Well, it’s been a long, hard road, but I’ve done it. I’ve achieved something that I’m very proud of: I’ve graduated high school, finally. After all those busy late-nights, I’ve successfully gotten my high school diploma, which now sits presentably in my room. Now I’m ready for another milestone: college.
Right now, I’ve started a summer class at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, Georgia. I decided to get a jump on things as has 90% of the rest of my senior class, although many have chosen different schools. Luckily, my summer semester only consists of one class, which gives me plenty of time to focus on my main endeavor, which is to spread the message of Autism Awareness to the world. While most of my work in my single class is very time-consuming, I’m still able to get the stuff that needs my attention completed. The work comes in copious amounts every week, which makes me worried for my full Fall Semester classes. My Fall Semester will start in late August, and I’m only partially looking forward to it. It’s still my first year in college, so there’s a bunch of adjusting that needs to be done, and an even bigger learning curve than there was for high school.
On a side note, my best friends and I are starting to hang out more and more this summer, because I think the realization that we may not be spending as much time with each other soon scares us, but we’ve all agreed that we’ll be keeping in touch as often as possible.
Lastly, I’d like to apologize to those who have frequently visited this site between now and the time of my last post. This site has some old content that REALLY needs to be updated. The end of the year has taken a toll on me; I still can’t believe that I’ve finished high school. I promise to start keeping this blog a little more up to date, and most importantly, to post more frequently. As always, thank you for the continued support, and we hope to start accomplishing greater things in the future.
Ausometistic became a word for us when I started writing our story. My title page started with “My awesome, fantastic journey with my awesome, autistic child.” The words all seemed to blend together on the page and in my mind as I read that line over and over. Our simple motivation is to encourage those with unique challenges of their own. I am a single mom with MS, and learned that my son had Asperger’s when he was four. My dreams for him took a drastic turn from imagining him as a brain surgeon, an astronaut, or an amazing chef, to a simple hope for him to have friends. After many varying medications, and therapies that had no effect, our doctor suggested the gluten free – dairy free diet. The diet made an obvious difference for Will. He made major improvements, and many symptoms that are indicative of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were much less noticeable; some even vanished altogether.
Social cues that most people learn from observing others, or simply know instinctually, had to – and still have – to be explained to me. Maturity, I’m sure, influenced much of my behavior modification, and still does today. I’m very lucky to have friends that are willing to guide and help me. They are invaluable to me, and enable me to navigate everyday life. My friends aren’t trying to be charitable, or make the news by being nice to the autistic guy. They are genuine, good people. My friends are a closely knit group, and we support each other. They don’t mind answering questions for me that may strike them as odd or unusual, they just tell me the truth. That, to me, is the true definition of a friend.