Mama, Take Time To Absorb This New Life
Autism is unconditional love.
Autism is hard.
Autism is constant struggles.
Autism is often full of denials.
I received a message from a new mama struggling to accept her son’s diagnosis and trying to find the words to tell her family.
I couldn’t give her a magical answer.
All I could say was the words will come when you’re ready.
Do not rush the emotions. Take time for yourself to absorb the diagnosis.
It is life altering.
It is shattering.
I can honestly say I didn’t accept the Autism diagnosis for a very long time.
I wasn’t ashamed I was scared.
I don’t think I had ever heard the word Autism and I certainly didn’t know anyone with Autism.
For me I struggled with the unknown.
I thrust my daughter into therapy after therapy and didn’t take time to grieve or process this life altering diagnosis.
I struggled with what to say to people.
Suddenly my hopes and dreams were gone, and they were replaced with acronyms I didn’t understand.
OT, BI, ABA, BCBC, and SLP…the list went on.
There are so many things I wish I had done differently but you can’t change the past.
The only advice I could give her was take the time to absorb this new life.
A lot of people thought I should have just picked up and carried on.
Oh, the judgment from the perfect little perch they sat on.
What they didn’t understand was our lives were turned upside down with three words.
Kya has Autism.
I cry to this day.
Over time I have lost so many people in my life and I am ok with that it’s like losing dead weight holding you down and I’ve met some incredible people along the way.
This mama asked me what the hardest part of Autism was, and it stumped me.
But the #1 fear for me is my daughter’s future.
It paralyzes me.
I told her I went through what I call the 3 D’s and I think most go through it. Denial, devastation, and determination.
There are so many what ifs on this journey, and it is a constant uphill battle but when you hit the top of that mountain it is glorious.
Autism is unbelievable wins.
Autism is exhausting.
Autism is never giving up.
This journey isn’t easy but watching my daughter overcome so many obstacles fills me with so much pride and joy.
Take time to grieve mama you will be ok.
This is Autism.
On we go.
Written by, Jennifer Dunn
My name is Jennifer Dunn, I am the mother of a beautiful 10 year old girl with ASD. Kya and I live in Vancouver, Canada. I work full-time and also manager her team of therapists. Our weekends are mostly filled with therapy, but I am happy to be on this journey with my Bug. I share our journey at https://www.facebook.com/keepingupwithkya/
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