My name is Jennifer and I am the mother to 3 wonderful children, my youngest child, Henry, was diagnosed with Autism last August at the age of 28 months.  Henry entered this world in April of 2014 with a bang.  I suffered an abruption which could have easily taken Henry's life - my doctor says we got extremely lucky.  Everything about his life has been a struggle from day 1.  To having difficulty with feeding as a newobrn (GI wanted to put in a feeding tube before he was even a year old) to taking him out in public and avoiding sensory overload on a daily basis.

At just 4 months old, I suspected that Henry's development wasn't going typically.  His pediatrician said we would evaluate things at 6 months as see if there would be a need for a referral to early intervention.  At 6 months, we got our referral and we began what would be 2.5 years in the early intervention system.  He received occupational therapy, speech therapy, feeding therapy, physical therapy, and developmental support.  Nearly every day of his life has been spent in either some type of therapy or an appointment.  He has seen gastroenterolists, neurologists, geneticists, allergists...and a few other specialists.  It really has been a very hectic 3.5 years.  I am thankful though for Henrys presence every single day because I know that things could have been a lot worse!

Henry now attends a special education preschool 5 days a week where he is paired with 2 of the most amazing teachers I could ask for.  He has grown so much with them and although he has a long way to go, I am thrilled with the progress he has made.  His future is still very uncertain, and there is a good chance he could live with us for the rest of his life...and that scares me.  For now though, I take it one day at a time.

Autism has change our life drastically.  Someone once compared my emotions to a "death."  Not necessarily a death as in someone's life being over...but rather a "death" of the life we expected to have.  When you have a family...you envision life a certain way.  And when a child with special needs or an illness comes along...that "normal" life dies.  Our family hasn't taken a family vacation in over 3 years because Henry cannot travel in a car longer than about an hour.  Gates are still on our stairs because of Henry's lack of safety awareness.  We have to watch what toys are on the ground (he could choke), how our furniture is arranged (he could fall off the back of a couch), and make sure our outlets are still covered --- all because of Henry.  Sounds can set him off --- he doesn't like hair dryers, fire alarms, and pitches of certain songs.  

Autism has however, brought running in to my life.  With all that was going on, I needed something that was just for ME...something that helped me get through the crazy days without losing my mind.  Something that would show me that I was a strong person, even on those days when I just wanted to shut myself in a closet and cry because I didn't know how to help my son.  Running has been an absolute blessing and I cannot wait to tackle this next chapter of my running story --- a half marathon.  I cannot wait to cross that finish line knowing that I have come so far, not only in running, but also in life as a mom of a young child with Autism.

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page and I hope that you can find it in your heart to donate to my cause and help me to raise money for the Organization for Autism Research!

xoxo

Jen