When Dominic was diagnosed with Autism at 2 1/2, I went to our local library and took out every book I could find about Autism. Sometimes I would bring back 20 books. This was 2006, so a lot of the information was very "dated." I guess I was looking for a book that would tell me what I should do next, like a "manual." Autism doesn't quite work that way! The saying is, "if you know one person with Autism, you know one person with Autism." Every mom to an individual with Autism follows their own "path." I think as moms, we judge ourselves much harder than anyone else does. I was 41 when I had Dominic. Did he get the diagnosis of Autism because I was an older mom? because I drank a lot of pop? I could sit and think about that every minute of every day. I am pretty integrated into the Autism community around Lansing and have told more than one person that it took me about two weeks to come to terms with Dominic's diagnosis. It is so incredibly important to accept the diagnosis or else you can't move forward. I have been told that is pretty quick. Every person is different. I am blessed that I have friends who have children with Autism that are older than Dominic. I have been able to ask questions about potty training, puberty, wearing deodorant, etc. I have been on the Board of the Mid-Michigan Autism Association for almost 10 years. My favorite parents/caregivers to talk to are the ones who have a child that was just diagnosed. It's what I really wish I had in 2006. Someone just to tell me it would be okay. When you put the word Autism into a search engine, it brings up millions of entries. You truly don't know where to start. The Mid-Michigan Autism Association wasn't founded until 2008, so I couldn't reach out to them yet. I recently heard about a brand-new book written by three Autism moms. It's called, "Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum, from Diagnosis to Young Adulthood." I put a hold on it at our local library, and I picked it up this past Wednesday night. I finished reading it this morning. Wow. It was written by three Autism moms who all have children with Autism and are different ages (Kate Swenson, Carrie Cariello and Adrian Wood). The mom with the oldest child has a son close in age to Dominic. The past two days, I kept telling Larry that so much of the book resonated with me. So many of the things they talked about, I could 100% relate to. It really is a book every mom should read, whether you just got the diagnosis of Autism for your children or you are a more "seasoned" mom like me! These days, I never pass up an opportunity to talk about Autism! Dominic, another Board member from the Mid-Michigan Autism Association and myself had an opportunity to talk about our organization!! We were on a local television station and did a "live" interview. That is something I could have NEVER imagined when Dominic was first diagnosed!
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