Parents You Are Not Alone

Date: Mar 11, 2010

RE: Autistic Daughter

Michele · Member

Thank you for sharing - I know at times sharing our story can be emotional and heart breaking as well- so glad you have your daughter back -and the new baby-
I do have a friend who has a son with autism and you can read her life on http://thediaperheads-kellyfamily.blogspot.com/ she is a a pastor's wife and knows what you are going through with the autistic child-
People sometimes do not understand the wear and tear that we parents go through with behavioral or emotional children- it wears you out- Tamara you are not alone- welcome to the site - if you need anything or have articles you want to see let me know I will glad to look things up for you- I am in constant contact with behavioral specialist and will help with any question you may have-
Is your daughter in school? Does she go to a school that works with autistic children. Remember you are your childs advocate work with the school and they will help you- if you need help in this of finding a school where you are - I will contact someone in our county they may know -

tamaradiaz21 · Newbie

At the age of 5 my daughter was diagnosed with Austism Spectrum Disorder. Of course to a naive parent I had no clue what it meant nor what were the signs for it. I assumed she was ADHD. But when I got the news, it was heartbreaking. One of the hardest diagnosis to determine due to it's unknown development. We don't know where she got it or how. We just know that she has Autistic Disorder and R/O Expressive and Receptive Language Disorder. Once we got the diagnose, we started seeking professional help. Then in February of 2007 we got terrible news. DCF had taken our daughter away. The school she was in (which was in the middle of an IEP interview for her) called in DCF. They told them that she was displaying behaviors of an abused child and not of an autistic child. We went 69 days without our precious daughter. We did get a good lawyer and fought against DCF. On April 29 the judge dismissed the case stating that he believes that she has Autism and hearing my testimony that I have done everything to receive the help she needs. We were estactic! Talking about it even til today makes me emotional. Of course her disability hasn't improved. There are days where she would function normal and then the next day completely and totally regress in everything. There are times where I get frustrated not knowing what to do. There are things she does that concerns me but I know it's part of her disability- for ex: putting glass shards in her mouth, or swallowing a penny or poking her skin with a pencil. I know alot of is psychological, but sometimes it's hard to determine whether she is in a right state of mind or somewhere else. There are days where she is completely lost in her world. Then there are times that she does things to help around. Then came the news that we were expecting our second child. She was born in Dec. 1st of 2009. Our daughter is in love with her little sister. Which was a plus for us and for her. But I wonder sometimes if our little one will have some form autism. It worries me. But I trust in God in everything I do. It is an everyday struggle because we don't know what can happen next with our oldest daughter. We pray that she does well and just continues to grow spiritually and mentally.