When you first hear those words, "Autism" there are so many different things that run through your mind. Will my child go to school, college, get a job, get married (the list goes on and on). I think one of the first thoughts a lot of parents have is anger. Why did this happen to our family?? Autism just doesn't affect the child, it affects the WHOLE family. Parents are already completely 100% exhausted both physically and emotionally, sometimes there is very little left to give to your other children. If you're a single parent, than it is really difficult. Sometimes parents blame each other for their child's Autism. One of the best things you can do when you first get that initial diagnosis is to grieve. It's okay to scream and cry. I spent two weeks feeling sorry for myself and coming to terms with the diagnosis. Other parents take longer to come to terms with the diagnosis. The most important thing is that you do come to terms with it. Once you make it through that tough time, you are then able to put your focus back on your child and start pursuing all avenues to get them help. I believe one of the worst things you can do is not accept that your child has a disability. Accept that your child is "special" and move on!
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 incredib...
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