So many things have been happening. It seems like I have been sending out more emails and talking to more places in the last week than I have in months so writing has taken a back seat. I think I have just taken some time as well to sit back and reflect on my little dude. With that being said what an awesome week for Owen! What an awesome week for momma!
Owen said last night "a is for apple, b is for ball". There was not a happier moment for me this week. I sat here and just bawled. I wanted to try and figure out how to get him to say it again. I wanted to repeat that moment a thousand times. I wanted to rewind and record those precious words. 
With me saying that was the best moment in time, I could have said that about a day earlier in the week where he was listen to the Small Potatoes Christmas song and he sang! He literally sang! He sang the words he knew and he made sounds through other parts of it. To hear my baby sing Momma Momma and then hohoho was the best feeling ever. Having him actually sing words with the song, not just say them, was beyond amazing. Knowing he is getting this is the so awesome!
This week I have reached out to a few organizations and with that being said I am happy to say I am starting a support group in the Charleston, WV area. There will be more details in the next few weeks about what is to follow. Please contact me if you would like to be included in this group or help out in any way. If you are not in this area but would like to get a support group going I can help you get in contact with the right people to help you with your journey as well. 
This journey with Owen might be different than I thought but through Owen I find such strength. He has given me a new determined motivation and seeing his smile and hearing his laughter is all I need to make my day bright. I am so thankful for my amazing little man. I cherish every step in this journey with him and know that everything will be alright. 

Since March 12, 2015 my world has changed. I suppose really it was way before that but that was the day I actually heard the word autism come out of a doctor's mouth. That was the day things were confirmed about my son and that was the day so many things changed but remained the same. My son, Owen was with the Birth to Three program, he has now been to two doctors that have given him the autism diagnosis and numerous other doctors. Not one of these people really gave me the next steps to how to help my son. I wonder sometimes did I not ask the right questions, did I not have enough of a bewilderment look on my face or is it just something they don't do. I wish one of them would have said here are the next steps for autism, giving me a resource guide, something but yet nothing. How do we get these doctors to get the patients the help they need, like connecting patients with the Autism Training Center? The only reason I knew to contact the Autism Training Center was because another parent told me about it. Yes, I Googled everything I could about autism and saw the site but because it wasn't right in my area I didn't contact them right away but they send stuff to me. So how do we get these doctors to help us? I would think that it should be an easy referral for any doctor to make to send parents to a facility for advice and direction. I would think that the doctors could easily hand out a packet that has the Autism Training Center or another facility's information to call. I am very new in this journey with my son but I'm very motivated to make this journey easier for all that follow me. I would like to start a support group in Charleston. I think it would be great to have people that have been down this road mentor people like me that are just starting this journey. With the help of the Autism Training Center I have found many resources. If you are in my area and have a child that has been diagnosed with autism call them they will help. 

Writing hasn't come easy for me the last few days. I start, I stop, I cry! Sometimes writing is that reality I just don't want to see come falling across the screen as I hurriedly face all my emotions. So if I don't write I don't see them. Well we know that isn't true, they are still there facing me like ridged memories in a moment of time. 
Today, I called yet another doctor's office to get yet another appointment for yet another heartbreaking moment in time. I suppose I should think positive, it is what I always tell everyone, stay positive but yet my heart is there waiting for the disappointment. The more we go to doctors the more I wonder. I took Owen to a doctor's appointment 6 months ago with no conclusions, no suggestions except keep doing what I'm doing and I'll see you in six months. Why does it take doctors so long to diagnose autism? Why if they don't want to say it is autism why don't they say it is a brain delay and treat the symptoms. Oh, your son can't talk, well let's get him in this extreme therapy. Your son doesn't stop jumping, let's get him in occupational therapy or physical therapy. Well that hasn't happened. Why wait until they are three or older when they always say the early years are so important?
I wonder what the days ahead will bring. I see such progress in him. I see such an amazing spirit. I see my little boy growing up trying to get outside of the internal trap that has ahold of his words. I beg his brain set them free tonight, let him speak glorious words but yet I think when he said "a is fo APULL" those were the most amazing, beautiful words I have ever heard.
So today... I start and stop and cry!