Faces of Autism

April is Autism Awareness Month. Being the mother of two wonderful boys who are autistic, I wanted to be sure and thank God for giving these amazing, challenging, brilliant, and beautiful little boys to me.

There is a very strong genetic link for Autism in my family. Because of the number of autistic uncles, cousins, brothers, and a grandfather, it is suspected that in our case, the autism is not the result of prematurity or complications thereof. The fact that the two boys who are autistic are also identical twins only serves to further our belief as to genetics being the cause.

But, the cause really doesn't matter. What matters is that they came to our home to live. I am so very blessed to be their mother and I can't imagine my life without them. I love everything about them. They have such a unique outlook on life and learning. I love them BECAUSE they are autistic, not in spite of it. They are quirky, moody, loving and incredibly bright. They have taught me more than I will ever teach them. Thank God they are my little boys.

I don't profess to be any kind of expert where autism is concerned. I know that what we are dealing with in our lives is much less severe than what many other families have each day. I'm glad for the challenges that are uniquely ours and I pray that we are able to raise all 4 of our kids to be happy, productive adults. Right now, there are still a lot of questions about what the future holds but we are very optimistic...... and not really any different than any other parent raising any other child.

So, I'd like to share...

Our two darling faces of Autism