Reflections

As I was watching Bug get ready this morning, I couldn't help and stand back in pure amazement.  He ate his cereal mostly with a spoon, put his own shoes and socks on,  and put his folder in his backpack, all with minimal prompting from me.  Sometimes with the day to day it is hard to see the progress, especially if the day has been difficult.  But I think about some things that he has improved upon even in the last couple of months and it is phenomenal!  I am so glad that he likes school and seems to be progressing!  So today I thought I would write about where it began.  

Many people have asked me, when did we first know that he had autism?  I don't know exactly when we knew that it was autism, but we have a family picture in our living room that kind of is the marker for when we knew something wasn't right.  When he was born he was perfect.  Progressing just as he should.  He hit all the milestones, and was social.  I remember one time when we had to take Boy to the ER and Bug was just 9 months and he was trying to tell everybody "hi."  He had great eye contact, was starting to talk, and then just like a switch, he shutoff.  We had that family picture taken when he was 15 months, and we couldn't get him to smile, look at the camera, or respond to anything.  I thought it was because he was coming down with a cold, but now I know differently.  The first time any ever brought autism up to me was my brother-in-law.  I was so offended.  He didn't have autism, how could he say such a thing!  My cousin has it, and Bug was nothing like him.   Months later it was clear, but still a hard pill to swallow.  Here is a video of what he was like before.  The first time I saw this, it was after he had changed, and I cried.  But I know that same bright eyed, happy boy is still here.