MEET KAISYN

Letter From Kaisyn:

Hi, I’m Kaisyn, and I am 10 years old. I love animals and want to be a vet when I grow up. I love to paint and draw. And I have autism.

Autism is called a disability, but I don’t think it is one. It just means my brain works a little different sometimes and that makes me special.

Sometimes I have a hard time making friends because talking to people is a little bit scary for me. But that is why I love animals because I don’t have to talk to them and they still love me anyway.

I am trying to earn money so I can have an autism service dog. They are so neat because they can actually help me calm down when I feel overwhelmed, and even be trained to give me big hugs like my mom does if she isn’t around. Plus I want to get a poodle or a dog with some poodle in them because I like the feel of their fur.

My motto for my life is to always be you and never let people control you. Always keep smiling, and remember to be happy.

I am very thankful for you!

Kaisyn’s Story

Kaisyn is 10 years old, loves animals, and is an art enthusiast! Animals and art have always been Kaisyn’s happy places, and the two things that calm her down when life gets a little tough!

Kaisyn was always wired just a little bit differently, and we first noticed when she was only 9 months old. She was a bit behind developmentally, and got very overwhelmed in social situations. Even at smaller family parties outside of the home, Kaisyn couldn’t handle the noise or excess of people. Her father or I would have to sit outside with her to calm her down, or just go ahead and leave to take her home.

At that time, her pediatrician thought maybe it was a form of separation anxiety, and was something she would grow out of. But as she got older, Kaisyn continued to struggle with social situations. People saw her as super shy and quiet, and just very attached to her mommy.

When she was 2, she was sent to a pediatric neurologist for some episodes she was having mainly when strapped into her car seat. She would sometimes become agitated, throw up, and once even passed out. They did an MRI and saw nothing wrong with her brain that would cause the episodes, and said that she may be experiencing toddler migraines.

As Kaisyn grew a little older, she became quite the little perfectionist, and wanted things to be done exactly as she felt they should be. Crayons had to be in the correct order in their box, pictures she drew had to be done exactly as she saw them in her head, and social interactions with people outside of our family were very difficult. Whenever she would hit a little bump in the road (such as a broken crayon, a messed up line on her pictures, or feeling embarrassed and overwhelmed socially), things got hard and a little messy for Kaisyn. She would have episodes of rage, and didn’t know how to control her anger or her emotions. These rages were mostly taken out on me, her mother, since I was her safe space.

Kaisyn also struggled with sensory issues, such as the textures of certain foods or clothing. She couldn’t wear shirts with buttons, nothing tight on her skin, and absolutely no tags…and these things still hold true today!

At the age of 4, her doctor sent her to a behavioral pediatrician, who wanted her to start therapy to help control her anger outbursts and work on her sensory issues. Her therapist and the behavioral pediatrician both diagnosed her with generalized anxiety disorder and sensory processing disorder. Her first therapist helped her a lot with how to deal with her emotions, and tried to help her work on her social skills.

She started in a pre-k program, but wasn’t quite ready to deal with the classroom environment and all of the other kids. There were times when she would get too overwhelmed, and that would lead to self-harming behaviors; mainly biting herself at the top of her arms, or beating her head against a wall, until I could bring her down and help her stop. So Kaisyn was homeschooled through kindergarten while she worked on regulating her emotions and learning that she did not have to be perfect when doing her schoolwork.

She continued to see her first therapist, Mrs. Christine, until she left the practice in 2018. Kaisyn had made a lot of progress with learning to function within a school environment, and not always having a total breakdown when something didn’t go exactly as planned. She still had a hard time when she was embarrassed or overwhelmed, but she was able to attend school in first and second grade. Kaisyn still struggled with making friends, but was just seen as a super shy and quiet, sweet little girl. While in second grade, I sought out a play therapist so she could continue her therapy journey (regular talk therapy wasn’t working for her, even though the therapist she had been sent to when hers left was great, because Kaisyn doesn’t talk to people she doesn’t feel super comfortable with), and continue to work on the things that were a little harder for her.

This past year has been a hard one. As I said before, Kaisyn loves animals, and we’ve learned that unfortunately, she is also allergic to a lot of the furry ones, and then developed asthma due to her allergies. We do have a 3 year old yorkie maltese mix in the home and have had her since she was just a puppy, and fortunately she doesn’t have any issues with her!

Kaisyn started 5th grade this year at Piedmont Charter, but had a very rocky start. With Piedmont, the 5th graders go to middle school, so it was a new school environment altogether. Plus, after the previous year being virtual due to Covid, the change was a lot. She had an ok first day of school, but the second day was a huge struggle to get into the building. Kaisyn had her first ever rage episode directed at someone besides me, and the day was one we hope to never repeat. Her emotions got the best of her, and she was too overwhelmed to bring back down easily, which caused her to get physical with some of the staff members who tried to simply touch her shoulder to show her she was ok. Kaisyn is not a defiant little girl, and doesn’t have a mean bone in her. But when faced with those challenges that may seem simple to most but huge to her, she can’t control the impulses, and no one can touch her at those times except for me.

As her mom, I’ve always felt there was a little more going on than just generalized anxiety. Seeing her struggle to make friends, and watching how overwhelming even a simple text from someone her age was to her, I honestly felt in my gut there was something we were missing. After the school incident, I decided to have her officially tested with the recommendation of her play therapist, Mrs. Jenna, and we were quickly handed a diagnosis of autism.

It may sound crazy, but I cried when I was told by the doctor that she did have autism. I finally could understand all of the little quirks that made Kaisyn who she is, and could start heading in the right direction to truly get her the help she deserves. We enrolled her into virtual school through the county, continued with her amazing play therapist, put her into a small group therapy setting, and started private art classes again. Art is a huge outlet for her, and lets her express herself in ways that she otherwise has such a hard time doing. Plus, Kaisyn adores Mrs. Anne, and had quickly bonded with her a few years ago when we first found Nest + Canvas, so we felt this would be another great form of therapy for her!

Kaisyn wanted to do her own research on autism, so she could also understand a little more about how her brain works, because she is such a smart girl. She learned about service dogs, and how they can benefit children with autism, and immediately decided she wanted to earn the money to get a dog and send it through training, so she can have one of her own!

We fully support her in her desire and need for a service dog, because they are truly amazing animals! We’d love hers to be trained to bring her down when her anxiety gets to be too much, stop any self-harming behaviors, and provide pressure therapy in instances when I can’t be there. Kaisyn is getting older, and there are going to be things she wants to do independently, and we feel an emotional support animal who is service trained to help her can be the grounding she needs to get through those hard times on her own, and be the best version of herself possible.

Kaisyn works so hard every day to overcome things that seem so mundane to most of us. She is strong, resilient, beautiful, and has such a kind heart. Autism doesn’t define her, but makes her uniquely wonderful in so many ways. We are so thankful for any and all support, prayers, and well wishes sent for our girl!