The Real Hero of Autism is My Daughter Olivia

After lots of procrastination and being too busy, I have decided to finally write about my daughter 's story. Some people may be asking what is so special about my daughter and the answer to that is simple, she is the best person I know and has taught so many people so much about life at only 6 years old. You see, like millions of other kids, Olivia was born with autism. There are many many other factors to this story, but I have decided to chronical her life from now on and so people can see what day to day life is like for my family. You see, I also have a very special family. I am now the single mother of two children-CJ and Olivia. CJ is almost 8 and Olivia is almost 7. I had both of my children while serving in the Navy out in Virginia. That is where I met my husband as well. He was diagnosed with depression and dylexia, got out of the Navy, so I got out shortly after because I didn't trust to leave him with the kids when I was deployed. He got out of the Navy shortly after my son was born for severe depression. He had such trouble adjusting to military life and threatened to kill himself several times. Needless to say, you can see why I didn't want to leave the kids with him. Literally, shortly after Olivia was born, I got discharged from the Navy and I talked Cornelius (my ex husband) into moving back to Iowa with me so we could go to school. I wanted to come back to Iowa to finish my degree that I had started before going into the Navy and we would have help from my mother with the kids who was now retired. Looking back on it now, that would be on of the most pivotal decisions I would ever make. I don't believe that life is up to chance. I believe that every single choice you make sets your life on a path. This path for me has been filled with ups and downs, but each and every night before I lay my head down to sleep, I thank God for being so lucky. Although life is definitely not what I expected, it is filled with my family and love-those are the most important. At this point you may be asking, what does this have to do with Olivia's autism-well in many of the following days to come I will talk about how Olivia's autism has changed the lives of everyone she meets. You can't tell a story without knowing the background and tomorrow, that is a story I will begin to tell. Until tomorrow, goodnight.