Focus on the Positive

Dominic starts his senior year of high school this coming Tuesday. Living near a large university, we have received a handful of brochures and letters in the mail addressed to Dominic asking him to consider going to their college. I came to terms with the diagnosis of  his Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a long time ago (like two weeks after the diagnosis), but I have to admit a small part of me was sad.  If Dominic was a "typical" incoming senior, we would be making an appointment with a professional photographer for senior pictures, visiting possible colleges for him to go to and he would probably be driving a car to school everyday.  Instead, I decided that I wanted Lauren to take his senior pictures, we will not be visiting colleges and he won't be driving himself to school everyday.  When Dominic was first diagnosed with ASD, I truly had no idea what to expect. I have said it before and I'll say it again, my only frame of reference of ASD was the movie, "Rainman." No one on my side of the family or my husband's has Autism.  It wasn't that long ago that doctors automatically told parents to put their children with ASD into institutions. I follow a handful of ASD blogs on Facebook and yes, some children and adults need to be in residential facilities for their safety and the safety of their family members/caregivers. I originally started writing this blog over ten years ago, because I had experienced a ton of grief and needed a way to get it out. I wanted people that read my blog to know that even if you have been through a lot, you can still come out the other side and be okay.  I have written about the losses of family members, my own health issues, Lauren going to college, having a stepson and many other topics.  For the past few years, I have written a lot about Dominic. With the current statistic of 1 in 54 having Autism, you are bound to know someone with ASD. I have always wanted my blog to have a "positive" spin. I know that I personally don't like to read blogs that don't give any hope at all. Yes, raising a child with different challenges isn't always rainbows and unicorns, but there are many things that Dominic has accomplished that I never thought possible when he was diagnosed with Autism at 2 1/2. 

I had given up on potty-training Dominic because I thought it was impossible. It took a long time and he was over age nine, but it did eventually happen! I never thought Dominic would be able to read, but he has read 22 books to Lauren (it's something we started during the Pandemic and we have no intentions on stopping). I have always wanted Dominic to altar serve in our church. If you have ever been to a Catholic Mass, you know that you can hear a pin drop. When Dominic was very young, we didn't take him to church at all. As he got older, we would sit in the glass hallway because he couldn't sit still. Dominic worked very hard with his private speech therapist to be able to be quiet in church. We would have to promise him elevator rides as a reward. We then sat in the chapel area in the very back of the church and then eventually made it to the front of the church. Dominic altar served for the first time in our church about a month ago. It's hard to put into words the emotions I felt watching him.

Last November, we started a Michigan Cottage Food Business called "Baked Goods By Dominic." Yes, we started a business during the Pandemic!! My dad unexpectedly passed away about a week before Christmas. We were not able to attend his funeral and it was one of the worst experiences I have ever been through in my life. My dad and I had gotten very close, especially after my mom's passing a little over three years ago. It took until about the middle of January, to start the business back up. We were on television twice and on the front page of the local newspaper. 

Fabulous opportunities keep coming our way. Yesterday, Dominic delivered his 127th order! This past year, our family has experienced the losses of family and close friends. Just yesterday, we found out a gal we know from church passed away. She is just a few months older than my husband. We had just saw her at church a week ago. While her loss will leave a huge hole, I am trying to focus on the positive memories I have of her. She always greeted us with a smile at church and she went out of her way to be friendly to both Lauren and Dominic. Life has a way of being very unpredictable, doesn't it? Even though Dominic will not be a "typical" incoming senior, he has accomplished so much! I try to find something positive in each and every day. That's the way I live my life, how about you?