By: Amanda McGuinness

It is not often I am speechless (probably all the tea) but this summer I was shocked into silence, stunned actually. It was from something I hadn’t completely ruled out but you always, always hope your worst fear would not come true. It took me the last few months to get my feet back under me, and finally I have.
You see I am very lucky to have 3 gorgeous children; a beautiful girl and two super handsome boys. We have been living with Autism in our house for the last almost 6 years and it has brought many ups and a very many downs as we tried to find our way with it all.
Then we had Jack and we were so delighted to have another gorgeous baby to hold and to love and to love us back. All was well.

But in the last 6 months or so something was happening and I really hoped to God I wasn’t seeing what I know to be true now. That is that our gorgeous and most lovely Jack started to show the early signs of Autism. His little words had stopped and his development started to regress. I could see the early indicators in him but hoped I was wrong.
Jack doesn’t talk any more, he has sort of gone into his own little world but will come out now and again to play and I love every minute that he will. Jack has Autism.

I am writing this post to raise awareness of Autism as even though I live it every single minute and every single breath of my life, I was still stunned at that moment I found out.
I am lucky though because I have been here before and I know what is ahead of me, I have the most lovely friends and family around me and I have met some of the most amazing Autism Mammies I couldn’t have imagined to have met before.
I decided just then that if I can help even one mother or father to not go through what we have been through alone and to not have to start out on a special needs journey on their own then I would help if I could.

So I have set up The Little Puddins Blog to help new special needs parents starting out, help them find their feet and provide as much information/advice and resources as I can. Because I remember the me of almost 6 years ago bawling my eyes out at the kitchen table, not knowing what to do to do the right thing to help Conor. It was not until I met other lovely special needs parents who could advise me, that I started to feel safe again and know I was doing the right things because I had the right information and I had friends who had been there before me.

 

I have lots of work to do on the Blog to provide as much information as I can. I stay up late at night to work on it so that someday when someone types in The Little Puddins Blog on google they will be able to breathe a sigh of relief that there is a shoulder there to lean on, that they are not alone.
You never know when Autism knocks on the door, I never thought I would get that knock twice but I have and that is life. I still have what I started out with, a gorgeous girl and two super handsome boys who fill my heart with love every day.
Thank you for reading my very long winded post (I did tell you I ramble – sorry lol).
If you do one thing to day will you please give The Little Puddins Blog a like on Facebook because someday someone you know may be right where I am now and need that shoulder to lean on but not know where to look.

If Conor and Jack could talk today they would say thank you for helping to raise awareness but they can’t just yet so instead here is a picture of them having fun and Jack holding a horse because no picture is complete without a plastic horse.

 

 Bio:

I am a married mammy of three gorgeous children; Hailey (7), Conor (5) and Jack (1). Before I had children I had spent many years studying the Law, later beginning my training to become a Solicitor. Once my lovely Conor was born I had to give up my Law Career to become his full time Carer as he requires 24 Hour Care and attention. I chose Law as a career as I wanted to help people, now through loving Hailey, Conor and Jack, learning about special needs and what it means to each of them; I hope to be able to help others walking the same road as we are.

http://littlepuddins.ie/