Autism, this is how it's affected me. Has it affected you?

[Zombie9ers]

My 4 year old son was recently diagnosed with autism. It was hard to hear at first- as im sure it would be for any parent- but im glad he's finally going to get the help that he needs.

His mother left in May of last year. Long story short- she had addiction issues. We tried to work it out- but in the end she decided not to come back. We were together for 15 years.

I understand your wanting to find companionship. It's so damn tough raising a kid by yourself- let alone one with a disability. The struggle, the loneliness. I get it.

It was tough for me to start dating again afterwards- I had to focus on taking care of him, but at the same time still deal with his mother who was still making bad decisions and acts very sporadic and never sticks to a schedule- which made it impossible to make plans.

So I focused on him. That's the most important thing. I made sure that he was always happy and taken care of. Thats at least one thing I think I got right. You can't get this kid down - he's always happy and I make sure to protect him from the chaos that surrounds him. I also make sure to spend the time with him to focus on his development skills and make them fun activities so that he enjoys them- which he does.

As far as relationships go- I tried online dating for a while- it was the only way I could meet people since I couldn't really get out of the house much. That was hit or miss for the most part- but I always made sure he was top priority first and foremost.

Recently I started dating someone that volunteers at special olympics with me. She is kind, snd beautiful and has my same sense of humor. Shes also big into chatity work like me. We had known eachother for years. We are madly in love and I feel like I have my life back together after being in the dark for so Long.

With him, he's such a smart little dude that even the evaluators said that he was high functioning and may just need a little extra counseling, but there shouldn't be anything preventing him from having a normal life.

I hope you find your hapiness too- but make sure your child is taken care of first. That's the most important thing. Stay positive and I'm sure it will all work out.