A Note From Mom - I remember all the attempts Allison made to connect with Morgan in their younger years, with very little reciprocation. My hope has always been for my daughters to somehow be able to build a sweet sister bond with each other. With six years, fourteen hundred miles, and a wall of autism between them, that hope still sits on the top of my list. 

 These days, Morgan talks about Allison a lot, when she’s away. She tells me things to tell her. She talks about wanting to visit her and Jabe at their “new old house”. Although Morgan still stumbles and struggles to reach out to Allison directly, I see her desire to. I see the knowledge and understanding Allison has gained over the years, and I am grateful. It takes two to dance, and I do believe they are both closer to learning the steps of a sweet sister dance that is uniquely there own.

Allison’s Perspective - As Morgan’s sister, I have had my world view expanded. She taught me to see diversity in others and to practice patience and understanding because you never know what someone is going through. When she was diagnosed with autism when I was around 9, it didn’t change how I saw her. She was just my quirky sister that I connected with not in the typical ways of late-night girl talks but in singing silly songs together. However, if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have been exposed to the wonderful and complex world of autism. When I began to meet others that supposedly had the same diagnosis as her, I was at first shocked and confused to see how none of them were really like her but how they all still felt similar. I fell in love with trying to figure out how to communicate and teach each one because they were all so different. This set me on a career path that started when I was a teenager and has continued into my mid 30’s of working in the special education field. This career choice has come with A LOT of ups and downs but has also made me into the person I am today…. someone who wants to help people by finding ways to customize supports to meet their needs while showing kindness and understanding. If it wasn’t for Morgan and her gift of autism, I don’t know what I would be doing with my life right now.

Sister Dinner Date

Morgan has also taught me what it means to be unselfish, as it is common knowledge for most individuals on the spectrum that they unashamedly assume the world revolves around them. You can’t be mad at them for that though because it comes with having social skills deficits. With that being said, I had to learn to put myself aside to meet her unique needs and strange demands as this would bring her joy. I also feel a responsibility though to use my special education knowledge to help push her and help her grow into experiencing the fullest potential for her life. My sisterly relationship with Morgan is at times more like a motherly one. I try to be careful of this though and remain as more of her sister since she already has a wonderful mother and needs a different connection with me.

So, thank you Morgan for helping me learn more of what it means to love others for who they truly are and for expanding the way that I see the world and helping me find a sense of passion and purpose for my life.

Love you sister!

Allison

Love you dearly Allison.  Thank you for sharing,

Mom

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