ASWS Article

A dear friend (Annie you are a blessing to me!) of mine referred me to Autism Support of West Shore because they give out scholarship money to children in our community on the Autism Spectrum.  Last year with the scholarship money we were able to buy Brecken a brand new play-set for outside and a new Ipad.  To fulfill my volunteer hours for being a recipient myself, Courtney and Jill volunteered at the ASWS golf outing (while Josh and Marie golfed). It was a blast! PS, I love you all!

This year, I chose to write an article.

 Our son Brecken is an 8 year old high functioning Autistic child.  Brecken was born in February of 2008 and welcomed into our family by myself, my husband and his not yet one year old brother.  He was, and continues to be the cutest baby boy I've ever laid eyes on.  He has gorgeous greenish brown eyes and a smile that can turn anyone into mush.  He is unforgettable.  He is humble.  He is kind.  He is Autistic.
    Brecken was just shy of three years old when he was diagnosed with Autism.  He was developing normally in most areas but lacked language and social skills.  He would rarely make eye contact and he had the worst meltdowns I had ever seen.  Of course, why wouldn't he?  He was 2 and couldn't verbalize his wants and needs.  And unbeknownst to me he was having sensory processing issues to the extreme. I consider our family very fortunate that Brecken was diagnosed at such a young age.  It brought us knowledge and it brought us acceptance. Knowledge and acceptance are key when it comes to understanding Autism.   
    Within the last five years, our son has gone from not speaking to demanding.  From having temper tantrums to self soothing.  From sensory overload to coping.  It has been the most joyous and trying times of our lives.  He attends school full time in a general education classroom.  He has a 1:1 parapro and with her help; he is reading, writing, telling stories and participating with his class.
    When he was first diagnosed I, like many parents, assumed the worst.  I assumed that everything would remain the same and that the label of Autism meant that he was incapable of moving forward and meeting goals like a "normal functioning child".  I was happy there was an explanation for his underdeveloped skills, but terrified of what was to come.
    Yet, here we are 5 years later and this past weekend he did something incredible.  Something that I never thought could happen.  I never let the scenario even enter my mind.  Because, it just may never happen.
    My mother picked Brecken up from our home and he was going to spend the night with her.  She is his favorite.  By far, no one measures up to the pedastal that Brecken puts his "Grandma Gertie" on.  No one.  He was there about 30 minutes when Grandma called me.  She was upset "I don't know what to do, he's never done this - he's asking to go home".  Brecken kept saying "I want to go home, get in the car, momma".  This is extremely unusual.  He was also saying what my mom thought was "police Luigi".  My mom decided to bring Brecken home, as he was adamant about coming home.  She was so excited that he was staying the night that she bought him 4 Mario and Luigi's!  Upon Brecken's return home, he went straight to his room and grabbed his FREEZE power Luigi.  He didn't even take his coat or flip flops off.  He RAN to his room.  Once he had the "match" to the FREEZE Mario that grandma had bought him, he was ready to leave again.  Saying "Grandma's house, get in gramma's car, bye Mom".
    Brecken orchestrated the entire event.  He knew that he needed the freeze power Luigi.  His mind could not handle the thought of having only the freeze power Mario, when he had the macth at home.  He was able to communicate to us what he needed.  That he needed to go home and get his Luigi to be able to function at Grandma's house.  I was in tears, I was overjoyed. I am so proud!
    NEVER, ever let the label of Autistic cloud your view.  It is just that - a label.  Nothing more. Autism does not define our children, they define themselves.