One Year Ago Today - Sharing Hudson's Diagnosis

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. With our lives currently consumed by the Coronavirus pandemic, it could be easy to forget the significance of this day; this month.

One year ago today, we decided to tell the World about Hudson's diagnosis. Kayla and I wrestled with the thought of telling people not long after we received his diagnosis, but ultimately decided to keep it private. It took awhile for it to seem real to us, and we needed time to process that as a family. We didn't do this out of embarrassment, but out of fear. Fear of how those around us would accept - or judge - him for being Autistic. There is a stigma that often comes with having a "label" and we wanted to protect Hudson from that stigma for as long as we possibly could.

Kayla said it best in her Facebook post from one year ago today:

---

"Today we wear these shirts for a cause that's very close to our hearts. Today is Autism Awareness Day. This past July, Hudson was diagnosed on the spectrum. I don't talk about it much because it's not anyone's business, but also because I don't want people labeling him because he has a diagnosis. Autism has such a stigma attached to it, but it isn't always what you think it might look like. There is a reason why it's called a spectrum, and it is a very big one at that. Hudson is very high-functioning; he is verbal and very smart, and rarely has tantrums outside of what any other 3-year old might have. However, he does struggle socially (poor eye contact and would rather play alone).

It hasn't been easy (and it's still not) but I am thankful for his therapists and that we got him the help he needed as early as we did. He's made massive improvements in the year and a half since starting Early Intervention.

He is our world and we love him so much. We don't ever want him to think we're ashamed of him, because we're not. We are so proud of our boy. He's teaching us so much more than we ever knew about Autism and made me a better person, and a more patient parent. Honestly, I wouldn't change who he is for anything."

---

The idea for this blog came to me not long after we revealed that Hudson was on the Spectrum (and it only took 11 months to muster the courage to sit down and start writing!). Kayla and I have so many stories to share with you all, and plan on posting many of those stories this month.

Autism Awareness has grown over the years (thanks to amazing organizations like AutismSpeaks), but there are still many who either don't understand it, or don't believe in it. We would like to encourage you all to learn more about the Spectrum, especially this month!