Autism Awareness Month at the Cafe means looking beyond the graphics and ribbons to the many real, amazing faces of autism. Join me as I introduce readers to three unique little guys, who all happen to be autistic. We call it awesomeness in our house.

1. The Many Faces of Autism – Autism Awareness Month at
the Cafe
http://katscafe.org/autism- awareness- month- challenge April 16, 2013
30 Days of Autism – Autism Awareness Month, Cafe Style
Autism Awareness … 30 Days of Autism … these are
meant to be what? Catchphrases to help us
understand the world of autism a bit better? A way to
help raise funding for autism research? A chance to
pin blue ribbons or puzzled ribbons around and tell the
world how much they need to be aware of Autism?
Or maybe, it’s about something a little more.
I think that’s it.
I think it’s about more than ribbons, or blue-colored
lightbulbs (thought they do look cool).
I think it’s about more than any one organization, one
blog, one writer, one mom, one person or entity.
Because there is a bigger stake here than whether or
not you know what autism is, whether you care, and
whether you want to spread the word.
It’s called respect. Understanding. Empathy. It’s about realizing that no one picture, person, site or
organization can ever encompass what autism means to all the individuals affected. To all the
families affected.
The face of autism is a varied one. It’s not just about the kids you see in a sweet picture (though I’ll
share a few great ones with you!) and it isn’t just about the adults who mesmerize us (Temple
Grandin anyone?), and it isn’t just about the ones in between, struggling to come to terms with a
diagnosis that defines their world, but not themselves, completely.
Today, my post will be a bit long, because I want to introduce you to three very different faces of
autism in our house. I’ll leave my husband’s story for him to tell another day.
The Moody Gang … Our Family is one Touched by Autism
Three times over, we have gone through the diagnosis roller coaster with our children. In between
Andy and Logan’s diagnoses, my husband was also diagnosed on the spectrum after a lifetime of
never feeling like he fit in.
We have three startlingly different faces of Autism in our three children
…
Bobby is more than 1 of the
Numbers, the Faces, of

2. Numbers, the Faces, of
Autism
In Bobby, we have the child who has
struggled to understand his world with
additional sensory issues. Legally blind,
Bobby’s diagnosis of autism was
delayed because ‘blindisms’ can mimic
autistic tendencies. Bobby, you see, was
born almost completely blind, his eyes
appearing almost white at birth because
of the Axenfeld-Rieger Syndrome he
would later be diagnosed with (a rare
disorder).
He was in therapy from an early age,
though, because Bobby was not given
an easy start to life. He fought tooth
and nail for every achievement he ever made. Rolling over, sitting up, his first steps, his first smile,
these things that come naturally to other children.
Right around 3 and 1/2 years old, Bobby (and ours) world was rocked as he started showing signs
of seizures, including staring off, losing all tone and dropping suddenly … and he was diagnosed
with epilepsy only after the specialist determined he was having hundreds of seizures a day.
He regressed, he learned, he grew, and he fought. And for all he has had to fight, he’s a child with a
ready smile and a sense of humor and teasing attitude that will make you adore him. His is one of
the many faces of a child with autism.
Andy can’t be Defined as a Number Either
In Andy, we have the preemie who
defied the odds and won, but not
without a cost. Andy was born at 33
weeks, the result of an emergency c-
section and a life-and-death race to the
OR. He wasn’t breathing when he was
born. Weighing in at just 3’14″, Andy was
our tiny fighter.
He gave us a glimpse of how hard he
would work when he came home from
the hospital in just two weeks. He, too,
met all those standard acheivements
later than what they told us was normal.
When he was later diagnosed with PVL
(peri-ventricular Leukomalacia – try
saying that ten times fast), and a type
of brain damage as a result, we feared
the worst.
And yet he proved the horrific projections wrong again. He had mild issues, low tone, a lack of
protective responses, he drug his head when he first crawled (really!) and he struggled to speak. It
wasn’t until he was in school, much later, when we would learn he also inherited the rare syndrome,

