Aspergers is a Gift

*I hope to be able to share with you, why it is so important that you don't just chuck it all in, but look for the hidden treasures within yourself, learn to focus on your own gifts and talents, and to get help with the stuff that you need help with, so that your life can be rich, full and abundant*
I have recently been told by my psychologist, that according to the scale that Dr Tony Attwood uses, and talks about in his book, The Complete Guide to Aspergers Syndrome, that I have Aspergers Syndrome. This has been the end result of a very tumultuous, amazing and sometimes frightening, terrifying and funny existence.
*Has your child just been diagnosed with Autism/Aspergers/PDDNOS? You can read my story about my two children here*
Are you feeling guilty about maybe getting some help? Do you think that you have to parent a special needs child by yourself - please read this - please don't think that you have to go it alone. Find some encouragement to take care of yourself.
I have been on a murderer's hit list, lost my mother to cancer when my I was a teenager, loved and lost a father who had at once been an alcoholic, had two miraculous pregnancies which gave me the gift of two very wonderful and precious boys on the Autistic Spectrum, and been in and out of the psychiatric ward. I have also survived a suicide attempt.
In the last 12 months, I have gone from wanting to die and end the pain of my existence, to recognise that I have a purpose to my existence, and that my life should be celebrated and cherished. I hope to be able to bring you all kinds of lessons that I have learned (as always you should seek relevant professional advice before embarking on your decision to try anything I have shared on this blog :-D). Everything from learning how to survive on welfare, dealing with panic attacks, making a difference to the lives of children from low socioeconomic backgrounds and kids with disabilities, coming to understand yourself, cooking tips that I have learned, learning time management skills, becoming environmentally friendly, reducing my intake of meat products and dealing with allergies, dealing with kids who are fussy eaters, the journey of recognising that your child has a disability and how to move on and be able to share with others, the ups and downs of support groups, making the most of your resources, financial management, upgrading and investing in your education, working with others and forming good social skills, working with your health care providers, how to go from total couch potato with chronic disease indicators to somewhat of a way more active person (who now wants to go snowboarding), finding me time as a mother (that is sometimes a tricky one), dealing with finding help in your local area, and great websites that will give you all kinds of resources, oh yes, and handling your friends so that you have genuine caring friends, and recognising when you may be putting yourself into a vulnerable situation (boundaries are good!) and also taking time out for yourself, and looking after your mind, body and spirit. But mainly about loving, and cherishing the best two resources you have - yourself - and God; thanking God for making you the way that you are, and working in all kinds of ways to enjoy your life, and live it to the fullest :-) I will be tripping here every day to share with you all of this and more.
Suffice to say - I love being me - who God made me to be :-)