I know that my son having autism takes nothing away from him and I hate when people say vaccines caused this. Science has come a long way. If it weren't for science I'd be dead because I'm epileptic. So thank you to the scientists and the doctors who developed anti convulsants.
There's a meme going around on Facebook that I really like.
I can only imagine how frustrating it was for the parents to not have the answers that they would have had to today, or the individuals who got diagnosed as adults. I was relieved when we got our answers. I did not understand why Kevin had meltdowns and struggled with communicating. I did not understand why he had problems making friends or doing what the other kids were doing. When Jim and I got our answers it was "aha" and a little frightening...
His diagnosis lead to more questions, "What does this mean? Is he going to still have trouble making friends? Does this mean more bullying?"
Kevin has grown into a wonderful young man. He's in his teens now and has made some great friendships. He struggles with it a little bit because he's shy and he stays away from fads. For instance, he doesn't like Fortnite and popular bands. He has a passion for Pokemon and computer games. (The games changes almost monthly). As for the bullying it's not really an issue. As my husband pointed out, he's tall for his age so people assume he's older than he is.
He's still smart. School and academics comes a lot easier to him than they ever did to me. He's witty and sarcastic, but not always at appropriate times. He has trouble sleeping because of his imagination and still does not like scary things. This year he passed up the chance to go to Halloween Horror Nights as he felt it would be too scary. However, he's kind and has a big heart.
He is always giving me hugs and if there's ever a waiver in my voice he asks me what's wrong. He loves playing with his little brother and enjoys learning. Someone I know equated autism with her daughter's glasses, ADHD, and dyslexia. She said if her daughter didn't have these things then she wouldn't recognize her. These quirks are what makes her who she is and she would never change it or take it away! That's how I feel about Kevin. I really don't like the label "disabled". Kevin is not disabled! He processes things differently that does not mean he's disabled!
There's a lot of celebrities who have things like autism, dyslexia, and ADD! Could you imagine a world without it? I think it would be very boring if we were all similar! The people with autism are most likely the ones who think outside the box (like Temple Grandin) and those with ADD (like I'm sure Robin Williams and Jim Carey had/have) it makes for great comedy!
All I'm saying is see the person for who they are. Here's what I hope you take with you after reading this article:
