Gideon's Army

When we were pregnant with Gideon, Nick and I decided to name him after Gideon in the Bible.  The Gideon in the Bible was strong, stong-willed and had the ability to move people to stand for what was right and battle.  We wanted our child to have these traits and more.

When we realized that he was having difficulties in development, we didn't know where to begin.  We called Soonerstart, they helped Gideon with walking.  Then, we moved on to Speech Therapy and that is when my fears were realized.  I have always known he was intelligent, because he could take apart my vaccuum at 15 months.  He has been able to open medicine bottles since I can remember and he built things with detail.  I had the thought of Autism in my mind but most of the kiddos I read about developed normally until 18 months or so.  My Gid hadn't developed normally, he wasn't reaching milestones, and regardless of all the well intentioned people trying to convince me that he was okay, I knew better.

When I took him for a well-child check and his pediatrician blurted out, "He's acting autistic!" I wanted to say, "Duh!"  However, that would not be appropriate.  My response to him was, "Okay, now what?"  I called my friend who has a child on the spectrum and since she has mentored me.  She has prepared me for the IEP meetings and gives me support.  She helps me understand what I am dealing with and up against.  I learn a lot from her and do my own research.  Knowledge is power and having a support system is imperitive for the days when I just don't know if I can do this anymore.  Some days, I am a great Mom/Advocate/Therapist, others, I am not as good.

What I want people to know is I am an ordinary Mom put in an extraordinary circumstance.  I don't always know what to do, how to react, where to go.  I try, I try real hard.  I pray, sometimes I think does God really care that I am upset that Gideon is reciting his WHOLE day verbally and it makes me anxious because I feel he might be turning a new stone in Autism, one that I don't know what to do.  Yes, I am thankful that he is talking, but I don't understand Echolalia.

I want people to realize that just because my son is handsome and smart, that he has issues he is working very hard on.  He is working on social skills, emotional skills, speech and trying to take in as much of his enviroment all at one time.  Please be understanding.  There are days I would love to wear a sign that identifies us so people in public wouldn't be so mean as to stare, make rude comments or worse, call the police because I had to remove a screeching maniac (that weighs half as much as I do) from the store.

I am so excited about the upcoming Piece Walk.  I designed t-shirts for Gideon's Army. Gideon's Army refers to the people that have prayed and do pray for Gideon's development.  I want to take this opportunity to spread awareness and honor the progress Gideon has made in the last year and a half. 

I hope you all can join us May 5th at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark at 0830.  If not, you can support our team by donation or buying a t-shirt (adult sizes only).  The shirts are $20 ea.  I will post a pic of the proof for the shirt.