Walk for Autism Kick off Dinner

Tonight was the Walk for Autism kick off dinner. It was wonderful, I was pretty teary eyed the whole time. There were several speakers, and one really struck me...she was talking about how her son who is 27 and in a group home was diagnosed with Autism when he was 2. How hard it was to get the diagnoses, no support groups, no other parents to talk to , no one to really understand. She also went on to talk about how having a special needs child teaches you so much, so much that you may not of learned otherwise. Patience being the number one thing...oh my how we have learned patience. I always thought I had patience before but no, now I know the true meaning of patience. The second and perhaps the most important being unconditional love. I have been taught that, and it is so important. Through Ava, I have learned to love unconditionally, it is the greatest feeling of love ever. She has taught me SO MUCH, I am beginning to realize I was chosen to be Ava's mommy for a reason, and I am so happy that I was chosen to be her caretaker.

There was another little girl there, she was 9 with Autism. She read a speech and did so well. I looked at her and I could see nothing "wrong" with her, she read her speech beautifully, and spoke with SUCH excitement and joy..more so than you and I could have done! I could see my own daughter in her, and maybe a glimpse into her future. She sang us a song and did SO WELL! She dropped her paper at the end and with a resounding OOPS Into the mic picked it up. Everyone clapped for her and she was so happy.

So that was our night, and now we will be busy fund raising for the walk. can't wait to get started!!