We have a count down calender for Sharon. It is to let her know when she will be graduating from intensive therapy. It will be the day her therapists will moving on to other households to help other children. She will spend her therapy hours which will be quite reduced in the clinic. I have been pondering through the countdown about the progress she has made in those three years. I have thank you notes for each of the therapists. I sit and ponder, realizing Thank You isn't enough.
Sitting down to write the thank you notes was hard. I have only two days left. Then Sharon will be getting help at clinic. She is ready. There is no doubt there. Although any person with autism is going to have difficulty with this big change. However, I have things in place that will help. I will be home not working. I have other therapies set up. I also am hoping to be spending a lot of time with friends to get her through. These are things that I would probably would've of thought of if I hadn't of been through the intensive process as well. I was with her most of the therapy. She wasn't the only one who learned. Sometimes Thank You is just not enough.
Sharon is still very much attached to me. When she was younger she felt as if I was her only support. I was the only one she could go to. It was kind of a heavy burden to have placed on you if you think about it. She didn't trust anyone else. It was the first meeting that her senior took her from the room and started building that trust. It was difficult. She was not going to let down her guard. First she hugged one therapist 6 months into therapy. Than it was almost a year before she hugged her senior. When the walls that she had build came down things started happening. She never wanted me to leave her sight. She was in a preferred place today, with a preferred adult, she told me to get out! I looked at her but I'm your Mommy. It is independence that you hope for but it can hit you like a ton of bricks. This is where Thank You is not enough.
It is now that you can see Sharon. You can see who she is. I have been able to capture her on video and show people. Now she will have no problem being herself around people. The first meeting that we had with family support they had asked me if she was non-verbal. She wasn't going to say anything with her there. Now she asks them where they are going next. She will have a conversation with them. She has conversations with her therapists. Now she is starting to talk to other people that we see. The difference, it is astonishing. You wouldn't even think communication wise she was the same kid. Sometimes communicating gratitude is not enough.
The team that worked with Sharon was consistent. We had a consistent group. It was a blessing to after the first 6 months basically keep all of her therapists. She had two that where there since the beginning. She has one that no longer a therapist but a dear friend. Still very much lovingly teaching her whenever she gets a chance. One that has just moved on and again still very much a loving teacher. One that started 6 months after service started and one that has been with us for nearly a year. Also she had friends from church that were part of the process. It really helped to have that peer interaction. It was truly a blessing to have our "Little Therapists" be part of Sharon's therapy. All of them very much has been a loving support for Sharon. Excited when she is making progress. They also have been very big advocates for her as well. Her senior did not stop when Sharon was going to loose her services. She kept fighting and held me up. It has helped teach me that Sharon is going to need to be fought for. Hopefully she will one day be able to do it. I have to learn, and do it. I learned so much going through that process. It has helped us get numerous things settled. Even if I feel like I can never express my gratitude properly or in the way they deserve. I want to Thank #TeamSharon for everything that you have done. Everything that you will continue to do as things move forward.
