Tammy Baxter did exactly what the experts told her to do after her son's diagnosis, but it just wasn't working for her family. After years of tears, a trip of a lifetime set them on a path to where they're now defying doctors' expectations.
"We did exactly what everybody told us to do — drive the same way to school, eat the same foods, don't change Bailee's routine — to the point where it wasn't working for our family," she said.
"It was very stressful, you couldn't go a different way to the shops, you couldn't shop with Bailee. You'd literally walk out of the shops and either he was crying or I was crying.Bailee Baxter working on his wooden boxes. "I was sitting in the waiting room crying my eyes out, not knowing how I was going to do it, and he sat next to me and said: 'Don't keep Bailee in a box.'
"He said the complete opposite of what you read in textbooks, what you get handed on how you are meant to raise an autistic and intellectually impaired child."This advice "clicked" for Ms Baxter and she began treating her son and disciplining him like any other child."After having really big discussions with my husband and what was best for our family, we decided to sell up and take both our children around Australia.
"To look now at a 22-year-old driving independently, living on his own, very successful with the NDIS helping him with building his boxes – literally, what more can I ask for?"Artwork Mr Baxter burned into one of his wooden boxes.
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