3. that he also had epilepsy, and finally, he also was autistic.
Where Bobby struggled for every acheivement in school, though, Andy excelled. Every new
academic challenge was another hurdle to jump – and he’s jumped them all. He’s our honor roll
student with an eye on college in the distance.
But he doesn’t make friends easily. And he would rather stay home, inside and on the computer,
than go anywhere where he has to meet people out of his comfort zone. He still struggles with
abstract concepts, and some advanced language skills. And he still struggles to rise above his
dyslexia.
And yet, his bright face and enthusiasm for any challenge will endear him to you. You’ll fall in love
with his very precise manners and some of the funny ways he puts his words together. He’s
growing as tall as his dad and his feet are already the same size … and his heart matches it all.
He’s a fighter, and a dreamer, he’s an artist, a writer, and has a heart of gold. And his is one of the
faces of autism.
Logan can’t be Defined or Contained
Logan couldn’t wait to come into this
world, but his pregnancy was one soap
opera after another’s worth of drama.
Also born at 33 weeks, Logan had
stopped growing in utero at 28 weeks
and came into the world as a 2’14″
scrapper.
We knew early on that he would rock
our world, as any child will. An early scan
revealed he had damage, possibly from
a fall on ice in my 25th week. Just one of
many questions about our lives we will
never really know the answers for. His
milestones were never met on time, but
he was a charmer from the beginning.
In Logan we have most of our life and
death moments as a family, and most of
them began with his first major seizure at about 10 months old, when he seized for 45 minutes
and didn’t wake up for two days. Since then, we’ve dealt with AFOs and SMOs and cerebral palsy,
as well as the same rare disorder his brothers share … and through it all he has always been the
most amazing little guy.
He has a sweet smile and a giggle that will literally melt your heart, and he has a temper that you
DON’T want to be on the wrong side of. He’s a charmer and a rascal all in one. And he has been
through things that many adults wouldn’t wish to deal with, and he still rises above it.
Nonverbal because of severe apraxia, autistic by definition, Logan can’t be contained by any one
diagnosis. He is neither trapped in his own world or ever fully in ours. And his is one of the faces of
autism.
Parents, Individuals, and More

4. You will hear from Jim this month, in his own words. For now, I will say that opposites attracted
with us, but our marriage has been filled with stresses that would scare most away. Like two pieces
from the same puzzle we fit together. Through thick and thin, through fights and hurts and near
death experiences … we fit together.
And yet, we are parents first, and we are defined by that. We wouldn’t know what to do with a
child who breezed through every milestone. We scratch our heads at the child who rarely sees the
doctor, and only then for a yearly checkup (though we aspire to that!).
In each of our children’s challenges, and triumphs, we are reminded that in this family, we all fit
together. We’re all in this together. And part of the puzzle for our family, part of the fight, is in
dealing with the many diagnoses that challenge us. Autism is just a piece of the puzzle that makes
up our family. It fits. We wouldn’t be *US* without it.
Understand that autism awareness doesn’t mean you lose the trials or the triumphs, the
understanding or the misconceptions, the straight up facts or the conjecture. Autism Awareness,
and understanding, and empathy … it means that you realize that it fits. Sometimes with
mismatched pieces and sometimes with the edges crammed together, but Autism fits into the
puzzle that is every individual and family dealing with the diagnosis.
Autism is a part of our lives, it’s a part of the puzzle.
How has autism affected your life? Are you doing anything special for autism awareness month?
Katrina Moody
I'm a special needs parent before just about everything else in life, but also a passionate advocate
for my three boys and husband, who all have a bit of awesomeness about them. Awesomeness =
Axenfeld-Rieger Syndrome, Autism, Epilepsy, Dyslexia, Cerebral Palsy, and more. It all adds up to
some awesome kids and an amazing family.