Being a parent, it is tempting to feel you need to fill ALL the needs your little one has. To know the answer to all their questions, be the solution to their problems. But sometimes we need help. Funny enough, we needed Annelies to learn that Marco needed help. Annelies introduced us to Early Intervention so that we could open our eyes and see what Marco's needs were. Thank You Annelies. She is so, so wise.
Through Marco I learned that I, the Mom, do not have all the answers. When you deal with Autism, there are bridges that need to be crossed with the help of professionals. (OK, maybe this is not the case for all parents. Maybe there are parents who can do it and have done it all, and my hat is off to them. I am not one of those parents. I needed help.) The first person who helped Marco and us was Eric, his Speech Pathologist. Thankfully we were hooked up with him before the laws changed last summer.
Eric helped us see the different ways we could communicate with Marco. He showed us not all communication is verbal. This was information I knew in my heart of hearts, but when as a parent, after receiving a difficult diagnosis (and I have to say that Marco's Autism dx was WAY harder than Annelies's Ds dx) you just pain so much for those first meaningful words it is not easy to remember all you know. We had some desperate moments, Aaron and I. We wondered if Marco was EVER going to talk. We also had times where one of us was up, the other one down. One time I asked Aaron to go to ST with Marco, because I could not handle it. Aaron came back from the session so elated with the things Eric was able to do with Marco, which thrilled me because I was not able to see it at the time. This helped.
Of course, having SP's in our lives means that we do have to say good bye sometimes. Wednesday was our last session with Eric, because he is moving to the Bay Area. New opportunities await him, and I am happy for him while being sad to see someone leave our everyday lives. There is no doubt that there are a LOT of lucky kiddos in the Mountainview area!!! Having Eric leave makes me realize how much some of these wonderful people, who choose to study their butts off so they can help families like ours, mean to me. So, thanks Eric. Thanks for bridging a gap, for helping us and Marco. You truly are a part of our family, and are forever in our hearts. Good Luck to you.
Through Marco I learned that I, the Mom, do not have all the answers. When you deal with Autism, there are bridges that need to be crossed with the help of professionals. (OK, maybe this is not the case for all parents. Maybe there are parents who can do it and have done it all, and my hat is off to them. I am not one of those parents. I needed help.) The first person who helped Marco and us was Eric, his Speech Pathologist. Thankfully we were hooked up with him before the laws changed last summer.
Eric helped us see the different ways we could communicate with Marco. He showed us not all communication is verbal. This was information I knew in my heart of hearts, but when as a parent, after receiving a difficult diagnosis (and I have to say that Marco's Autism dx was WAY harder than Annelies's Ds dx) you just pain so much for those first meaningful words it is not easy to remember all you know. We had some desperate moments, Aaron and I. We wondered if Marco was EVER going to talk. We also had times where one of us was up, the other one down. One time I asked Aaron to go to ST with Marco, because I could not handle it. Aaron came back from the session so elated with the things Eric was able to do with Marco, which thrilled me because I was not able to see it at the time. This helped.
Of course, having SP's in our lives means that we do have to say good bye sometimes. Wednesday was our last session with Eric, because he is moving to the Bay Area. New opportunities await him, and I am happy for him while being sad to see someone leave our everyday lives. There is no doubt that there are a LOT of lucky kiddos in the Mountainview area!!! Having Eric leave makes me realize how much some of these wonderful people, who choose to study their butts off so they can help families like ours, mean to me. So, thanks Eric. Thanks for bridging a gap, for helping us and Marco. You truly are a part of our family, and are forever in our hearts. Good Luck to you.
