Did you know that 1 in 68 children will be diagnosed on the autism spectrum (ASD)? Chances are good that you know someone who has been diagnosed or you are living with someone on the spectrum.
We are living the life! Our daughter, Georgia, has autism. But let me be clear, this does not define our daughter. She is so much more! She is sassy; one look can set you flying high or make you question your entire existence. Haha!
I am writing this blog because a diagnosis of autism is not a death sentence, is it going to be different? Yes. Are there days you want to scream and hide? Yes. Will you possess patience you never thought you were never capable of? Yes. And will your life be fuller than you ever imagined? Yes to all the above.
I want to bring awareness to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), things in our life are always an adventure. I do not want this to a be a sad or serious blog, life is full of that, I want this to be a fun and light take on all things autistic. Because if I am frank, if I didn't laugh I would cry.
Little back story before we get to the funny stuff. I assure you that it is coming! Georgia is 10 years old, she will be 11 soon. She is dependent on myself, her daddy, and brother for everything. She is non-verbal but she speaks with the assistance of her Ipad which is loaded with a program called Proloquo2go. She has ASD, a seizure disorder, is developmentally delayed and a plethora of other things going on. When she was 3 years old she had a hemispherectomy; most of the left side of her brain was removed to stop the seizures. They also cut the bridge in the brain so the two sides cannot communicate with one another, this was to prevent the seizures from spreading to the healthy side. And yes, just because she had most of it removed, it still seizes, it is just it's own private seizing island, ha! I think a lot of her issues stem from the seizures, she basically seized from 7 months of age to 3.5yo. And they were EVERY SINGLE DAY! But enough sad, if you would like to know more about that journey please head over my other blog http://smileslovebugsandepilepsy.blogspot.com/
Our life is not sad, far from it. Georgia lights up a room, her smile is beautiful! If I could impress one thing upon you, it is this, people with autism are not stupid, dumb, or any of that nonsense! They process things differently. And like most of us, if they are not motivated, they will not do something. Think about it like this, if you were not paid to go to work, would you? My child needs the proper motivation to do what I want her to do. These things can range from tickles, "good job" swinging, candy, jumping, spinning in a chair, all kinds of things.
Her interests include: jumping on the trampoline, swimming, watching videos that sing, music, tickle fest, spinning in chairs, swinging, and eating! Lots and lots of eating! And one thing that she loves to do is pray...over..EVERY SINGLE THING. If something is added to her plate, we must pray and God forbid you forget because she will chirp at you to come pray for it. I love this about her! She reminds me to slow down and be thankful for everything including the recently added goldfish crackers.
As I go along with this blog, I want you to get to know my daughter and see her the way I see her and perhaps the next time you see a child who is different you will just smile because that child like G is probably is as funny and mischievous as she is 💜
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