Walking for Autism Speaks!

When I met my husband Jon, the first thing he told me was that he had a son, who they thought was autistic. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about how to be or handle an autistic child. The experience would be completely new to me, but I welcomed the addition to my life in addition to my husband. When I first met Shawn, I knew he was unique compared to other five year old's, and I instantly fell in love. He was so smart, funny and had the funniest quirks. I knew it must have been hard to have another mother figure in his life, and I knew with his autism it would probably be a little different. I decided to buy books and read up on autism, and studying everything. In the beginning, Shawn had problems eating or chewing normal food, and was still getting hormone shots. He also is almost legally blind with no depth perception, so that was also something new to learn. As the years went on I experienced overwhelming joy, the magic of having a child in your life, along with complete frustration. I would be lying if I said there were not some very tough days. It was overall and adjustment for everyone, including Shawn's mother. However, with the passing years I have grown fond of Shawn's mother and have enormous respect for her patience and ability to be an amazing mother. After time, and effort, my husband, his ex and I have a great relationship. We can join together as a family and we communicate with each other weekly as parents and friends. I believe this was all made possible through Shawn because of his untouchable love and energy. We all loved this little boy and we were able to move past everything and join together.
My husband and I always wanted to participate in autism research and awareness because so many don't know or understand autism. We have decided to start a team for the Autism Speaks walk on September 24, 2011 in Philadelphia, PA. Our team is named "Super Shawn" (because Shawn loves Super Mario Bros). I am excited to announce our team in growing and we are all excited for the event and because Shawn will be walking with us. I provided a link below for anyone interested in participating or learning more.

"If I could snap my fingers and be nonautistic, I would not - because then I wouldn't be me. Autism is part of who I am." --Temple Grandin

http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/philadelphia/shawnbortree