It has been forever since I have had energy, ambition, or time to write down my thoughts. I always feel that it is cathartic when I do have a few minutes in the day to do so. It has been a crazy almost a year has passed. So much has happened to our special children but also us as a family. I thought it was way past due for an update.
ABIGAIL:
Since my last blog post, Abigail has grown up so much. She is and will always be my firstborn, my starter child. She entered an autism classroom in North Carolina in August 2012 to start kindergarten. In December 2012, she moved with all of us to snowy Ohio, where she attends a school for special needs kids. She gets to go swimming, has an adaptive p.e. class, music therapy, and yoga at this school. They also have an amazing sensory room that Abigail is very in love with. She has a one on one assistant who guides her through her day. In February 2013, she lost her first tooth. She is currently six years old, non-verbal but learning how to communicate with an ipad, and probably the happiest I have seen her since she was a baby...a time I like to call B.A. (before autism)
AUDREY:
Audrey is almost 5 years old and is in a prekindergarten classroom with some typical and some special needs children. Last year, we learned that her gross motor delays and medical history meant that she has mild cerebral palsy. She has significant weakness in her arms and legs. With therapy, she should be fine but will require therapy as she grows into an adult. She is extremely verbal and still likes to pretend she is her sister's keepers. We call her the "Mouth of the South" and "Bossman". These are probably the best words to describe our tiny middle child known as Audrey.
ALLIE: Almost two years ago, we relived Abigail's diagnosis day with our baby, Allie. She has autism and in the 16 months or so since that rainy September day in 2011, she has just blown us away. At the time of her diagnosis, she had no functional language and wouldn't even look us in the eye. With lots of therapy and great teachers along the way, Allie now uses functional language, is a love bug, and speaks some in sentences. She engages with us to join her play, gets annoyed by her loud older sister, and has mad skills on an ipad.
JASON AND HEATHER: We moved to Ohio at the end of 2012. Jason is a professor at Ohio University and Heather is at home managing the kids. We are slowly getting used to the cold, snowy days here in Ohio but longing for spring. In the past year, I have been able to speak to future special educators at UNC and also had our family featured in an article shining light on CAP services in North Carolina. Jason has been molding future public administrators both in North Carolina and Ohio.
I read one of the best things recently. I had posted an article about how the time change is hard on those with autism. An old friend, commented saying, "I learn something new about autism every time I read your posts". There is no better compliment to me. It is important to me that I can use my life experiences with autism to further educate and raise awareness to those around me. I hope this blog is informative but also shows that autism did not stop our lives, it only expanded it and made it so much more enriching.
