It is also a day to celebrate parents and families who must deal with the day-to-day challenges of raising an autistic child and also a chance to celebrate their strenghth and courage.
This is the ONLY thing I agree with Barack Obama with what he said: "On World Autism Awareness Day, we offer our support and respect to all those on the autism spectrum." —President Obama
Raising a daughter who is now 19 has not been a picnic. Sixteen years ago, we realized something wasn't right. While she met her milestones, her language never progressed and social interactions with others was a little off. The signs were there, and although I did not deny there was a problem, I had hoped it wasn't as bad as I could have imagined.
The professionals kept dancing around the issue and were stalling to hand out a diagnosis, so Alexa was diagnosed as a "child with a disability" or the term PDD (Pervasive Development Disorder) was used. I had just had my son at that time and I remember it was such a devastating blow for our family. I knew our lives would never be the same.
Now autism is mainstreamed and more common in a sense that the awareness is definitely there. But what do we really know? We know that its more prevalent in boys, and that the statistics are closing in at 1 in every 68 children have autism. When Alexa was younger, the stats were 1 in every 150. The numbers are closing in. Could it be that awareness has caused quicker diagnoses for families? All I know is that the sooner the intervention, the better. We are dealing with a multitude of things at the present moment. School, work, aging into adulthood, eventually independent living, and I know the next few years will be extremely difficult to manage, but much like the things you can't control, you must accept, and so it will be a learning experience on how to cope the best way you can. Everything is a process.
Although sometimes we cannot make sense of things, so I'm trying to realize the purpose of all of this. I do believe that everything you go through grows you. Through all of this I have realized that I am not the same person I once was. As her mom, I've had to FORCE myself out of my comfort zone to advocate for her. Definitely not an easy task. I was painfully shy...WAS is the key word. So I've had to give up who I once was to help her become who she is and will continue to be.
I am learning to continually accept what is, let go of what was and have faith in what will be. So in closing, let's continue to support others (and their families) with autism and create a world where normal is just a setting on a washing machine!
Excellent post! :)
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said! As parents we always worry about our children, even when they are married and have families of their own, but a parent of a child with special needs worries a lot more. It takes a strong minded person to raise a special needs child and you are just that! May God bless you and your family and continue to give you the strength you need.
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