There's a flashblog today called "This is Autism," and Gabbs and I are participating. As my dear readers know, my 3.5 year old honey badger has Fragile X and autism.
The flashblog is in response to an article from last week characterizing autistic children and families as living in despair. In my opinion, Suzanne Wright's article comes from a good place, but it is one-sided and lacks tact. We absolutely have the dark moments that she references. Autism can be challenging. I understand it is not good for her agenda to tell both sides of the story, so we will. The other side of the story is important for our kids to hear. In a nutshell:
You are so loved, just the way you are. You are so valuable not only to us, but also to society. You are not a burden, and we are not just existing.
This is autism.
It's flapping your hands wildly when you are really, really happy and excited. Like when you sit in the middle of a trampoline and sweet teenage boys bounce on it for you.
It's seeing the world a little differently. It's being completely mesmerized by the colors blending together on a pinwheel. It's dropping to the ground without caring what anyone else thinks, putting your back flat against this spinning rock, and feeling the wind on your face.
It's liking swinging. This cannot be stressed enough. Swinging is the best thing ever. Lots and lots and lots of swinging.
It's finding new uses for things everyone else uses one way. It's thinking outside the box. Far outside the box. The box is in a different country, and you've never heard of the box.
We are living with autism!
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