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Jodie Isitt, 34, from eading wants you to know why she’s so proud of her family…
WORDS BY LAEA MARSHALL IMAGES: SWNS
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with our second child, and even through morning sickness and back pain, I couldn’t wait for our family to grow. I knew Stanley would be a wonderful big brother. Our daughter Lola was born on 30 July 2009, and just like her big brother, she was such a quiet, well-behaved baby. But not for long. At just a few weeks old, Lola would start to be sick every time I fed her, and she wasn’t afraid to show us how she felt, either – screaming her head off whenever she got the chance. Kenny and I soon realised how lucky we’d actually been with Stanley! As a toddler, Lola was very stressed out. Strapping her in her car seat to take her out shopping, she would panic and only stop screaming when I released her. She hated being confined. Excited to have a little girl, I loved dressing her up pretty dresses, too, but Lola ated wearing clothes, would rip hem off as soon as she could. As Lola’s demands took ver, poor Stanley had taken a ack seat for his little sister. He’d become quieter than usual, would sometimes barely peak at all. ‘I feel like I’m neglecting him,’ I confessed to Kenny, feeling so guilty. But over time, Lola needed me more and more. By the time she was two years old, after doing some research, I reasoned that she was autistic. We couldn’t wait She had all the signs – to be parents difficulty processing her emotions and overreacting to even just the smallest
’ve always believed that the secret to a happy life is not to take it too seriously. And when it comes to my family, that’s what gets us through every day. You see, all three of my children have autism. When I met my partner Kenny, now 43, back in 2005, it had been love at first sight. We got together pretty quickly and couldn’t wait to start a family of our own. And our dreams came true the following year when I fell pregnant. Cradling my growing bump, I dreamed of our happy future. Our son Stanley was born on 25 June 2007, a perfectly gorgeous little bundle of joy. ‘He’s beautiful,’ Kenny smiled. We quickly adapted to life as a family of three, got used to night feeds and nappy changes. Stanley was a perfect baby – so incredibly quiet. In 2008, I fell pregnant
My kids are my inspiration changes in her routine. It seemed like a simple explanation to me, but getting a diagnosis was incredibly difficult. Every time I took Lola to the doctor, she’d be so quiet and well behaved – as if she knew exactly what we were trying to do! Back home, she’d be back to her usual self, screaming her head off uncontrollably. The doctor arranged for a health visitor to assess Lola for a period of six months, and in the meantime, all we could do was wait. Then, in December 2011, I fell pregnant again. And while the pregnancy was straightforward enough, so much changed for our family in the next nine months. Back at the doctor with Lola, I’d
It took months for a diagnosis
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figured out a way to prove my point. As Lola fiddled with the light in the GP’s office, I went over to her. ‘Lola, stop that now!’ I scolded. The sudden jolt in her routine sent Lola into hysterics – as I’d expected. Finally, the doctor was seeing what I was seeing, and at three years old, Lola was officially diagnosed with autism. After so long, it was such a relief to finally have the diagnosis. Now we needed to act on it. ‘We need to learn how to help her the best we possibly can,’ I said to Kenny that night. So I signed up to a parenting course to learn all I could about raising a child with autism. But while the course was helpful with Lola, it revealed something even more surprising. Going over my notes one evening, I made a realisation. All the signs of autism – avoiding
