7/2010
To A
Common
Voice;
I am
the
proud
mom
of
three
children.
My
oldest
daughter
was
a
typical
child,
wonderful
teenager
(is
there
such
a
thing)
and
lives
in
San
Diego,
CA
with
her
husband.
She
gives
us
lots
of
joy
from
a
distance.
My
youngest
daughter
was
a
typical
child,
frustrated
teenager
because
she
faced
the
challenges
of
being
gifted;
she
received
her
Bachelors
Degree
by
the
age
of
19
and
will
have
her
Masters
Degree
by
the
age
of
21
from
Western
Washington
University
in
Bellingham,
WA.
She
also
gives
us
lots
of
joy
from
a
distance.
When
my
son
and
youngest
child
Jonathan
was
born
with
meningitis,
I
should
have
known
he
was
going
to
be
our
greatest
joy.
The
doctors
told
us
they
did
not
know
what
form
or
how
the
affects
of
the
meningitis
would
appear
but
we
will
monitor
him
and
see
what
life
brings
us.
By
the
time
he
was
2
years
old,
we
knew
he
was
going
to
be a
challenge
when
the
doctor
said,
“I’ve
never
diagnosed
a
child
of 2
with
ADHD
and
ODD
severe
but
that’s
my
diagnoses
for
your
son.”
Being
naive
to
the
mental
health
world,
I
asked
for
a
treatment
plan
for
him,
the
doctor
told
me
“we
don’t
do
anything
- we
can
consider
medication
but
not
until
he
was
at
least
3
years
of
age”.
By
the
time
he
was
3
years
of
age,
I
knew
one
of
us
was
going
on
medication,
him
or
me.
Jonathan
has
been
on
various
medications
and
his
diagnosis
has
changed
going
as
high
as
five
mental
health
disorders;
but
just
last
year
we
landed
on
the
Asperger
Syndrome,
which
is a
high-functioning
form
of
autism.
We
have
been
very
successful
working,
as a
team
with
his
med’s
doctor
and
therapist
on
his
positive
behavior
modification
plan.
Jonathan
has
struggled
in
various
school
environments
because
of
his
disabilities
and
our
relocating
him
every
2
years
due
to
his
family
being
in
the
military.
I
have
lots
of
experience
with
different
school
settings;
personnel;
successful
IEPs,
FBAs,
and
Positive
Behavior
Plans.
His
dad
retired
5
years
ago
so
we
have
been
able
to
settle
him
down
into
one
school
district
(system)
which
has
been
instrumental
in
his
progress.
We
have
struggled
along
with
him,
learned
school
systems,
treatment
plans,
and
have
been
the
parents
of
THAT
child.
We
felt
so
alone
and
at
times
like
the
biggest
failure
as
parents!
Jonathan’s
therapist
told
us
to
consider
attending
a
support
group
so
we
did
not
feel
so
alone
plus
could
assist
other
families
with
our
knowledge.
We
attended
our
first
Y.E.S.
Support
Group
in
Puyallup
and
walked
away
with
huge
(and
I
mean
huge)
feelings
of
acceptance
and
parent
support!
We
have
provided
support
for
Jonathan
through
the
years
and
now
we
have
our
OWN
support
system,
where
we
are
not
judged
and
nobody
is
shocked
at
what
comes
out
of
our
mouths!
The
people
there
are
walking
in
our
shoes
or
have
walked
in
them.
They
understand
how
we
feel
sometimes
without
us
uttering
a
word.
Just
ask
anyone,
we
have
the
meetings
on
our
calendar
and
it
is a
priority
for
us!
It
is
something
we
do
for
us
as a
couple
as
well
as
for
our
family.
We
handle
LIFE
differently
now
and
feel
empowered
and
not
alone
because
of
our
support
group.
Forever
Grateful,
Ronda
Fullerton
Planting
The Seeds Of Hope!
