Hello my name is Ashley & My child is autistic

Which comes as no surprise to anyone but now that we have a diagnosis, we can get so many more services! among those services is
~music therapy
~EFMP aka Exceptional Family Member Program aka an excuse to become last on the list for deployment.
~ABA therapy aka applied behavioral analysis therapy aka hard work
~long term care

Does it change our day to day life? nope... He's still the same Brok he was before we knew. I will still deal with him the same way as I always did. Does that make me super mom? HArdly. Sometimes I want to pull my hair out because he is driving me bonkers. Am I the most patient person with him? uh no- you should hear us. But I will forever love him & wonder why I was chosen to have this challenge in my life. Heavenly father must think very highly of me to have given me such a special little boy to love & care for. Life may not always be easy but we can do it together.

I always wonder what he will be like in 2-3 years. Will he ever talk? will he stop the screaming? will he ever potty train? I can hope right? I mean we never thought he would walk either right? & now he is running! It just took him an extra year & a half to figure it out.

& then I think of what he will be like as a teenager. Will I have to remind him to shave? Will I have to remind him to do his homework? Ok that sounds like a normal teenage boy. but really, what will he be like?

will his brother & everyone else love him the way we do? Will he have friends? Will he do well in school? Will he get to enjoy the normal things every teenage boy does? crushes on girls? dances, sports? Will he ever win a trophy or participate on a team? Will he look forward to going on a mission? Will he be able to go?

& most importantly, is there someone out there who when the timing is right will love him & be patient enough with him that they can fall in love & get married? I know he's only 2.5 but these are things a mom wonders about ya know?

Brok you are such a special child in our home. You make our lives interesting to say the least! Would life have been different & harder if you had come into our lives second instead of first? Because we will continue to do what we have always done because we haen't known any different!

I love you son! Even though sometimes you drive us nuts, we will always love you! Thanks for having the faith in us to be your parents!

Love mom