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Entry # 4 - Story of Christina (Allen) Zacny from Wheatfield, IN

        I hope you consider my story. There is a lot more to it, but I just didn't think that I could fit everything in one essay. I just want to say that I am proud of being a single mom and that in many ways, I think my children and I are much better off.

        I came across this website through a Google search for college grants for single moms and was really intrigued by the site and wanted to share my story with you.

        My name is Christina and I am currently a single mother of 4 beautiful daughters, Jazmyn (17), Bristol (14), Belanah (8), and Fiona (2). Two of my daughters are on the autistic spectrum, Bristol has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome with a learning disability in language comprehension and Fiona has pervasive developmental disorder- not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) with hyperlexia and echolalia. Many may think of this as a tragedy, but I don't see it that way. My children are beautiful and intelligent and special in their own way.

        I grew up poor, but loved dearly by my family. I was at the top of my class in high school, even though I gave birth to Jazmyn during the first semester of my senior year. I continued on to college and did very well (I was on the dean's list), but I had to leave at the beginning of my junior year to better care for my children. I have worked a variety of jobs and lived paycheck to paycheck, but even though we were poor, my children never suffered. There have been many ups and downs in our lives and although there were some times when it seemed useless to go on, I focused on the positive things in our lives and we prevailed.

        In 1999, I tore my acl and cartiledge in my right knee and couldn't work for about 3 months. I decided to pursue another vocation (I was a bartender at the time) and lucked out when a local casino was interviewing for blackjack dealers and providing the training free of charge. I did very well and in the span of a few months, I had learned almost all of the games and became one of the best dealers on the boat. I was making good money and had paid vacations and good insurance and life was looking up. I was promoted quickly to supervisor (pit boss) and life was good. I met a wonderful guy and married quickly and soon I was expecting a baby. I had a very difficult pregnancy and hard delivery, but she seemed very healthy and I was happy. When she was 7 months old, I fell at work and re-tore my acl and underwent extensive surgery to try to repair the damage. I was off of work again ( a very extended leave of absence) and now almost two years and several surgeries later, I am permanently disabled. During this time, I found out that my youngest daughter had multiple food allergies and severe developmental delays. After further testing, she was diagnosed autistic at 14 months without a good prognosis for the future. I took the initiative and worked intensively researching autism and developed my own system for teaching her to speak. I leaned sign language and used picture and books and played on the floor with her every day. Within 6 months, my 14 yr old was diagnosed with AS, I lost both my grandfather and father to pancreatic cancer, and my husband refused to accept Fiona's autism. I was very distraught and depressed, but I pressed on every day and worked so hard to deal with my losses and improve my children's lives.

        It worked! Fiona has an great outlook for the future. Her IQ is in the genius range and at age two can read, spell, name very complex shapes (ie: quadrilateral, trapezoid, rhombus), and count to 100. Bristol is doing well in school this year and has finally become more social and is reading more. Jazmyn is a senior this year and is going to go to college and Belanah is a straight A student and a cheerleader. My husband and I have gotten divorced because of the issues with autism and my disability, but I am not afraid to be alone. I am self sufficient and although we don't have a lot of extra money floating around, my family is very happy. I am planning to go back to college to either teach special needs children or become a special needs attorney. I am very outspoken about educating the public about autism, raising awareness of it and helping other families learn how to teach their autistic child.

        In closing, I just want to say that I know that this is a very limited essay of our lives and it would take an entire book to justify our struggles and accomplishments. I just hope that you can envision our lives from this brief glimpse and go on to touch someone else's life today. I strongly believe that everything we do could affect the entire world and if I can change a single person's life for the better, I may make a difference in the future. Kiss your children today and tell them how special they are and how much you love them and they may grow up to make a difference too.