Emotional Roller Coaster

Sawyer was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Delay at the age of 18 months. This places him on the autism spectrum.  When people hear autism I feel like sometimes there is this preconceived notion that he hits himself, throws tantrums, won't look you in the eyes, and has behavioral problems, but this is not true. Sawyer doesn't express these kinds of behaviors. He is a pleasant kid to be around and he loves to play and interact with adults. His eye contact is amazing if you are willing to engage in his play. He loves when people sing to him. 
Things can be extremely overwhelming having this responsibility as a mother. I'm not looking for sympathy here. There are many programs that can benefit Sawyer but the cost is where the problem begins. Early Intervention has been a great asset.  Ben and I want to do everything we can to make sure Sawyer has the best quality of life. Currently I run my own program daily. I do ABA and Floor Time for about 2 hours a day. This is a big sacrifice for my other 2 children, but they seem to handle it well. 

Daily Routine at my house looks like this with Sawyer..
Get him out of his crib. He claps to sign more, because he wants me to sing. So I sing a song while I get him undressed. I hand him his diaper which he hands back to me to put on, brush his legs with his brush. Then he gives me his shoes and socks to put on. Come upstairs hands me a drink picture card and I give him his drink. We eat breakfast. Then do his brain functioning exercises of spinning him in the chair and then have him follow a stripped pattern with his eyes. 
I feed the other children and get them ready. 
Quite often Sawyer has a therapist appointment after breakfast time. He has an occupational therapist that comes twice a month. A Developmental Specialist that comes twice a month and a Physical and Speech therapy that come once a month. On the days that he doesn't have a therapist come in I try my best to get chores done. 
After this we are on to lunch for the kids.
Sawyer's is on a gluten and diary free. So he has a meal separate from the rest of us unless I make something for the whole family that is gluten and diary free. 
After lunch we do the brain functioning exercises.
Then I do 2 hours of combined ABA and Floor Time therapy. He has an hour break and then Abby and Taylor come and work with him. Doing the Picture Exchange Program, Circle time, and more Floor Time therapy. 
Around this time we start to prepare for dad to come home and get dinner ready. Once again after dinner we do brain functioning exercises. The rest of the day is free time for Sawyer to play with dad and have fun interacting with the family.  

On top of our everyday schedule we find time to go see Doctor Nelsen once a month in Heber City.

Recently I have done some research on Syndromes. We will be having Sawyer genetically tested in December. We feel he may have Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome. Hopefully insurance will cover this. 

I guess I'm just writing this more for myself so I can look back and remember what life was like with an autistic toddler. 

In the end I am so grateful for my sweet little boy, Sawyer. He has brought a big piece of Heaven into our home. I would not change a thing about him. I'm grateful for the power of prayer and priesthood blessing. They have given me much strength on this emotional roller coaster. I'm also grateful for my family and friends that have been so supportive and loving in this journey. I'm grateful for my husband who believes in me and supports me in my efforts with Sawyer. I couldn't get through it without the strength of him. Sadie has proven to be an amazing sister and daughter. Always willing to help. She has an unconditional love for life and her family. Spencer has been a great blessing in our family. He is a happy and content baby and we are indeed grateful for that. I know that I was meant to have this family here on earth. This is Heavenly Father's plan for me and my family.