Abbey's Autism and my reflection

So I know it's been a while since I've written on here (I seem to start all my entries that way, haha), but here goes.

For those who are not aware, my two year old daughter, Abbey, was diagnosed with Autism last fall. We have been working through our local school district with an Autism specialist, and various other specialists (all behavioral therapy) to help her engage and talk more. We have seen great success, and Abbey has come a long way since her initial diagnosis, and my wife and I have been optimistic as to what her future holds, but we were given a bit of a reality check today.

The last few days have been especially trying in the Scutari household. We have seen Abbey's Autism really come out, more so than usual. And I'm not talking small little meltdowns like we have to overcome every so often. I'm talking crying for a half an hour at bedtime because she's exhausted, or being overstimulated at Wal Mart and refusing to be touched or comforted.

For those of you who are parents out there understand being able to provide comfort to your children when they upset. For Steph and I, when Abbey gets overstimulated, she wants nothing to do with us, to the point where she will cry and scream louder and push us away if we try. These last few days, specifically, almost every night Abbey has been so tired she has had to cry herself to sleep, while Steph and I sit idly by and have to watch it, unable to bring comfort to our little girl. Since overstimulation is a sympton of Autism, Abbey has lately taken to wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses everywhere, to help block some of it out.

So the Autism specialist (who has been awesome to work with) was over today, and mentioned to Steph that as Autistic kids get older, their sensory issues (over stimulation from noises/lights/people around them) get worse. Maybe it was wishful thinking, perhaps we were just hoping for the best for our little girl, but either way, those dreams were dashed today when Steph found that out. It serves as a painful reminder of Abbey's reality, and always brings me back to reflection.

I never imagined in a million years that this would happen to my family and I, but, here we are, nonetheless. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her, and yet, I know that sometimes there is literally nothing I can do that will help.

So, we simply take things as they come- one day at a time, hoping and praying for the best, asking that God would grant us patience, and comfort for Abbey.
I am now thoroughly convinced that God's love is deeper and more profound that I ever could have imagined. We have been blessed by our daughter, and while it can be trying at times, we love her all the same.