1 in 88

April is Autism Awareness Month. The newest statistic is 1 in 88. Staggering. Each child's autism is different than another and often times the child will also be diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder and/or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Autism is a challenge to many families and I hope that soon we will find a reason that so many children suffer from this disorder. I pray that day will be soon.

Marissa was diagnosed with Autism in October of 2009. I remember the day perfectly. We had two UVA appointments that were back to back. We went to see the Developmental Pediatrician first. He just kind of said it, almost like we should have known. I think in the deep crevices of my mind I knew but I thought that everything we were experiencing with her was part of her chromosome disorder. As we left his office, I felt like I had just gotten run over by a bus. The car was quiet as Steve and I headed to the next appointment. When we got to the hand doctor, he asked us what was wrong, and we told him that we just found that Marissa had autism. He looked at us puzzled and said, "I thought you knew that". As we made our way home, we barely said a word. That night I cried and cried. I just wanted to know why. She had all of these medical problems do we have to add in autism as well. When I was finished with my pity party, I knew that denial of this situation was not going to help us or Marissa. As hard as it was for us to cope with the magnitude of the diagnosis, it wasn't going to change Marissa. Marissa has autism, Marissa is autistic- Marissa is still Marissa. She was born with a genetic make up like no other and as everything her in life we will take it on. Every day is new, nothing is the same and organization is the key. All we can do is manage her environment the best way we can and push her when we feel it is appropriate. We have learned that there are somethings we still need to avoid. Each day might not hold a success, but at least she has lived for another day.

Autism is hard. It is hard on the families, educators and physicians. We have been very fortunate to have people that love, support, encourage and pray for us on a daily basis. Just when I think we can't do this another day, God puts people in our path always at the right time. I hope that next time, you see a mother or father, who has a child with autism, that you say a small prayer for them. Its amazing what prayer does!