Welcome to My Life
When Skyler was three years old, he was diagnosed with severe, non-verbal autism.
When he was seventeen, his mom wrote a book about his amazing life. Even though he has no words, he has so much to say, and Laurie is honored to help him share it.
I believe we each have a warrior inside of us, and it doesn’t take much to rile up that fighting spirit of a mamma bear—especially when it involves her children.
We all deserve a voice, even the voiceless.
Laurie found her voice early, and she has never stopped using it to stand up for her son with severe, non-verbal autism. In fact, she’s made it her life’s mission to not just use her voice on his behalf but through her book, Welcome to My LIfe: A Personal Parenting Journey Through Autism, her hope is to give a voice to the community of caregivers and loved ones who courageously embrace raising a child who relies on parental assistance for every need throughout their whole life.
Living on little sleep, unexpected daily challenges and a world that doesn’t always seek to understand difference, Laurie opens up her life and welcomes readers into the mundane and the monotonous… the challenges and the triumphs… the heart-aches and the blessings. She’s candid and vulnerable in sharing her mishaps and family’s learnings, with the goal of shedding light on how families and caregivers navigate daily life with a special needs child.
There’s nothing easy about it. But through the hardship, she’s learned much about Skyler’s love for life and how she is beautifully made to be his mamma warrior!
Welcome to My Life invites you to take a journey with Laurie and her son and explore
How Skyler’s autism diagnosis shook and then restored Laurie’s faith
The realities of navigating divorce, co-parenting and new love when your child has special needs
The emotional and physical toll (on Skyler and his family) of countless medical and behavioral treatments
The difference between hope, false hope, acceptance and gratitude in the face of disappointment, uncertainty and fear
The effects of autism on sibling relationships
How autism can challenge and strengthen a marriage
Why laughter is good medicine for us all
Go Beyond the Book
Speaking
Through her compassion, humor and desire to educate the world on the importance of understanding and inclusion, Laurie has the ability to motivate audiences to gain a renewed perspective and take action, individually, locally and on a large scale.