Autism hasn't been all unicorns and rainbows for us this year. Kinda took an ugly turn. To be honest I was expecting it to. They say..(who knows who "they" are)...that autism can hit sort of a peak for boys when they get close to puberty. While I never in a million years would wanna admit that my first baby is close to puberty its a fact. He did turn 10 this year. It got a little more aggressive and difficult. Thats probably normal. But I never expected some of this stuff from my sweet boy. We added a couple more therapists to the lineup, switched up some medications and it seems like we are in a semi-good place these days. (KNOCK ON WOOD)
This past year I've really learned a lot about autism, and how I need to lean on people when I need them. It takes a village people say. And with a kid like mine that is certainly true. I've learned a lot about how to speak his language. Not English, we all speak english around these parts, probably a little hilbilly english, but english all the same. I learned that if he loves hotwheels, if only for a month. You buy him hot wheels, you help him set up tracks, you send out his birthday list to family and friends with nothing but hotwheels on it. But, you also understand that those kinds of things can be short lived and the unopened boxes of hotwheels will just sit here cause he no longer has an interest in them. I've learned that when your boy loves to talk gas prices you have to yell out the price of EVERY SINGLE gas station you pass during a drive. I've also learned that just because he has an obsession with watching some chick on youtube named Alejandra organize her entire house, DOES NOT mean he is gonna listen to her...*See picture.
Another thing I've learned is that people sometimes still don't understand autism. They don't understand I can't discipline him in the same ways that I would any other kid. They don't understand that he doesn't like to go out that often. If he's having a meltdown in the store I still get stares and dirty looks. But what are ya gonna do? Just because people don't understand your life doesn't change anything.
Most of all I learned, I just don't care what other people think!
April is Autism awareness month. Awareness...Aren't we all aware by now? The new statistics say that 1 in 68 have autism. With those kinds of stats don't you think we are all beyond awareness? It's time for a little Autism ACCEPTANCE up in here!
