I would like more support from my family and church. They do try, but family is far away, and while my church people are wonderful, most don't have any idea what it's like to live with a special needs child all the time. Our new youth pastor actually used to work with kids with autism, so I am hoping that this will bring more awareness to our church, and since my son is a 7th grader and my daughter is a senior, it's nice to know that there is someone in charge who can deal with my son and also understands what my daughter is going through having a sibling with autism. I do wish there was a buddy system for Zeke though so that he could participate more in the youth activities. He did go last week since my husband was able to go with him, but it's not fair for my daughter to always have to watch him. Maybe this is something that will be incorporated more as the new youth pastor has been there longer.  

It seem as though that the friends that I have are in the special needs family arena. These are friends I made before I joined this prestigious club. My oldest daughter was always a bit of a handful from birth and we always knew there was something a little different about my 2nd one then my third one came along and she was a little clingy like a tumor 🙂 she is now anxious and hyper at 6. Then there is my sweet little son. For every time I thought my daughter was clingy my son put her to shame. He has never left my side since the day he was born. He didn't kick in my belly he squirmed on his butt like he was nuzzling and that boy can cuddle like no one else. He used to sleep with my hand under him and still does so he knows when I leave. It can be a pain at times but it is also the most precious thing in the world. My friends accept my kids and all of their eccentricities because they have either been around since my kids were infants or they themselves have special needs children and just roll with the punches. Our families accept the one aspie diagnosis more so as an answer to all of the quirks my 2nd kiddo has but that is as far as it goes. None of them has done any learning on how to enrich her life. In our community there are next to no services for high functioning spectrum kiddos even out of pocket. I am worried that my youngest also has aspergers, our hope is that they are able to identify this while he is still in special ed preschool for his speech/articulation issues. Otherwise he will get lost in the shuffle in kindergarten. I find my help and support in the Lord and my friends who are walking the same journey that I am. I also suspect thatmy husband and I have aspergers as well and he has an ADHD diagnosis. I am also a respite worker for a good friend of mine who has her own health issues and her son is 9 and classified as high functioning autistic. We should probably live in the same house because our families have become joined at the hip! Her hubby also has aspergers. It is a crazy world filled with chaos, anxiety, and love!