So here is the million dollar question. Why am I blogging about autism? That's a very good question. I'm not one that watches the news and it's rare that I read it. Occasionally I will read what's trending but hey even I can't keep up with that. But for some reason and I don't know why it's the news about the kids that are murdered by their parents that get my attention.
And as it happens those are the stories where the moms kill their children who are on the spectrum because they feel over burdened. The first story I heard about was a mother in Texas. She had two children on the spectrum. Doodle had been diagnosed for maybe a year when that story broke. And I sat at my desk and cried. Why would she do that to her two children who had autism? In the article it said that she killed them because they weren't normal. Normal? In all honesty what is freaking normal in anyone's life autism or no autism.
This was about the time I was still researching autism. Had already seen the Temple Grandin movie and was learning more and more about my child and how she saw the world. Out of all the research the main thing that popped up was children on the spectrum are super geniuses. They are locked in their own minds and it's our job as the parents to help unlock them. And a huge thanks to Doodle's teacher and Para educator for the last part of kindergarten, all of first and second grade for teaching me so much on how to help Doodle and truly be there to help her grow. If it weren't for those two who worked so tirelessly Doodle would still be known as a wild child. No longer did I allow myself to be frustrated over behavior and Doodle could be very trying. When I learned her teacher was very strict and ran a tight ship I was on board! Anything to wrangle the wild child. And you know why a lot of children on the spectrum are so wild? Sometimes we as parents try to be strict. And that's the key word, try.
A couple of months ago I'm sure you have heard about the mother that took her son on the spectrum for a walk and threw him off a bridge. She did it because she couldn't handle all of the stress of taking care of her husband who could no longer work because of his illness and her son with autism. And these two women are not the only ones who have killed their children. I've read about a wealthy woman who did the same. If you google it it's not only heart breaking but makes you sick to your stomach.
And people still treat autism as if it's a horrible thing. Like a form of leprosy. But people are afraid of the unknown. Oh a disability we must run away as far as we can. All people who have no compassion for someone with a disability is showing that they are ignorant. Not taking proper care of your child because they have a disability is ignorant. A lot of parents who have children on the spectrum all agree. It's not a disability but an ability. I love my daughter and no matter how frustrated I get, not only does she sometimes need to be re-directed but sometimes so do I. You won't catch me on twitter making comments mocking hating autism. I won't because I know Doodle has lots of talents. And the fact that she can read, write and do math shows that she's working hard. She's learning and she's also an artist. I can be proud in everything that she does that is good. Because there used to be a time it took showing and teaching her over 1000 times before she got it. And I don't know why it's that way in the beginning it just is. And yes I wrote that number correctly. One thousand times.
Frustration lasts a moment, happiness for a life time. Re-direct, distract and carry on.
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