April is Autism Awareness Month. I wanted provide a small glimpse into our life and how it is affected by Joseph being diagnosed to bring awareness and understanding. You can read more about our journey here.

This has been an amazing year of growth for Joey. He is currently enrolled in a general education Kindergarten class and seems to be thriving there. He loves everything about school and takes great pride that he is “almost a first grader”. Joe receives speech and occupational therapy at school, in addition to private music therapy/lessons, and has some additional assistance from the resource room aide, his beloved Mrs. G, in his main classroom.

His teacher, Mrs. L, is wonderfully patient, yet firm enough to handle Joey’s considerable charm. She understands that his ASD gives him some extra challenges, but doesn’t allow that as an excuse or crutch. He is his champion when working with the rest of the staff to help them understand how his ASD “works” and does everything she can to make sure he is getting every opportunity. (I have volunteered in the classroom and have seen this for all her students. She is a true gem and I’m so thankful for her.)

Mrs. G is Joey’s cheerleader and possibly his biggest fan. Their relationship is so sweet and loving, I know that she would do anything for him.  It helps me knowing that he has someone there to give him that sense of security and comfort.

I have to say that the entire staff, have been nothing but warm, positive, and supportive to Joey. I love walking him into the school and seeing him say hello to the librarian, telling his gym teacher he’ll see him on Tuesday, or giving the principal a fist bump. His classmates have been amazing as well. His teacher explained that Joey has ASD and sometimes does things differently and they all take it in stride. After walking Joey into class after being absent for being sick, they all welcomed him back to school with hugs and smiles. It brought tears to my eyes.

This isn’t to say that we haven’t had some challenges this year. Joe’s impulsivity and stubbornness can lead to not wanting to follow directions or complying with non-prefered tasks. He also can find it difficult to follow spoken directions or adjust to things outside of his routine. However, overall, he seems to being doing quite well and continues to show improvement in these areas and I’m hopeful that, with the continued support, he’ll continue to thrive at school.

In addition to Joey’s current school situation, I wanted to share a little more about where he fits on the Spectrum. Although it is not an official diagnosis, Joe is considered High Functioning Autism (HFA).  Joey has been described as “scattered” when tested for ASD symptoms, meaning that some typical characteristics such as stimming and severe verbal limitations are not present while others, such as poor eye contact and sensory dysfunction.

Joey is bright, verbal, socially aware, and can show affection. He has age-appropriate academic skills. At first glance, most people do not realize that he has ASD. This creates a set of challenges that can be different than those who place elsewhere on the spectrum.  By being “high functioning” Joey is asked to navigate a world in a neurotypical way even though he has these extra set of challenges. This can lead to unobtainable expectations at school, judgmental attitudes in public, and sometimes even misunderstanding with family members. I highly recommend reading this article to understand why HFA is so challenging and that no matter where someone falls on the spectrum, “it is important to remember that autism is autism.”

April is Autism Awareness month. Please consider participating in some way. Perhaps by supporting a cause,  joining a walk,  donating supplies to your local school’s Special Education department.

So, there has been a lot going on behind the scenes around here. 

 Shawn took a new position in November that’s in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has been living there during the week and coming home on weekends. We’ve been trying to adjust and see if this could work long term, but it’s really too much for us to handle.

 The stress on Shawn and myself is difficult, but it’s hardest on Joe. He misses his dad terribly and it is affecting his sleep and made him very clingy/nervous. Up to this point, he has been flourishing here and it pains me to see him struggle with it. 

This has made us decide to sell the house and move so we can all be together. We’re so sad to leave our home, especially after all the work we put into it, not to mention our neighbors, friends and community that we quickly have grown to love. It’s even more heartbreaking to leave our family. I haven’t lived this close to my parents and siblings since I was in high school, and it’s been wonderful to have them be such a large part of our lives again. Joe’s had the blessing of having my parents around (even living with them for a time) and I know it will be difficult to not be so close. 

We just finished having some painting done and placed the house on the market this weekend. I dearly hope it sells quickly, I want this transition to be as quick and painless as possible. 

I’m optimistic that we will create a wonderful life in Grand Rapids. It’s a great community and reminds me of Madison, which we dearly loved. I’m looking forward to all of us being together again as well. Honestly, it doesn’t matter where Team Colley hangs our hats, along as we are with each other. 

You might have noticed my recent lack of posting around here lately. Well, I’ve had good reasons, to be sure. I’m happy to report that Shawn has accepted a new position and we’re in the process of moving back to Chicago.

As you can imagine, things have been quite the whirlwind. Getting the house on the market, and subsequently sold, packing, getting Joseph and Walter out to my parents, etc. It’s been overwhelmingly insane. Thank goodness for my parents helping us and the aid of some of our good friends. I would probably be moving into the loony bin if it wasn’t for them.

I have to admit that the move is bittersweet. We were so happy to move back here – only three short years ago – to be reunited with our good friends, have our children here, being able to have Jeni’s ice-cream whenever we want. (Just kidding – not really!) But, I am thrilled with being close to my family again. I haven’t lived in the Land of Lincoln since I was 20 years old. I am hoping to rekindle some friendships from school, it will be wonderful to see them outside of the land of Facebook and the Interwebs.

We will be temporarily living at my parents house while we look for a home. They have been so generous and supportive, although I think that my mom is solely focused on the fact that we will have unlimited access to Joe. I hope that we can find a home soon, so we do not wear out our welcome.

I hope to be checking in a bit more regularly to let you know how things are going with transitioning, how Joseph is handling the changes, etc. But for now, I am just going to sit here and listen to this on repeat: