Autism Awareness Month is always a time for me to reflect on my family’s journey and how an autism diagnosis redirected the life plans I had laid out so intentionally in my mind. I remember the shock and numbness of diagnosis day and the change I had to make in my mindset to continue my forward march. Over time, I learned to shift from planning life events to focusing on what’s important and taking it one day at a time...

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Ask parents of children with special needs and you will hear very different stories of diagnosis day. They may remember the exact date and time and it might even be marked on the calendar like a birth date or anniversary. Our journey with Abram was gradual. Over time, we noticed he wasn’t developing like our older son or our friends’ children. We started making appointments with doctors and therapists...

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Originally published on April 25, 2019 on the Abram's Nation Blog.

As we honor Autism Awareness Month during April, so many thoughts come to mind about this journey I never imagined I would be on. Over the years, the overwhelming fear and uncertainty have been replaced by gratitude. That’s not to say that I don’t still have fears about Abram’s future or experience days more difficult than I feel equipped to handle, but I’ve experienced a shift in the way I think about autism.

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There was a time years ago, before The Safety Sleeper®, that I had two disheartening beliefs: that I would never again sleep through the night and that I would never again travel away from home. We had recently learned of Abram’s diagnosis on the autism spectrum, and we were searching desperately for a solution to keep him safe at night from wandering. I felt like a prisoner in my own home, fearing we couldn’t ensure Abram’s safety even at home, much less in new surroundings if we dared to travel.

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