My name is Dusti and I am an Autism mom. I am married to Earl who is the only man that could ever put up with my crazy ways lol. I have all the same struggles that most moms have, with 3 teenage daughters, who give me lots of grief but are also all amazing girls!! Jenae is our adopted daughter who has been in our life since she was 7, she is now a beautiful, smart and caring 17 year old girl that has a true love for her brothers. She works with disabled people in her school, on all the leadership teams in school and goes over and above what most teenagers do. Brook is my step daughter, she is 16 and is the quiet one in the family. She enjoys drawing, reading, walking the dogs, riding horses and hanging out with her sisters. She is smart, loving and has a gentle sole. Marissa is 15 and the loud mouth in the family. She is more like me then I like to admit lol She is my first born, my first true love and the biggest pain in the butt. She is a true teenager that loves hanging out with friends, watching movies and hates to be alone, but like the other girls, she really does have a true love and understanding of the struggles the boys face everyday. Then there's Braden. He's 11 and has always been a little "different" He is hyper, always into something and getting himself into trouble. He was finally diagnosed with Aspergers when he was 8. He is also diagnosed with ADHD, Dyslexia, learning disabilities and anxiety disorder. He has the gift of math and has been collecting coins for years. He is very private and he and his brother have a real understanding for each other. Kayla is 7 and is the second mommy in the family. She is funny, she loves to laugh, enjoys painting, color and likes spending time with me. She is a bit on the quiet side and I believe she is also on the spectrum. She is quiet in school and is always the teachers pet cause she likes to help with everything. She doesn't get along at all with Braden but plays the mommy role with Kyle. Then there's Kyle, he's 6 and is the baby in the family. He was born very premature with a lot of complications and spent weeks in the NICU. He has always been delayed in everything. I always knew that there was something "wrong" but trying to get the Dr to understand was like pulling teeth. I finally insisted that he was refereed to the child development clinic for an assessment. He was first diagnosed with PDD-NOS, developmental delay and speech delay when he was 3. Kyle then regressed and still wasn't speaking so he went back to CDC for a follow up appointment and was then rediagnosed with moderate functioning Autism, global developmental and adaptive delays, ADHD and anxiety disorder when he was 4. With Kyle being more affected with Autism, he has been in all the therapies. eg..ST, OT, PT. I chose not to do ABA. In 2011 is when we made the decision to get a service dog for Kyle. It was a choice we made after Kyle wandered from the house and made our first and only 911 call to have to search for him. His service dog's name is Bella, aka Baby B. She is a chocolate Lab that has eyes the color of gold. She is not only beautiful, but she is smart too. In the short amount of time that she has been a part of our family, she has done amazing things for Kyle. We also have Delilah who is in the training process of becoming a search/tracking dog to be able to find Kyle or Braden if they wander off. This is just an intro to the Richardson gang and I hope you take the time to get to know us and how our whole family lives and deals with Autism.
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