Words rarely said.

My oldest daughter is on the Autism Spectrum. Her official diagnosis is PDD-NOS, ADHD Combined Type & GAD. She's had the ADHD diagnosis since she was 3, GAD since she was 5 & PDD-NOS since she was 6. But these aren't often words you will hear come out of my mouth. Not because I'm ashamed or embarrassed or anything even close to that. It's because the response often leads to me needing to justify it. I've had people ask me if I was sure or tell me that they would have never known by looking at her. Or how they talked to her that one day and they would have never known. So many people are willing to invalidate what she goes through daily because she doesn't fit what they feel someone on the spectrum should look and behave like. But, it's been shown time and time again that girls on the spectrum are better at mimicking than boys are. It also proves that people think they know a person's life from a few minutes of interaction.

My daughter is in a general education classroom but is pulled out daily for 1x1 time with a special education teacher. She has an IEP. She takes medicine. She does bi-weekly social skills group therapy. She sees her developmental pediatrician every other month. And she still struggles. She has come a long way but she still struggles.

She is currently at grade level (yay!), she has friends, she is thriving. But, crowds still bother her & she still won't wear jeans. She still doesn't do well with change. She needs to know the schedule ahead of time and will still ask you throughout the day what will happen next as she runs through the schedule. She still doesn't understand that saying certain things isn't ok and that we have to wait our turn. Sitting still is a task and a half. Playing quietly is a joke. Sometimes I say one thing to her and she hears something completely different so she has no idea why I'm upset that she didn't do what was asked. She still has an intense need to be in control of the situation... but if you use that the right way, she's a great helper. She's funny. She loves math. Like, loves it. She loves it so much that she will recite math equations then laugh about how funny they are because math brings her joy. She loves dinosaurs. And she loves being a big sister even if she tells you her siblings are annoying. She is determined and hardworking. She thinks she's a gymnast. She is quick to ask if you're ok and cuddle up close if you're not. She's protective of her friends and loves her family. All of these things make my girl what she is. And I love each and every piece of her.