Hi all, we've been without power since yesterday late afternoon, so I was unable to post my original thoughts on Autism Awareness Day so I thought I'd just point out that April is Autism Awareness Month.
Honestly, I can say that up until recently I didn't give much thought to Autism and how it affect families. I knew some 'friends of friends' that had been dealing with it, but it wasn't, close enough to home, to warrant more that a few random prayers for those in its midst.
However, the past few months we have been thrown into the throwes of finding out everything we can about Autistic Spectrum Disorder and all of the different diagnosises that fall under the 'umbrella'. For those of you who may not know, Russell our 8 yo son, has been given a preliminary diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome. In essence it is, if there is a good one, Asperger's is it. It is a very high functioning form of Autism that mainly is pinpointed by stunted social interaction. Kids with Asperger's are usually highly intelligent. There is, of course, a laundry list of other symptoms but I'll refrain from listing them all here.
I would like to invite you though, if you have a moment to please visit http://www.autism-society.org/ to educate yourself, and hopefully someone you love. Don't be like me and sweep it under the rug until it's standing at your front door. It's probably closer to you than you think.
I can tell you that at first I was bewildered that our family could be affected, but the more I learn it has been such a blessing. It's not what Russell can't do, or what he won't be able to do, rather its just how we retrain ourselves to see how they observe the world. Nothing is beyond his reach and one thing about Asperger's children is that when they set their mind to something they will achieve it. It's an inate drive.
Thanks for your ear. Be aware! LOL
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1 comment:
Thank you for the info and the link to check out. Now...I have a question for you. What would you do if you suspected a child you knew (at church) had Asperger's Syndrome? Sweet, intelligent little boy--but he WILL NOT interact with other children, and rarely "acknowledges" adults. I have known him for over a year, and have yet to hear him speak one word (He's 4). This past Sunday I was in his nursery and, for the first time ever, heard him laugh. (And the laughter came from finding it funny seeing other boys playing...he was not involved, and it wasn't anything even funny to anyone else but him.) His mom says he's ilke this at church and at school, but talks nearly constantly at home. Any advice? Especially taking into account the mom is a preschool teacher?? I'm sorry for the mega-comment! ;)
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