The Rocc Flock: Gracie's Gang

This past weekend we participated in the Autism Speaks Walk in Bethlehem. We walked in support of our good friends, Allison and Trev and their beautiful little girl, Gracie. Allison took some time to type up some information about their journey with their daughter which I find beautiful and moving. She is an amazing mom doing an amazing job and I'm proud to call her my friend.

Hello Rocc Flock Followers! Kelly asked me if I wanted to write a quick little guest blog for her, so here goes nothing!
Autism was a journey that I never expected. You get pregnant, you are pregnant for nine months, you deliver your baby and you leave the hospital and live happily ever after. Right? Well…not always. Around the time Gracie turned one year, I began to notice some red flags. My friends’ babies would eat Cheerios and Puffs by the handful. They made Gracie gag. We would be out for a walk, and I would notice a puppy. “Look at the puppy, Gracie,” I would say. She would not look. That cute little wave she used to do and that adorable way she used to raise her arms when I would ask her how big she was suddenly stopped. It became even more noticeable at her pediatric well visits when she started to fail the developmental screens they gave at the beginning of the appointment. With the urging of the doctor, I called the county’s Early Intervention office to get Gracie evaluated. Gracie was evaluated at sixteen months. It was a day I will never forget. These three women came into my house. They tested her. They plugged their data into a computer, and then they shared the results. She was developmentally behind in every single area. OT and speech services would start immediately, and I was encouraged to call a developmental pediatrician to get on a waiting list. Their data confirmed what I already knew in my head (and what I was terrified to say out loud). Even though she would not be formally diagnosed until she was two and a half, she had the “a-word.” Autism.
I could go on and on about our journey with autism, but this is Kelly’s blog, and I told her I would keep it short! Autism is hard. It is hard to see your child struggle on a daily basis. It is hard to watch your friends’ children develop typically while your child does not. I am sorry if that is the wrong thing to say, but it’s the truth. Some days it breaks you down. But, there are many more days that it doesn’t. A great piece of advice that I was given the day Gracie was diagnosed was that when we would wake up the next day, Gracie would still be Gracie. She would not change. Her needing me would not change. My love for her would not change. Her love for me would not change. The only thing that would change was that we now had a word for what she was experiencing, and that word would open a door for us to help her grow and improve.
This past Saturday, my family members and friends all gathered to walk in honor of my beautiful daughter, Gracie, at the Autism Speaks Walk. This is the third year Gracie’s Gang has walked, and every year I am more and more grateful for the love and support I have from the people in my life. So, thank you, Rocc Flock, for always being there for us, and for spreading, not only autism awareness, but autism acceptance.

Thank you, Allison! Now just a few pics from the beautiful day we had!