I want to thank each of you for being here. By following along with Wilson’s journey and learning more about autism, you’re helping us in our mission to make the world a more patient, kind, and inclusive place to be and that means so much to us.

One of my hopes in starting this blog was to connect and relate with other autism families and help them not feel alone. The support we have found from this incredible community in return has been all that I didn’t know I had needed.

While I much prefer to talk about my sweet boy, I do love a good name-with-face, or in this case, name-with-a-voice connection so I wanted to share a little about myself, the writer/voice here at Wilson’s Climb.

I’m Lauren, Wilson’s mama, pictured here with the rest of our wild crew: my husband David, and Wilson’s little sister, Charlie. Watch for more on dad and sis in the coming months!

Some fun facts about me:

I majored in Journalism and Spanish.  When Wilson was completely non-verbal, I used to have dreams where we would talk to each other in Spanish.  It was like we had found the missing piece, the connection, and could communicate with complete ease. I’m so excited for that day to come.

I’ve jumped out of an airplane. Surprisingly, once the cord was pulled, that was the most peace and quiet I have ever felt in my life. I am not that brave or reckless anymore.

I love long walks with friends, candles, country music, and afternoons spent at the winery. Now this is starting to sound like a dating app bio so let’s get back on track…

I used to own two ice cream shops. When I drive by them now, I think about all my blood, sweat, and tears that are still in there. Small business owners are some of the most hard-working, persevering souls out there, especially right now. On the day Wilson was born, I was in my hospital bed while on the phone with the credit card processing company because our machines were down that day.

I’ll admit I have a shoe and graphic t-shirt obsession.  Some say I have a graphic t-shirt for every occasion. I can’t help it! I love words. They mean something and they start conversations.

I used to be an adaptive ski instructor.  I got to teach people with diverse abilities from paralyzed veterans, to children with Muscular Dystrophy, Tourette’s Syndrome, or hearing/vision impairments.  The mountains and the slopes are my happy place, and everyone should be able to experience them.  This passion of mine also influenced the name of this blog.

I think seeing yourself in your kids is both amazing and terrifying. My daughter is going to be a handful (remember how I jumped out of that plane?!) and payback is hell. My mom reminds me of that. And my grandma reminded her of that when I was young.

Becoming a mom and autism mom has been the most vulnerable experience of my life. It has been a heart bursting adventure and heart aching at times.

I reevaluate sharing my precious boy on such a public platform all the time.  The world can be big, ugly, and mean. I always come back to the realization that Wilson has changed me in the best ways, and he just might do that for others.

He has so much to share with the world. I’m just his voice, for now.

Cheers to so much love and happiness in 2021!

Xo,

Lauren

The mountains and the slopes are my happy place, and everyone should be able to experience them.