Coping with Autism

As I'm sure you've noticed, I try to remain very positive in these posts but sometimes it helps just to say that autism stinks. It stinks when people stare, it stinks that you have to ask your child 14 times what they want to eat before you might get an answer (and that's for those of us lucky enough to have children who speak), it stinks when you have to clean up poop from the steps where the one potty-training decided to wipe his rear when you didn't change his Pull-ups fast enough (of course, again, that's for those of us lucky to have one who is actually potty-training.) Autism is not a "mental illness," as I've heard it described recently, it is a condition that affects the communications system in the brain, and yes, that stinks too. "Mental illness" always sounds like something most patients can recover from or take medication for-- no such luck with autism. It stinks that we won't know how our kids will do as adults in this big ba...

I thank God daily for the little things we have been blessed with. Yes, both boys are on the autism spectrum but things could be so much worse. I feel blessed that both of them have rudimentary communication skills, that they show no regression and that we are seeing progress. As I've mentioned before, a positive attitude is everything. No matter how many times Peter floods the bathroom or Nathan's slight obsession over drawing has resulted in Sharpies on the sofa, ink on the walls and crayon on the cabinets and floor, I still thank God for the things they can do. A friend of mine has a daughter who has Down syndrome, she also has moya-moya which caused a series of strokes when she was a toddler and has left her paraplegic. She has also been in regression for a year after ending chemotherapy for a leukemia diagnosis three years ago. Her mother has a marvelous positive attitude and thanks God for the good things. She has been an inspiration to me. I have no complaints and ...