Our Story

I always knew I wanted to be a mom. Having a family of my own was my biggest dream — the kind you carry in your heart since childhood. After walking through the hard road of infertility, my husband Bobby and I were overjoyed to conceive through IVF and thrilled to learn we had two healthy embryos: a baby boy and a baby girl. It felt like a fairytale coming to life, and I stepped into motherhood with so much confidence, fully convinced this was exactly what I was made for.

But life had a different plan — one that would stretch and shape me in ways I never expected. Autism changed everything I thought I knew about parenting, and suddenly, I found myself navigating unfamiliar waters, feeling completely lost.

Our son Benny had what most would call a “typical” development until around 20 months old. At that time, I was pregnant with our daughter and unexpectedly placed on hospital bedrest at just 25 weeks. The whole world shifted. Benny went from having a full-time stay-at-home mama to spending most of his days with Dad and grandparents — catching just brief visits with me in the evenings. That transition was tough for all of us, to say the least.

It was during this time that we started noticing some big changes in Benny. He stopped talking, seemed less interested in connecting with others, developed new, unexplainable fears, and carried what looked like a constant cloud of anxiety. We hoped it was all just an adjustment to the chaos. But even after our daughter was born at 30 weeks and we slowly settled into our new normal, it became clear that Benny wasn’t “bouncing back”.

Therapies began. Appointments filled the calendar. And just before his third birthday, we received the diagnosis that confirmed what we had suspected: autism.

When that word became part of our family’s story in 2023, it hit hard. I felt a tidal wave of grief, guilt, and deep isolation. I didn’t know who to turn to or how to even begin processing it all. But even in the middle of the heartache, I knew I wanted to create something meaningful out of the pain.

That “something” became Finding YALL — a community and organization built for families like ours. Families who are still figuring it out, one day at a time. Some days we’re thriving. Some days we’re just surviving. But we’re doing it together — as a family of four, and now with a whole new village beside us.

Finding YALL has become the outlet we never knew we needed. A space to lean on others, to share the hard and the beautiful, and to be reminded that we’re not alone in this journey.

Because sometimes the fairytale looks a little different — but it’s still full of love, purpose, and magic..