MPH! Anyway,  he turns around drives by me and flips me off. I was so tempted to flip him off too, but the christian in me just said STOP. Plus my kids were in the car.

 Despite the rough morning I look outside and I see snow. This makes me so happy. My kids have been wanting it to snow ever since the christmas decorations have gone up. It is especially meaningful to my AS son who for the first time this year is really understanding christmas and what its about.  SO to the jerk that unwittingly tried to make my day terrible, I say YOU LOSE! Its the little things that make me happy:)

 If any of you reading this have children on the spectrum you know that while they may have difficulties in social interaction and other cognitive skills, they also posses tremendous gifts. My Son has always had an incredible sense of direction. Last night I had to make a run to Walmart. Every time I enter this store I always forget where I park. When we finished shopping and left, I could not find the van. My son tells me "Go right!" it over there! May not seem like a big deal, but he was right. In fact he will often let me know if I am going the wrong way and which way to turn to go to school etc.

 So on the days where i find myself feeling down about him not making friends or his weaknesses I also reflect on the strengths he has. His inate ability to understand and decode written language before he was three. I believe he may be hyperplexic, but I guess time will only tell. Like a lot of other kids on the spectrum he gets stuck on a subject and gets glued to it. I call him my little director. He could take any concept and turn it in to a move format. This sounds crazy, but its really quite remarkable. So in the end I was thank God for giving him to me.

 On another subject we are having our younger children evaluated as well. Our daughter has some speech issues and we want to make sure that if she is on the spectrum we know about it now. If not then she can have speech therapy and be prepared for preschool next year. I do often worry that my other two children may be on the spectrum. I have not observed any behaviors like my son except for my daughter who seems to be mimicking him. I just cannot think about it now. I have to let the specialists do there job and realize that the best thing we can all do for our kids whether they are on the spectrum or not is to get them they help they need. There really is no excuse not too. There are sop many resources available that were not around when I was a child.    

  I suppose I will sign off for now. There is Math Homework to be done (For me boo!) a house to be cleaned, and more Christmas shopping. Thanks to everyone for listening to me and again for the support. The kind words and the acceptance of Andrew for who he is keeping us going.

First Blog

Let me introduce myself. My name is Consuelo I am a military wife and mother of three wonderful children. I adore my Husband and kids. I wanted to start this blog mostly for my sanity and to bring awareness to a growing problem. My oldest son Andrew is five. He was recently diagnosed with Autism (high functioning). We are still navigating through literature, doctors appointments and therapies. Some days I feel isolated and alone and other days I feel motivated...like I could take on the world. I feel it is necessary to share my story to help other mothers, parents and military wives deal with Autism and how it affects family and life in general. I look forward to hearing from other families of children with autism.

My son Andrew has always had issues with his speech. The extreme sensory issues are probably what really made me finally press furthur in his diagnosis. For the most part he is like any other five year old. In fact we had actually had him screened for Autism twice before his diagnosis. It has been a long and hard road for both my Husband and I. We have accepted our son'd diagnosis and we love him regardless of the labels that are put on him. I have realized through his diagnosis that Autism is on the rise. It is a continuing problem. I feel that I need to be son's advocate. It is through him that I am learning to see the world differently. He continues to amaze both me and my Husband on a daily basis. Suddenly, things are becoming clear to me. What really matters are the little things. I have already journeyed far through my own service in the military to becoming a military wife and now a parent of a child with Autism. I am turning my anger and frustration with the ignorance of other people into education. I wish to inform and help other people understand what Autism is. Through this blog I hope that I can gain a better understanding as well.

Thanks to my family and friends for their wonderful support and unconditional love.