I am a very proud mother of two boys, one 16 and one 6. My youngest, Aaron was diagnosed with autism at the early age of 15 months. Aaron went from being verbal to nonverbal. He lost all his language skills in one week. With the extraordinary help of trusted friends and family, early intervention and a very helpful resource center; Family Voices, we began our journey into the world of special health care needs and disabilities. Now at age 6, Aaron has transitioned form Early Childhood Special Education and into kindergarten this last fall. He is no longer non-verbal and is an emerging child of language and communication. Being mentored by my trusted friends, I learned about all the systems involved in the process of raising a child with special needs. I became involved in local areas of advocacy, RICC, and support groups. Feeling the need to give back to the community that helped my family so much, I became involved in Family Voices of North Dakota as a Family Consultant. I am now involved in active advocacy at the local, state and national level. I have a great passion for families to be connected to the resources they need and the educational tools they need to support their children with special health care needs. My sons have taught me a great deal and Aaron has inspired me beyond belief.

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