I have two great daughters (Alexa - 6 yrs old and Angie - 3 yrs old) and a loving plus supportive husband. For all you mothers out there that are envying me right now… don’t. It wasn’t always like that. I give all glory to my Lord, Jesus Christ, because without Him I would not be here. Since born, I knew Alexa was going to be a fighter!! She was born with a heart murmur. Can you imagine not being able to see your first born baby after delivery? Well, that is exactly what happened to me. The doctors had found that her hip bones were not connected to her bone socket; she was born with Hip Dysplasia.
At this time I knew there was a God, but did not know Him intimate. I recall that special day when I was forgiven of all my sins through Jesus Christ because even when I think about it today, I get chills! All glory to Him!! I remember going to Children’s Hospital every month to check Alexa’s hips. For those of you who have never seen a baby in a harness… is like taping a bird’s wings, so he won’t fly. My husband and I knew that we believed in a living God and we prayed every day and every night for God to heal her. She is a miracle baby!! My Lord had healed her.
When she was 3 years old we noticed that she would not pretend play, her speech was not of a three year old and she would have so many repetitive moves and verbiage. Well, we took her to specialists and she was diagnosed with Autism.
Her first IEP was very nerve racking and I’m pretty sure many parents that have gone through one IEP can relate. She attended school from Monday – Thursday for only 3 hours and received 30 minutes speech therapy a week. At the beginning it was great for her to get the services, but now that I think about it… come one, is that all they can do for kids with special needs? No wonder her speech was not improving! We moved from counties and found a great school, but ADVICE to parents… DON’T let that fool you. If you don’t fight for your kids rights you won’t get what they deserve. Usually, they (school district) won’t come and tell you what your kids really needs, but what their "budget" can offer. Let me remind you parents out there… our kids have RIGHTS, LEGAL RIGHTS!!
I don’t' know it all and there is a lot more I need to learn, but I really hope this blog can bring awareness to parents. I invited parents to contact me if they want to contribute to this blog with tips, their stories, articles and other services they've found.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
