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Autism Awareness: Finding Jackson beneath the label

Finding JacksonSo today’s the day we ask the world to notice–to be aware of–our kids who have autism. And not just know the definition of Autism, but know the preciousness and wildly different personalities of our kids, to understand the things they suffer, the confusion they overcome, the effort it takes to just be. Autism is that fearsomely prevalent neurological disorder that has swallowed an alarming number of our children and cast a thick fog over personality, abilities, thoughts, and relationships. So here are my 7 little tips for you to increase your awareness, to know my son and the sons and daughters everywhere who have to fight to be known because of their Autism.

1. My son has a personality…and it’s not an autistic personality. Continue reading “Autism Awareness: Finding Jackson beneath the label”

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After the long hiatus…

Looking forward again
Looking forward again

What has happened? It’s been almost 2 years since I last posted anything about our journey…really? Two? Yep. I had to double check. Since then, surprise baby number 5 has become a rampaging toddler and mess-maker extraordinaire, breaking all of his siblings’ records for getting into things.

Along with managing my 5 little monkeys, I have stepped into the children’s ministry director position at our church, sent my beautiful girls to public school, and as of December have left the open fields surrounding our small rental to buy our first home less than a mile away and enjoy a fenced-in backyard in town. Jackson loves it and made the adjustment amazingly and gleefully. But he misses his favorite “tall trees” as well as our dear friends who live there. We follow the tree tops and visit when we can. Continue reading “After the long hiatus…”

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Stones of remembrance

Stones of Rememberance

As I was combing through old files on our computer, I came across several old entries from before we started findingjackson.com, and I thought they were worth mulling over as a benchmark and reminder of where we started on our journey with jackson’s autism. This entry was written almost 2 years ago as we were getting ready to move into Oregon and find help for Jackson.

“Stones of Remembrance
“We were preparing to move and the girls were selecting the best of the best from their rock collection remarking over each red speckle, green stripe, and sparkely lump that made the paring down process virtually impossible. Continue reading “Stones of remembrance”

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Regressions and Metabolic Disorders


When we finally figured out that Jackson apparently did not have seizures (at least for now, the neurologist maintained), it was back to the drawing board. Our developmental pediatrician was not satisfied that his regressions were of the typical, cyclical sort that many children with autism experience. He had run a thorough panel of metabolic and genetic tests to rule out the big scary metabolic or genetic disorders. He was out of ideas, so he referred us to a metabolic specialist.

Again, I wasn’t hoping for an ailment, but a potential answer and treatment approach (aren’t we all)? This appointment lasted all of 20 minutes (after 20 minutes of Jackson playing in the sink and completely soaking his shirt while waiting). After a careful physical examination, the doctor all but apologized for the lack of research on autism, and any clear answer for Jackson’s regressions. He felt confident, though, that we had ruled out any scientifically testable metabolic disorder. “We just don’t know.”

I left the doctor’s office feeling deflated, but realizing traditional medicine and research I desired was possibly five to ten years too late to help me…I was ready to look for other solutions.