Autism, Strength, and the Journey Forward ⋆ by Amanda Hinton

“Autism is part of my child. It’s not everything he is. My child is so much more than a diagnosis.” — S.L. Coelho

This quote that I found by S.L Coelho has really stood out to me. As I am a parent of an autistic child well now adult who has made great strides throughout his entire life. Autism is something that years ago I never understood and knowing why my child was labeled as slow, showing out, temper tantrums and even self-harm to himself.

I could go on and tell a long story about how great God is and how he revealed his purpose that he has for my son who is on the spectrum. But to make a long story short, I had the stares of how and why he acts that way. It was hard as a parent to understand myself the ups and downs and the feelings of my son. But one thing that did help was taking classes through a local agency in Missouri called Judevine that taught behavioral techniques and how to cope with situations that will lead to a positive approach and outcome.

As those days passed and my son became a teenager and now an adult, the best time of his life, leading up to today, was when he moved away to another place where God has really elevated him and is not done using him yet. He has the gift of music; he can sing, play the keys, and is an awesome drummer, as well as an excellent basketball…