Well, I had a really quirky post all ready in my feeble little brain to do for April Fool's Day, but since April is Autism Awareness Month, I decided instead to post about one thing that I am very passionate about...Autism Awareness! As you all should know by now, my oldest son, Matthew, has been diagnosed with this disorder, and I would LOVE the chance to spread a little awareness! If it's no more than to the few readers of my blog, then maybe there will be at least one person that understands a little bit more about this cause that is gripping so many of our children today. I have planned to do several posts that will be rather candid and explanatory of "MY" experiences with autism. I do stress "MY" experiences, because as no two children are alike, there are no two children with autism that are alike! What we go through as a family will be completely different from what the next family will experience because children with autism have such a wide range of characteristic behaviors at such varying degrees. If I accomplish nothing more than a generalized overview of "OUR" world of autism, then maybe at least one of you will come away from reading my posts with a greater sense of understanding and compassion for what diagnosed individuals and their families face EVERYDAY!!!

For this first post, I want to explain one little trivial point. You may notice that I rarely refer to Matthew as "autistic". This is due to a book I read that said you should not refer to an individual as autistic, because they should not be defined by their disorder. Much as you would not refer to a cancer patient as "cancerous". I know that is very trivial, but it certainly struck a cord with me, and since reading that, I have a hard time referring to individuals as autistic. There is much more to these children and adults than the disorder that they live with. There is a person there with feelings like any other individual. They have the ability to be hurt, angry, embarrassed, sad and happy just like any typically developing individual. (Note I do not say NORMAL - who knows what normal is anyway! Another point from a book that has stuck with me!)

I hope that by taking you on a bit of our journey of our world of autism, you will come to understand the effects that autism can have on not only the individual diagnosed, but the family as a whole. I hope this is something you will enjoy learning about because it is such a passion of mine. Please know that I DO NOT consider myself as an autism expert. I only have the knowledge of what my experiences have taught me. I have often said that I'm no expert on autism, but I am the expert on Matthew! I am the person who understands him better than anyone else, and for that I am grateful! It is completely natural for a child to love its mother, but when you feel the love of a child with autism, you know you have received one of the GREATEST GIFTS!!!