Then and Now

When we heard the word "autism" come out of the doctors mouth, it was as if I had heard it in slow motion. This was curse word to me that I couldn't deal with--or so I thought.  Our son, Keith, couldn't have proved me more wrong about what a autism was. He opened my eyes to the fact that not all people with autism are the same and that he could do so much more than the doctors thought he could. I immersed myself in all of the information I could find, but nothing really completely described Keith. At first it concerned me, but then I came to realize that though he has autism, autism isn't who he is, just part of him. That's when it got easier for everyone, although we worked hard as a family with Keith, we had to realize that allowing him to teach us how to teach him made life less stressful for everyone. Parenting is difficult at times no matter what, but in my opinion being a good parent is about getting to know you're child at every stage of life, because they grow up so fast. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with all the stages our children go through, (while parents are going through our own); the bottom line is that as parents it's our job to be there for our children and raise them the best we can. Parenting a child with special needs takes a lot of time, patience, and understanding. Know that you are not alone in this and that everything gets better in time. Take joy in the goals met, no matter how big or small, and look forward to the goals ahead. Believe that they can do anything and know that you can too. Please feel free to leave a comment because I am grateful to have them!! Thanks for reading!! ~A Proud Mom~