The Bright Side: Mother of Autistic Son, “Remember, All Children Are Made With Purpose”

Motherhood is never easy, but it can be even more difficult when you find out you have a special needs child. Tonight on the Bright Side, I bring you the uplifting story of a mother from Ladyville who is not only coping, but finding joy, as she raises her autistic son. As you will see, she has also taken on the role of therapist for her little one because it is so difficult to get that sort of professional help in Belize.

Amy Young

Amy Young, Mother

“Imagine being trapped in your head and can’t communicate your needs and if you’re hungry, you have to just eat what they hand you, not being able to say yes or no, like you don’t have an opinion. You don’t have a voice. If you stop for a minute and think about that, then you would know what it’s like to be autistic.”

Sabreena Daly, Reporting

Amy Young became a first-time mother in 2014 when she was 20. She gave birth to her baby boy, Dominique, and like all parents, thought about the future she wanted for her child.

Amy Young

“Finding out I was pregnant, it was very joyful, exciting you know. As first-time parents, you know, you tend to be overwhelmed but excited. You pick out cute outfits and you plan your child’s life so to speak. And you look, you look at the schools you’re going to put your child in, you know, maybe programs that you would want your child to be a part of and it didn’t seem, or I never thought that it would be challenging.”

But this Ladyville mom would later learn her son was autistic, a developmental disorder that affects a child’s social interaction and communication. She would have to grapple with the idea of missing one of the best parts of motherhood–hearing her little one speak.

Amy Young

“The therapist would give you a narrative or a description of what autism is but from a therapist point of view and a mother’s point of view it’s two different. It was one of the darkest moments of my life…because when you find out your child is autistic… you start to blame yourself. You start to question, what did I do wrong? Did I eat something wrong? You know, you question everything. You try to find the answers, but I don’t think you ever find the answers with autism. I needed to find a therapist in a country that there was no therapist. That’s how everybody put it, right? Um, the Inspiration Center is one of the places that I reached out to and there was a long waiting list. I believe it was over a hundred people waiting when they mentioned it to me. So that was something I had his name written down for, but it wasn’t immediate and I needed immediate service. If you research about autism, you would know that early intervention is key to helping a child. It does not guarantee a hundred percent; nothing is guaranteed a hundred percent in life, right? But I had to act now. There are a lot of free resources online. It takes hours and hours and hours. I would be up all four in the morning researching how to help my child with autism. I would take notes. I would watch him play and analyze him and write his behavior.”

Amy has also shared what she has learned with others, speaking at the Inspiration Center, reaching out to other parents to help them not only cope, but find joy raising autistic kids.  And helping them find their voices.

Amy Young

“I want parents to understand that your children are made with purpose. And don’t ever, ever forget that God made each and every one of us with purpose. When I became a mother, I became purposeful. I found my calling in motherhood.”

Sabreena Daly

“What is that calling?”

Amy Young

“Teaching, autism education, teaching special needs.”

Sabreena Daly

“I know Dominique said he wants to be a YouTuber..or Spiderman. What do you see him doing years from now?”

AmyYoung

“Dominique is going to be an entrepreneur like his mother.”

Young is now making a business out of health conscious meals, inspired by an autism-friendly diet for Dominique. She sells cold press juices and smoothies.

Amy Young

“I’m scared of what the world, what the workforce, what the work environment would be like for him. So I think the best thing is for me to help him learn to be independent. He’s going to be doing youtube. He’s going to travel the world. He wants to travel, to see places. He wants to do big things and he is able to express these things to me.”

Looking on the Bright Side, I am Sabreena Daly.