by Pat on Jan 1, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Filed in Autism and Stress | Autism Family Facts | Christian Autism Stories | Parenting Autistic Children | Stories from Readers
I am the mother of 3 beautiful girls. That just happen to have 3 different disabilities. My baby is the autistic child. She was a challenge for the first 11 years. Now she is a well adjusted young woman of 20, that just doesn't happen to talk. However she no longer throws TVs through the wall or bites me or herself. She loves her music. She does miss the country area we lived in and the horses we once owned and lost. We didn't get much help in those days. Just alot of "you should to this, and you should do that" of course with each thing they told me, they never took into consideration that the other two needed special care too. My autistic angel's name is Lisa. And I could not love her more.
My middle child has Rhett Syndrome. It is in the family of autistic disorders, however much more involved physically. Sarah started out normal developing and began to have seizures at about 12 months. She progressed slowly till about 24 months and I saw her falling behing other children her age. She was first diagnosed as autistic, then some form of palsy. By three years of age the doctor was excited to tell me he believed she had Rhett Syndrome. She lost of use of her arms and at 7 started to refuse to walk. She is now 22 and just my baby doll. Wants to love all day long. She loves Elvis, the BEEGEES and Disney. She is also very spoiled rotten. At the moment she will not look at me because we went shopping and had a caregiver in. There is nothing like mom. Sarah is my heart.
My oldest is mildly disabled. She is very outgoing. She works now with the elderly at an assisted living home. She is 25, and with her mild disabilities, she has been my biggest challenge. This is not to say that the other two were not a challenge. Jennifer is affected by alcohol I drank before I knew I was pregnant. Fortunatly she is not as effected as some. Her border line IQ made it a real fight to get her services. However I am proud to say she is nearly independant. She needs help financially from time to time. Because of my financial problems with disabilities, a church helps Jennifer. She is my pride, and my joy.
I will not tell you that this life is a piece of cake. My back hurts, my knees hurt almost every part of my body hurts from time to time. I think life would have been alot easier if I would have had help from the time they were young. And if people understood what life is like with disabilities, instead of judging. I have always invited them to walk a mile in my shoes so I could go on a vacation. I have yet to have anyone accept this offer. And the judging is getting less and less. After 25 years of not really having a life of my own the powers that be understand that I am committed to my girls. And I am not going anywhere till I go to God. Which is where I find my peace. And with accepting the things I can not change, Changing the things I can, then gaining the wisdom to know the difference. Best prayer ever for mothers with special children. Because we do tend to bang our heads against the wall from time to time. Also, enjoy the help of family while they are still around. Nothing can replace family.
Well, I have to go get settled in front of the TV, my show is coming on. That just happens to be the Nancy Grace show.
Linda
Cleveland Oh