Purposeful Journey

Candid, Vulnerable, Informative, Inspirational

When Skyler was three years old, he was diagnosed with severe, nonverbal autism. When he was 17, his mom created a book about his amazing life.

Welcome to My Life delivers on its promise to place you squarely in Skyler’s life, surrounded by mom and dad, Laurie and Josh, and superstar sister, Kendall. Detailed sensory descriptions take you to doctors’ appointments and trick-or-treating, to Qdoba and the kitchen table, to the bathroom for another "pull-ups" change, to family gatherings, to the Autism Center, and to conversations and internal dialogue so honest that you’ll feel like you’re part of the family, too.

Welcome to My Life shares the 14-year journey of a true warrior mom advocating for her nonverbal, severely autistic son, from diagnosis through his teenage years. This brutally honest and heartwarming account details the daily struggles and often lack of social understanding that families face when raising a child who relies on parental assistance for every need.

Because he has no words and yet so much to say

For mothers and fathers, sister and brothers, autism isn’t a personal diagnosis - it’s a family diagnosis. Especially when your autistic loved one copes with significant development delays, suffers from serious chronic medical conditions, is an insomniac, and exhibits behaviors that disrupt the flow of day-to-day life. Autism turns households inside out, cracks hearts wide open, and turns daily routines upside down.

Take a journey with Laurie L. Hellmann and explore:

• How Skyler’s autism diagnosis shook and then restored her 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

Experience the laughter and love, unspoken bonds, and unflagging devotion of one very special family. And be changed forever by the knowledge that a mother’s love knows no bounds, and that autism - though it presents various challenges - does not define who a person is nor does it devalue or diminish their contributions to this world.