I Love Being A Mom

Mother's day is almost here and I am excited! I love mothers day for so many reasons. I have three wonderful children who have changed my life. They have taught me to be unselfish. They have given me great memories that will last forever. We have had great moments. They make me laugh,cry and most of all have made me proud. I am the mother I need and want to be because of my upbringings. I owe my parents everything because without their support and guidance I wouldn't be the mom I am today. So thank you Mom and Dad ( I miss you dad). Dad I know you are smiling down on me and are happy with all that I have become. I am a great mom because I learned from the best dad in the world! You have taught me how to make precious memories with my family because you were all about family. As long as I have your morals I know I will make you proud. You are missed and thought of every single day! I love you always dad!

You Are Missed Dad

It's been a month since you have gone away
I wish that you could have stayed.
I wasn't ready to let you go
There was still so much I had to show.
It all happened so quick and fast
Now all I have are memories from the past.
I know you wouldn't want me to cry
But it was so hard to say goodbye.
I will never forget what a great dad you are
But losing you has left my heart scarred.
I know you are with me right by my side
To show me the way and be my guide.
I miss you and love you dad
May you R.I.P. and always know that I am thinking of you. You are forever in my heart.
     
Love,
Your Little Girl

My Child's Progress: One Happy Momma!

          It's been a while since I have written a blog post. I have great news to share and remarkable updates about my daughters progress. My daughter has now become fully verbal. Since she was receiving Speech in school and outpatient Speech it has helped tremendously. She is now able to hold a conversation with me and understands when talked to. She can act on emotions and comforts me when she knows something is wrong.
          If I tell her I am sad she will respond with " Mommy you are sad? Why are you sad Mommy" I tell her and she says " it's okay mommy" or if she doesn't hug me or give me a kiss I tell her I'm sad and she says " I'm sorry mommy". I ask her how her day in school was she tells me " it was good". She now asks for drinks, food, and toys.
           If she can't reach something she says " mommy I can't reach help me please. She knows how to count up to 30 ( still learning to count to 100. One step at a time). She knows how to sound out all of the letters to the alphabet and can spell her name and 2-3 letter words. She pretends to be the teacher and asks me to spell a word.
           I say the wrong letter to see if she knows that I said the wrong letter and yes-she knows!!! She says "no mommy it's wrong, try again" lol. She will be in the same program this year with the exception of being mainstreamed for one period a day. If she does well then she will be put in a mainstream class for kindergarten. I am very grateful for all of the help I received from her teachers and therapists.
            I am happy with the progress she has made so far. It has not been easy but stay positive and strong and in the end the results will show just how hard you have worked to teach, love and appreciate what god has given you. A precious gift to be cherished forever.

Autism Is Beautiful

My child is different but never less
She needs lots of love and caress
You look with your eyes but do not see
That she has the right to express herself freely
Don't be so quick to dismiss her queues
you will never walk in our shoes
Until autism enters your life you will never understand
that Autism is grand
My child wants you to know
She is capable of anything and will succeed and grow
into something that will be extraordinaire
because she has love, support and people who care
my child is human just like us
Stop making a big fuss
my child is very smart and bright
Having Autism doesn't stop us from fighting the battle with all our might
It will always be our way of life and will not change
So just be polite and don't blame.

How Do You Interpret Autism?

First, do you know what Autism really is? If not let me tell you.  It's a neurological and developmental disability. It affects a child socially, emotionally, and expressively. It doesn't mean a child is incapable it means a child needs more time and patience to understand things. Autism is not caused by " bad parenting" and is not contagious!!
There is no physical disability with autism so you can't say " oh yeah that child has autism". Every one has a choice to understand, be aware and accept autism. Just like people have the choice to be ignorant. Children and Adults with Autism are beautiful, intelligent, and soooo lovable!! They deserve just as much as anyone else. Just because they have autism it doesn't make them any less. If you don't learn about autism you will never learn to accept.
If ignorance is your choice then also make it your choice to not bully or make nasty comments about people with autism. You choose to not understand about autism that's ok you have the right to make that choice.

Autism And Siblings...

A sibling sometimes has a difficult time trying to understand autism. Sometimes they find it hard to understand why their sibling has it. They don't know how to interact with their sibling. For a child with a learning disability it's even harder to cope and make sense of it all. As a parent I didn't know how to explain to my son that his sister had autism.
He has a learning disability and ADD so I wasn't sure he would understand autism. I tried to be very clear when I explained it to him. I had to teach him how to interact with his sister and to be verbal with her. I taught my kids sign language so they can communicate with their sister. There has been lots of great moments.
 I love watching my kids play together. I think my son and daughter can relate because they both understand each other now. My son will be able to help guide his sister and I know I will do a great job. The greatest feeling a parent can get is knowing that they are there for each other. Sibling love is AMAZING!!!

My Daughters Behavior:Autism Revealed...

My daughters behavior has become unbearable. She has more meltdowns and tantrums than before. Now that she has started to vocalize she talks back to me. I tell her no it's time for dinner you can watch T.V. later she gets upset and tells me No! She will throw herself on the floor kicking and screaming!
Attending outings is the same. I do not go if I don't have to. It's not about being embarrassed it's very tiring and overwhelming at times. I've learned a way to approach her tantrums and meltdowns. When she has a meltdown I calm her down by telling her it's ok you don't need to cry. Tell Mommy what's wrong.
 When she has a tantrum well that's different because I don't want to influence her behavior so I let her calm down on her own and than explain that if she does what I say she can do what she wants to do. Autism drains you to the point that you have to keep pushing yourself. Autism doesn't have many breaks so why should I? I hope as time goes by it gets a little easier.