Growing up all my life I had heard about being labeled. I never really thought much about it because I was pretty normal, at least up until my high school career ended. I was labeled as a young mother, being as I was 18 when I had my oldest. I was also labeled as never going to succeed in life because I had aged out of foster care, I had to be a bad kid, right?
Wrong. I managed to graduate high school a full year early. Still to this day I'm grateful for the opportunity and proud of myself for being able to accomplish it with hard-work and dedication. At age 18 like many other foster youth out there, I aged out of the foster care system. I signed my first lease, worked a full-time job, and tried to prepare as much as possible for my first child. I also made sure that I signed up for college classes.
My son came prematurely and I knew that he'd have a long road ahead of him due to health issues he had. I got married to my high school sweet heart and we moved in together. I was able to quit my full-time job to stay at home with my son and focus on college.
Yes, I was a young mother, but it didn't stop me from achieving my own dreams all the while raising my son. I graduated from Ivy Tech with an Associate Degree and have now returned to college to work on a Bachelor Degree. I beat my labels in a sense and every day I work to continue on bettering myself for my children and their futures.
But unfortunately some labels can't be beat.
My oldest started showing signs of developmental delays young. He also began to have behavioral issues young. By the time he was four he was diagnosed with ADHD combined, Sensory Processing Disorder, and a Speech Delay. As time went on we still saw signs of other issues. I had one of those gut feelings as a mother that I knew the answer, I had known the answer since he was very young.
In the past three weeks I had to face that answer. He was diagnosed with autism finally. But hearing that after suspecting it for so long did provide relief in a sense, it also raised new questions and gave him a new label. The labels that he has been stuck with are much harder to shake. He may grow out of his ADHD or it may follow him the rest of his life. But Autism has a harsher taboo that follows.
He looks completely normal, which I hear all the time, but looks can be deceiving. I'm lucky that in most ways he's high functioning and he's verbal. But he can't carry a "normal" conversion. He won't hold eye contact and he doesn't know social cues. His facial expressions don't match his emotions and the list could go on.
He may not be able to beat his labels but I know that he will be able to show others that labeling can be inaccurate, mean, unneeded, and wrong. He is a sweet child and tries his hardest at everything that he does. I know he has a long road ahead of him but that he will succeed because of the support he has behind him and because of who he is as a person.
