She was such a good happy baby.…. Who really hated sleep… she was harder to make laugh then my others- I know I know, don’t compare kids to others… but come on- let’s be real- I am human, it’s dang near impossible not to compare. She eventually learned a few small words and then one day, she just lost them. Around 1.5, I started to realize something was different. I followed my gut- took her to the doctor thinking maybe she had a speech delay……. And he said, let’s just get her assessed for things… I got to my car and cried. I instantly knew she was autistic. She checked every box. I had never even thought about that being something to look into.

Elle was diagnosed with Autism at 22 months. We instantly did all the things. Speech, special needs preschool, occupational therapy and full time Aba. That was a big hard adjustment. We are a huge Aba led household. Shortly after we found out she was having absence seizures… which led to an Epilepsy diagnosis, which lead to us finding benign brain tumors and a dormant hippocampus. We found out around 5 that she has moderate intellectual disability disorder.

Life has been….. well….. different. Sad, trying, full of what the fucks. It’s also been really beautiful. My family has grown in ways I never imagined. My children are the most loving, caring, empathetic humans I’ve ever met. Early intervention saved all of our lives. This journey has set me on a path I never knew I needed to be on. I am Elle’s full time care giver. I am so passionate about allll that comes with all of these diagnosis she has. It’s my full time job to research and advocate for her. And I love to do it. It’s exhausting and I cry a lot- but it’s pretty great and unexplainable to see all of the wins and her growth.

Our family life looks very different. We don’t camp. We don’t get to go to family outings together- one of us must stay home with Elle. It’s tough to juggle I won’t lie. My kids are now about to be a senior in high school, a 3rd grader, and Elle will be going into 1st grade. We are a busy and active household. My big kids are so helpful. We are surrounded by wonderful friends and family who help make this journey a little easier.

This blog will start right where we are today. Dealing with IEPs and navigating the school district, navigating meds, getting my oldest girl ready to leave us for college, making sure I’m giving my son enough of me while he’s a growing and active little man, trying to be a good wife, running my home, and trying to stay above water all while trying to navigate our life and future of being a special needs family of 5 with a forever child🩷