We were first told our daughter Isabelle had Autism when she was 2.5yrs old. Isabelle was behind developmentally (she didn’t crawl until she was 1yr + and didn’t independently walk until she was 2yrs 2 months) and at 2yrs old still hadn’t spoken.. Before we were informed about Isabelle’s Autism, professionals already involved said she couldn’t walk because she was hypermoblie (very flexible joints) and she wasn’t talking because she had problems hearing and needed to have grommets fitted following on from glue ear. The grommets obviously didn’t work, and Isabelle continued to have no speech. 

It was only later on that we began speech & language therapy, that the therapist took one look at Isabelle (well a 2hr assessment which felt like 5 minutes) and told us she thought Isabelle was Autistic. Isabelle? Autistic? But Isabelle was so happy, so content. She slept really well and loved her food. She always had a smile on her face & never ever had meltdowns. It couldn’t be true. 

Within 6 months of first hearing the A word, it became obvious to us as a family that Isabelle did indeed have autism. Once the conversation had been started, and our eyes opened, it all seemed to fit in to place. This is why all her developmental baby/toddler stages were so late. Why she never spoke. Why she didn’t make eye contact. Why she always played on her own and never with other children. 

To say it hit us like a ton of bricks was an understatement. How could we have not known? How did we not see the signs? Well, funnily enough, we didn’t really know what all the “signs” were. Myself and my husband were & still are first time parents, with no history of Autism in either of our families. I suppose we were those types of people who simply thought Autism was when you had huge meltdowns, hit out & didn’t sleep. It was hugely through the National Autistic Society that we learnt so much about Autism, the signs, what to look out for, what to expect. I would spend hours looking through the website, watching videos and picking out things and saying “Isabelle does that!”. I’m sure most people who have been on a similar journey will tell you there really is no book out there on what to do, how to cope. You kinda have to work it out yourself. Unfortunately the support from health and social services comes into play so far down the line that you’ve already had to deal with every possible thing Autism could throw at you by the time a nurse you’ve never met calls you out of the blue one day and suddenly wants to know your child’s whole history and why YOU think they have Autism, because obviously they’ve never even met your child at this point. 

The National Autistic Society is a brilliant place to start, and to keep coming back to. Their knowledge on Autism and its extremely wide spectrum is a huge eye opener. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I have learnt from them. The charity quickly makes you feel like you are not alone, which is so powerful when you are starting out on a journey like this and don’t have any answers and feel completely lost. 

Isabelle is now 3.5yrs old and has changed immensely since that first session with speech therapy. The last year has been a complete and total blur, the worst year of our lives but also in many ways the best. We have learnt so much about Isabelle, about autism, and about ourselves. Isabelle remains a very happy and contented child, although she becomes more frustrated with little things. She has now developed her own personality, and will tell you what she wants and doesn’t want! Her stims are much more apparent. She makes so many hilarious and interesting noises. As her Mum I can near enough always know what she wants just by listening to her noises. It’s like a gift! Isabelle still struggles with eye contact, and mostly plays alone although will play alongside other children. She likes routine and likes to know what’s coming next. 

Isabelle can say a handful of words now,; she is also learning makaton and is starting to pick it up fairly quickly. She attends a fantastic nursery 4x a week and all the staff are incredible with her. Isabelle just enjoys her life. She doesn’t appear to know she’s any “different” and we want to keep it that way as long as possible. 

For a long time last year I was consumed with worry and fear about what Autism would mean for Isabelle and us. At certain stages it seemed to take over my life, and certainly overtook my “Mum” role to the point where I wasn’t enjoying being Isabelle’s Mum. It was at my lowest point in Sept 2020 that I started counselling when things really started to change for me. I began to realise that in many ways Autism was a gift and should be celebrated. My husband asked me one day if I could take away Isabelle’s autism would I? I quickly replied that I would not... Isabelle wouldn’t be our Isabelle, and our Isabelle is the most incredible little girl. I believe having a child with Autism makes parenting even more beautiful. You take absolutely nothing for granted. Every single new thing is celebrated. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve praised Isabelle for just looking into my eyes. If she says a new word it feels like all my Christmas’ have come at once. We often jump for joy if she names something correctly.  When she smiles at me I know that smile is telling me she loves me. Bringing up a child with Autism is “taking the scenic route”, and I for one am going to watch and amaze in wonder at every single step of it. 

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I really want to take this opportunity to educate other people, children and adults about Autism. This skydive is a great way to do that, and also raise money to a charity really close to my heart. 

This skydive is for every child and every parent out there on their own personal Autism journey. Every journey is different. This is our journey. This is our story. This jump is for you Isabelle. We are so incredibly proud of you.