I had full intention to post something about our autism every day during this autism awareness and acceptance month, but as always, things have been a little crazy. I did want to make sure I did one more post before this month ended since I feel no better time to share this than now.

Over the last few years, Alyssa has had struggles with emotional regulation due to sensory issues and anxiety. We have seen therapists, gone for official medical diagnosis and more. She has been given the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADHD), Anxiety (GAD), Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Executive Functioning Disorder (EFD), Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD)…so many acronyms that it became just that to me. Just acronyms. None of which were fully sitting right with Joe and me or even some of the therapists that work with Alyssa. I kinda just went with it though because honestly, this year has been better than previous years and she was getting the outside support that I felt she needed. In the end, does the label really matter as long as the support is being given?

It wasn’t until a few issues occurred at school and then two amazing people on “Team Cranston” started to speak up on Alyssa’s behalf by sharing with me that something wasn’t adding up with her most recent evaluation. So we decided to dig a little deeper.

The digging deeper lead us to having the recent evaluation re-looked at. The practice we used for the evaluation agreed further testing was warranted (I won’t go into the whole story of why). They did some additional testing and scales and sure enough, this little feeling that I have had in my gut for a few years now was finally validated. Someone finally said what I have been thinking.

As I have shared over the years, Autism Spectrum Disorder is exactly that…A SPECTRUM. No two children with autism look the same. Even siblings can be on two completely different sides of the spectrum. How can I say this with such certainty? I am a mother of two children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. One considered Level 3 (servere, low functioning, whatever you want to call it) and one considered Level 1 (high functioning, lower needs, aspergers, whatever you want to call it).

There you have it.

This is OUR Autism! It’s not easy, it’s messy, it’s exhausting, it’s also beautiful and I love it (well at least most of the time).

As Autism Awareness and Acceptance month comes to an end, please remember it’s not the end for many parents. It’s not just a month. It’s everyday. So let’s spread acceptance and awareness everyday!