I cried all the way home. The road was blur through my tears. I called husband and told him- he was in shock, my family was in shock and some to this day don’t believe the diagnosis.

Girls present the signs of autism differently and many of them go undiagnosed. Though it was hard to learn that M has autism, I’m thankful that SARRC caught it. I’m thankful that she can get help, that she will learn how to socialize with her peers and that she will learn to use language effectively.

Maria was enrolled at the SARRC community school as an autistic student and absolutely loves it. With the help of the therapists she is learning how to properly interact with her peers and is working on other goals like making eye contact.

So this is where my family is currently, two children on the spectrum; one low functioning (Jackson), one high functioning (Maria). Matt (my husband) and I work tirelessly to engage with them, spend quality time with them, and give them as much help and support as we can.

This is a difficult journey for sure but we walk down this road surrounded by family and friends who support us.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walk hand in hand with therapists who have become like a second family for us. We walk beside other families who are also on a similar path: learning, growing and leaning on each other for support.