Oh look, another blogger!

I am the type of person who tends to get very verbose and figured hey, why not use that to share that which I am learning and that which I love with the world?

So this is where I start.

I am the 34 year old mother of a spectacular 2.5 year old boy. He stormed into my life in June 2010 and has left no stone unturned since then. This past August, he was diagnosed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder. It is a diagnosis that both shocked and did not shock us, for while he had been involved in Early Intervention since April of last year, the depths of what he was dealing with was easily ignored. He’s a sweet, loving child who cheerfully and determinedly engages socially with all those he is comfortable with – how could he have autism right?

It has been an interesting road, one I know I am only on the very beginning of. Autism is not a dirty word. It is not a sign that a person is broken or worthy of being ignored or shunned. It is something fundamentally different to every person and family who deals with it, for they do not call it a spectrum for no reason. Every person is different and this becomes abundantly clear when you deal with children on the spectrum. I thank God for my son’s playgroup showing me that… They are the most amazing children I’ve ever met, all dealing with issues related to autism or completely not related to autism spectrum disorders at all. Each one is special, precious and miraculous to me.

Rambling is something I do far, far too much. Anyway…

This is J-bear’s journey. This is everything he’s taught me, everything he’s teaching me, everything he’s learning and everything he’s experiencing. These are the things we have found that I feel better sharing with other parents because the worst feeling in the world is feeling like there’s no one in a place to understand you.

A few links:

http://www.myautismteam.com — A social networking site for Autism parents. It’s an amazing support! Parents are the best resource we have sometimes.

http://www.autismspeaks.com — Autism Speaks has great guides, especially for families new to autism and for those seeking to educate family members.

http://www.twitter.com/emergencypuppy — Sometimes we all need an emergency puppy to make us smile again.