Some days living with Autism can be challenging and draining but I can say each new day brings a day of opportunity, hope and a fresh start.
Ben is so special, and so very unique, he LOVES everyone! He hugs almost everyone he sees and meets and is smiling most of the time. Ben struggles with everyday tasks but exceeds with others. Show him something once and generally he has it…he can work most electronics better than me J
A little bit about Ben and his past…After many years of trying and going to doctor after doctor to have a child we decided to leave it in God’s hands and pray that he would answer our prayers, and he did! Not in the way we were thinking but, he answered them by adoption. He was born early and weighing in at a small bundle of joy of 4lbs, he had some health issues in his early part of life but was and remains perfect in our sight. He was diagnosed with GERD (acid reflex disease) and still to this day is being treated for it,he is now 3 ½ years old and was diagnosed at 3 months. As Ben grew and was getting older we noticed that he was not developing like the other children we knew that was near his age. And we continued to bring this up at each and every doctor apt. We as parents are our children’s BIGGEST advocates; we are their words, and actions!
His speech is coming along beautiful now but it wasn’t always that great, I prayed for the day I would here “wuv u mommy”, happy to say I hear this daily, most times its with coaching but regardless I hear it, we are constantly working and coaching, with speech we are on to two words sentences now..YAY!
WE as a family have learned to do what works; we do what works for us. If you walk into our house you will see many toy balls, all different colors and sizes, lots of things that play music or some sort of sound, cause these are things that he LOVES, and are used for rewards, our house is a home lots of finger prints on the walls/windows.
Even though some days or moments in our days can be challenging we are learning what works. For example we know slowing Ben down using some technique’s picking our battles not to worry so much about e single detail is a help. For example I use to be so stressed if Ben didn’t look in a camera lens when he was smaller but you know what that is not that big of deal, since I stopped stressing over this I have been able to capture some amazing pictures!
For the past year my husband has been battling cancer but still going strong, with this we have learned to slow life down and cherish each and every minute I have recently learned that as Ben grows, we grow with him learning to live with autism that life is really truly unique and can be wonderful.
I have learned to breathe and not sweat the small stuff so much. And to make everything a celebration. You should see the party we have when he goes potty!
I know living with autism can be challenging one of our biggest challenges right now is how Ben can be so impulsive, but living with autism can be so rewarding too.
Its important to stay strong and stay focused, they are worth it. And after all they are our babies.
