It was this year I found my voice of reason, my purpose and my appreciation for this life I have. I started with learning how to say “no”. And understand “no” is a complete sentence, you don’t have to explain why you said it, it is just “no”. I had to set boundaries at work and at home with family and friends. And learned it is okay to take a few hours to do something for me guilt free.

“We design a program to fit a child, not make a child fit into a program.” Those words echoed in my mind. To confirm we were making the right decision, Ralph told us “goodbye” when the tour was over, because he didn’t want to leave

There is nothing like the support of your family and friends. One of the things I hold close to my heart is the love of family. Family is not just your parents, aunts, uncles or cousins, brothers or sisters; it's the community of people you surround yourself with that consists family,friends, and coworkers that encourage, support and adds value to your life. They are usually the ones encouraging you to do more, to be better and to never give up. They are there for you to rally with support in trouble times and be the arm that helps pick you up and help dust yourself off to try again.

Every mother deep down inside fears their child with autism will grow up lonely. You worry if society will love them back, treat him fairly, and make sure he is protected. Or if they will have at least one friend that gets it. "Get's it" meaning they will see past the labels of autism, the stigma and want to get know your child and develop a friendship.

I did not know how he would forever change my life, my heart, my goals, my outlook and faith.