Goodbye, Short Bus

Today, one out of fifty boys is diagnosed with autism—an alarming situation that affects thousands of families and needs to be addressed. Parents are left with many unanswered questions about how to help their child, and they often receive little guidance in their journey down a road filled with gray answers. Jennifer Witten knows firsthand what it feels like to be overwhelmed with this sort of news and to fear the unknown. In 2010, when her son, Matthew, was diagnosed with autism, Jennifer’s world was shattered, followed by years trudging through mountains of paperwork, unanswered questions, hours of therapy, and sleepless nights as she sought to heal her son. In the end, she learned firsthand what it takes to conquer an autism diagnosis. In Goodbye, Short Bus, Jennifer shares how she explored and discovered healing beyond Western medicine’s limits. Embark with her on the emotional, insightful, and inspiring journey of how she found her son hidden behind autism—a success once thought impossible. Goodbye, Short Bus offers a rare glimpse into what goes on behind closed doors for a family with an autistic child. This book will: Raise questions you may have never considered Provide the answers you are seeking Bring awareness about your own personal growth, which could save your marriage and family Shed light on how to embrace your life and your autistic child Goodbye, Short Bus is a story of how when life’s biggest storm hits, a family’s love and bond cannot be broken.

Today, one out of fifty boys is diagnosed with autism—an alarming situation that affects thousands of families and needs to be addressed. Parents are left with many unanswered questions about how to help their child, and they often receive little guidance in their journey down a road filled with gray answers. Jennifer Witten knows firsthand what it feels like to be overwhelmed with this sort of news and to fear the unknown. In 2010, when her son, Matthew, was diagnosed with autism, Jennifer’s world was shattered, followed by years trudging through mountains of paperwork, unanswered questions, hours of therapy, and sleepless nights as she sought to heal her son. In the end, she learned firsthand what it takes to conquer an autism diagnosis. In Goodbye, Short Bus, Jennifer shares how she explored and discovered healing beyond Western medicine’s limits. Embark with her on the emotional, insightful, and inspiring journey of how she found her son hidden behind autism—a success once thought impossible. Goodbye, Short Bus offers a rare glimpse into what goes on behind closed doors for a family with an autistic child. This book will: Raise questions you may have never considered Provide the answers you are seeking Bring awareness about your own personal growth, which could save your marriage and family Shed light on how to embrace your life and your autistic child Goodbye, Short Bus is a story of how when life’s biggest storm hits, a family’s love and bond cannot be broken.

Jennifer Witten is an author, professional keynote speaker, and parenting coach. She firmly believes that if you are willing to do the work, to embrace different methods of healing, and never to stop searching for answers, then hope and healing can be restored. Jennifer went to school at Western Washington and graduated with a B.A. in Psychology/Sociology. She then moved to Seattle where she had a successful career in Recruiting/HR. Jennifer and her husband, Mike, live in Seattle, Washington, with their two children, Matthew and Kate. Soon after her first pregnancy, Jennifer quit the corporate America scene to take on the biggest job of all—motherhood. Jennifer’s life took a turn in 2010 when her son, Matthew, was diagnosed as being autistic. Her family’s future was instantly filled with fear and uncertainty. All of her dreams for her son died that day, and the future she saw for her son was hopeless and scary, but there was a guiding force that kept Jennifer determined not to give up. This is the same force every mother knows so well if she is willing to listen to that whisper, a mother’s intuition. Jennifer spent years researching and learning every method of therapy in hopes that autism would no longer be a part of Matthew’s future. She participated in hundreds of hours of homework with Matthew, dreaming he would one day speak and live a “normal life.” Her passion and perseverance to make certain autism would not define Matthew’s future eventually led her to consider naturopathic healing, and after a little over a year, Matthew’s world was transformed. Today, he is no longer considered autistic, and he just graduated as a mainstream kindergartner! Matthew’s future today is filled with possibilities and hope due to the power of a mother’s unconditional love!