Journey to Acceptance: Finding Hope, Support, and Peace for Your Autistic Child

By Michelle Vanessa O'Reilly

Having a child with autism presents many hard questions: What will my child’s life look like if he or she never gains maturity and independence? How will allowing my child to transition to a group home affect the family? What will happen when I can no longer take care of my child because I’m too old? What will happen if my child outlives me?

The good news is that there is hope. If you as a parent become an advocate for your loved one with special needs, you can answer these and many other questions. In Journey to Acceptance author Michelle Vanessa O’Reilly delivers an honest reflection on the life of a mother navigating the challenges of raising an autistic child. She details how embracing God through challenges and sometimes violent aggressions led to a wonderful placement for her son, Justin. She has learned to listen closely to Jesus’s voice as she makes decisions in this journey, and now she seeks to give encouragement and insight to other families who are beginning their own journeys.

In this personal narrative, one woman chronicles how perseverance, faith, and love helped her find an ideal placement for her son, some peace for family, and encouragement for others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664241886

Michelle Vanessa O'Reilly

Michelle Vanessa O’Reilly, a native of Toronto, Canada, is a graduate of Oakwood University and Clark Atlanta University. She has worked as an elementary school teacher for over twenty-five years, with an increasing focus on autism and special needs. She resides with her family in Orlando, Florida and has an upcoming companion storybook to Journey to Acceptance, this time for children. She has learned to listen closely to Jesus’s voice as she makes decisions in this journey. Michelle can be reached via Instagram at michelleo13 or on her website at journeytoacceptance.net

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Copyright © 2021 Michelle Vanessa O’Reilly.

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and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Scripture marked (KJV) taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New

International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica,

Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-4189-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-4188-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021915484

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/23/2021

Dedication

To my children, Justin and Maya, and to all families

whose lives have been affected by autism.

Contents

Dedication

Chapter 1     Let’s Start at the Very Beginning

Chapter 2     Getting Accustomed to Calling 911

Chapter 3     A Dark Day

Chapter 4     A Placement for Justin

Chapter 5     I’m So Excited! And I Just Can’t Hide It …

Chapter 6     A Great Reunion Inside a Bubble

Chapter 7     Visit #2 with My Boo—Living The Life

Chapter 8     Guardianship

Chapter 9     Life in a Group Home

Chapter 10   Christmas

Chapter 11   One Year Later …

Chapter 12   Conquering Fear and Doubt

Acknowledgements

1

Let’s Start at the Very Beginning

Have you ever been skydiving? I imagine going in a plane several thousand feet up, saying, 3 … 2 … 1 … and jumping out, with no idea where I am going to land. That can be what it feels like when you have a newborn. I remember looking at this tiny human and saying, What am I supposed to do with him? Little did I know that this child was likely very different from all the others in that delivery unit, likely different from all the other babies in that hospital. In fact, I would not meet another person with a child like mine for several years.

He simply did not meet his developmental milestones. He sat up late. He walked late. He was as cute as a button, but year after year passed, and he would not say a word. He’s a boy. He takes a bit longer, people said. Birthday after birthday passed. Justin still wouldn’t talk. By the time he was in daycare, it was more than apparent something was very, very different, and his autism journey had already begun.

Having a child with