At 18 months Jacob began losing his words eye contact and routine showing signs regression. Bu age 2 he was diagnosed with severe autism spectrum disorder needing substantial support. I cannot accurately describe the many emotions which ran through my mind when I heard this, although I will tell you I felt a lot of relief. We could finally move forward and were able to figure out the best plan of action to help support Jacob to live a happy life.
Of course, we felt sad emotions as we grieved a life we had imagined for our son. It is okay to grieve, I had to learn that lesson. My husband took longer to grieve. He took it harder than I did, and he didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. It has taken over a year for us both to come to full acceptance of this new life and adapt to our new way of living. Now that we have, we want to help others come to acceptance as well.
Some people in public have been unkind to Jacob because of his autism, which motivated me to advocated for him and other. My advice to new autism parents trusts your knowledge of your child seek support and focus on present while celebrating on their progress.
It is so easy to become all-consumed by Jacob’s therapies and autism life you can begin to feel overwhelmed. Take quality family time, take a break you really do need it. Jacob may be non-verbal, but he has A LOT to say. He communicates in a different way and brings us into his world of wonder. In coming to acceptance, we learned to step into his world and see the happiness different things give him.
Jacob loves the water, a very simple thing. But the smile on his face when he splashes at the beach brings us all so much happiness. He is happy, and this is all that matters. Jacob is also big into music and will hum along to different nursery rhymes, and it’s just the best thing to hear.
The reason I share our story is because we are not alone. I use my social media platforms to help support other autism parents going through the same journey because it is not easy. I hear numerous stories of parents being turned away, and how hearing our story helped them to stand up for their rights and demand an autism assessment for their child. I hope to create a positive community that can support each other to be able to advocate best for their children. We also want the entire world to become more accepting and aware, so we can have a more inclusive world.
