Take It To The CDC Or Stick It Where The Sun Don't Shine...

The other day I came across a blog contest and wanted to see what kind of blog was in the running for first place. The number one blog voted for by readers was about autism and I was really happy to see this, until I read the content of the blog. Then my blood boiled a bit.

            I see it all the time something on the internet. Someone claims to know the answer to autism, it can be reversed. Autism is not a life sentence, or healing autism.

When I see these sources of information I have to wonder why these people don't go directly to the CDC and prove their reversal methods to be mass distributed to whoever wants it. Instead of selling the information for whatever price they think its worth. Or putting it in the media for parents to think they are just missing the answer.

            That kind of garbage makes parents who are already killing themselves to keep up think they aren't doing enough already. They are already wrestling with the mysteries their children give them every day, which is the easy part. It's wrestling with society to accept the difference and be kind that really runs them ragged. Not to mention the endless and never 100% correct autism information that is pushed all over the place.

Here is exactly how I feel about my son’s autism and what these people can do with their false hopes. For one and I really don't think I am the only person who feels this way, I completely accept my sons difference and the number of autism cases are rising so fast it really won't be much of a difference in the near future. Keep in mind my son is not severe so maybe my opinion is easier for me to grasp then it would be for another parent. My son has abilities that blow my mind and impress me to the fullest. His attention to detail is something everyone could learn from and it has made me a much more aware person in regard to what I have been ignoring on a daily basis. He sees much more than the average person does and he imprints it into his mind. He can't verbally explain what this is like but from what I see, it is way above anything I could even understand. I love everything about him, yes I even love his autism;)

A small example of the details he picks up on that others might ignore and I am only going to give one but the examples really never end. We were outside washing the van the other day and I was spraying Windex on the windows. Phillip was 20ft away at the end of the driveway, with his back to me, playing in a mud puddle. I noticed every time I sprayed the Windex I could hear an echo. Each time I sprayed it Phillip was repeating what the sound of the bottle makes when you pull the trigger. There he was playing, with tons of distractions around him and he picked up on one little sound he liked with his back to the source. If I jumped to “heal” him I wouldn’t know him anymore and from what I know he has a lot to offer just the way he is.

So for myself when I see a headline to fix autism my thought is either take your cure to the CDC, for those who want it, or stick where the sun don't shine, for lack of a more classy term. We will learn to use it as any child with gifts, and they all have them, should do. I want education progams developed and an understanding when we are in public. I want people to ask me questions instead of staring at me like I need to parent differently. I want to be able to say the word autism and not imedietly get a look of sadness from people because we aren't sad. I want people to know it's a challenge for us and I would never refer to it as a curse, so I prefer if they don't either.

What I do not want is to change my son in any way.