....AS A PRE-TEEN"!!!!
That is what was announced to me yesterday morning. The date of Erin's birthday.
Erin turned 12 years old yesterday. She is in the 6th grade and taking regular classes
without the need for an aide. Erin's report card was 6 A's and 2 B's.
Erin was born into this world SCREAMING. I gave birth to her in a Birthing Center. There
were no medical interventions..meaning, no epidural, no pain medication, no immunization
at birth...just me, Patrick and a wonderful midwife.
Erin was 10 pounds at birth and just at 23 inches. I thought I had given birth to a toddler.
She was always large and today, at the age of 12 years old, she is already 5' 9"....
Erin screamed until she turned 3 years old. She was frustrated. Erin started walking
at 8 months. She hated laying still. She would roll out of her bouncy chair when she was
2 months old.
When Erin began to talk, she became the happiest toddler in the world. She never stopped smiling. Erin became joyful and that has remained the same.
Erin did not speak until she turned 4 years old. She started talking and has not stopped.
Erin had trouble reading in Kindergarten and was almost held back. She taught herself
to read by the beginning of First Grade.
Erin has always accomplished whatever she has set her mind to. When she wanted to ride
her bike, without training wheels, she practiced on the grass until she could do it.
We do not know why Erin has come so far. She has had continuous Speech therapies. During
her most vital years Erin participated in 20 hours a week of OT, Speech, Play and Recreational Therapies. We did this until she was about 9 years old. Then she met all of her goals. Erin is a Success Story without all of the drama.
Erin still has some sensory issues...she is still Autistic. She is not cured or recovered. She remained gluten-filled and casein-full her whole 12 years, yet is surpassing her NT peers in academics. Socially, Erin is a butterfly whose wings are forever soaring.
I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Erin...the World is hers and thereis no holding her back. Happy Birthday Erin...keep reaching for those stars...they will be yours.
About Me
- Mom26children
- I am the proud mother of 6 children. 5 of our children have autism. We do not feel our world has ended, but just begun. We do not chelate, intervene biochemically, give shots of any kind, practice ABA, etc. We treat them as we treat any humanbeing. We treat them with kindness and respect and expect the same from them. They are exceptional children.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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2 comments:
Wow, what a great story. Over these past few months I have encountered multiple accounts from various people in the autism community and unfortunately not too many of them have been success stories. With that said it is really great to hear a success story. Thank you very much for sharing this story not only with me but with everyone who will read this. Good luck and thank you again.
Congratulations, Jeanette- this is such an inspiring story, indeed.
I was wondering, if you don't mind sharing that- what in Erin do you feel is keeping her on the autism spectrum at present? I know you mentioned sensory, but lots of non-autistic people have those issues too.
Without starting to split hairs, (because honestly, I don't care about whether there is a diagnosis or not, if my child can basically function normally), but so much of what you are describing sounds non-autistic, that I meant to ask what in Erin would you consider still affected by autism.
I'm particularly impressed by the fact that she is in sixth grade, doing well, I've heard of many ASD kids holding it nicely together in elementary school, but as complexities of social interactions and academic assigments increase, many kids on the spectrum start to struggle. So double kudos to her for that :)
And Happy Birthday.
Wow ! 10 lbs :) !!!
Lillian
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