OUR JOURNEY WITH GABE & AUTISM

The autism community has been a buzz lately over the many appearances of Jenny McArthy who is using her autistic son to hawk her new book. She claims to have cured him of his autism because she was not going to accept this fate for him. Most autie parents are very offended by her views and the fact that the only reason they are being heard is do to her fame. I was reading another blog belonging to an autistic adult and he speaks of how much negativity is out there about autism and hating everything about autism. He asked non-autistic people to post on his blog what they love about the autistic people in their lives and the response was awesome. I get so tired of hearing about the woes of autism and would not trade my little autie for the world! His amazing personality far out weighs any difficulty that we endured do to his autism. Gabe's autism makes him the amazing person that he is. So I would like to talk about our little autistic angel.
Gabe is by far one of the most loving little individuals I have had the privilege to know. He has an amazing sense of humor, which his doctor says is a sign of intelligence. He is brutally honest and cracks us up all the time with his honesty. He is so purely innocent and sweet. We feel truly blessed every day that God has entrusted us with the care of this precious little guy. We are better people because of having Gabe in our lives.
It has not been an easy journey but it is one that I would not trade. Through this journey I have seen my husband at his very best! The pure unconditional love that he has amazes me every day. During the four years we struggled to get a diagnosis Gabe vomited at every meal which would send most men running. Gabe would get so upset each time and Jim would scoop him up in spite of the fact that he was covered in vomit. Jim told me he never wanted Gabe to think that anything would keep his Daddy from holding him.

It is now a year and a half since we received Gabe's diagnosis and we have finally got the doctors to give us a referral to see a Developmental Pediatrician. Our goal is not to cure him but to help him live the best life that he can. I would just be happy if we could get him to eat a healthier diet. We are now going through the struggle of getting insurance to pay for tests so we can help Gabe with his eating problems. It amazes me that when people learn that I have six boys or an autistic child the typical response is "God bless you." God has blessed me tremendously. My children and husband bless me everyday and I am living a truly blessed life struggles and all!

AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH

April is Autism awareness month and it would mean a lot to me if everyone would take some time to view the link for the NC Autism Society web page on the right side of the blog page. It is becoming more common and before we were given our little Gabe's' diagnosis we knew very little about Autism ourselves. 1 in 150 children are diagnosed with some form of Autism and it amazes me how little is really known even among our medical community. It has been such a struggle for us to get help or answers and it has meant a lot to us that we have had family and friends pass along info and take time to educate themselves. The Autism spectrum is so broad and it is so different from child to child that it often, as in our case, can go undiagnosed for years. I knew something was different shortly after our guy turned 1 but would have never even considered Autism! I was told by doctors for 4 years that he was just different, he had little quirks, or that he could not eat and frequently vomited simply because he was a picky eater. It was very frustrating to want answers and be dismissed time after time. We were left to anguish and wonder why our guy could not eat without vomiting, suddenly became hysterical during baths, dislike having clothes on, screamed in terror at getting his nails or hair cut, and so many other things that were not an issue for him until after his first birthday. My desire is to save other parents from going through this as we continue to search for help and answers. Our little guy has been such an incredible blessing to us and I would love to see him live in a world where people were understanding and kind so please take some time and educate yourselves and thanks so very much to those of you who have been involved. You may stumble across answers that help someone whom God places in your life during there time of need. Things could have been much better for Gabriel had we learned of this 4 years earlier. Thanks everyone and God bless you and yours!