Autism Journey Day 25-When Paige was three I remember trying to get her to play with toys. Before she lost skills she had play skills. Our entire living room was full of toys and she played with her siblings using the play kitchen and shopping cart as well as building with blocks. The only play she wanted to engage in was dumping and filling. At my parents’ house she had a … [Read more...] about Janet’s Autism Journey Day 25

Autism Journey Day 24-Once we had the list of foods she was allergic to we began the elimination diet. First we had to throw away everything that she couldn’t have. Not all of us were eliminating the foods, so we kept a stash of goodies in the laundry room. The other kids could go in there to eat snacks or treats that weren’t allergy-friendly. It was important that Paige could … [Read more...] about Janet’s Autism Journey Day 24

Autism Journey Day 23-I began substitute teaching as an escape and a way to make some extra money. I only did it about one day per week to start. The grandparents helped by watching Paige and getting her to school. A trusted educator noticed that when my in-laws brought her to school she was much more aggressive. I began investigating. My in laws treated Paige to McDonald’s … [Read more...] about Janet’s Autism Journey Day 23

Autism Journey Day 22-Our house is on a corner. The elementary bus stop for our kids was always right at our corner. I always watched them from the window until the bus came. As Paige got older we could go outside to do that, but in her younger days I would have been chasing her everywhere. One day she was in her room which was upstairs. I knew she couldn’t get in much trouble … [Read more...] about Janet’s Autism Journey Day 22

Autism Journey Day 21-When I think back on how my life has changed because of that little baby who was born almost 25 years ago, I am amazed and I feel so fortunate!! It was such a shock to get pregnant when Spencer was 6 months old, but it was an event that radically changed the course of our lives. We moved into a bigger house and all of the kids have done their growing up in … [Read more...] about Janet’s Autism Journey Day 21