100% True and Without a Doubt!

There is a serious problem for parents when they have a newly diagnosed case of autism in their home and it works like this. A parent wants to learn everything they can about autism to fill in some of those blanks and there are a lot of them. The Internet is the first place most of us look and we look for support, medical information, diet information, vaccine information, genetics, parenting advice, and help in general.  The problem is this ends up being a tornado of conflicting information and sooner or later a parent feels swept up in all of that, not knowing what is correct and incorrect.

Every one of these organizations is pushing something different and sometimes they are even working against each other. One may say we need a cure, others say we don’t want your cure. You might find one that pushes for a better diet and another that claim vaccines are the cause.   A parent or family member can get totally lost in an overwhelming amount of information coming at you in every direction. This is the point when you actually feel what it might like to be autistic yourself because it’s completely overwhelming and to be honest, can make you feel pretty frustrated with why everyone is so divided on an issue. Especially when there is no known direct and proven information anyone can feel completely confident reading.

Pile all of that on top of having an autistic child who is not like any other because none are the same, a lack of resources, the challenges of figuring out how to parent, and the judgment society places on them and you end up with an epidemic of confusion and struggle.

What is the answer to this? If you are in some way connected to a life with autism the only direct answer you will find is in the person or child who has autism. So yes, read the information and listen to different opinions because knowledge is power even If it’s not 100% correct you are still gaining knowledge on how the world is learning. This helps to know how the greater population is learning as well, and can help to understand why some people feel the way they do. When I encounter someone who has a strong opinion on a possible cause, I know why because I have read it to.

The bottom line for me is no matter how much information I come across the answer is always right in front of me and right now he is inspecting each of his GI Joe's very carefully and tossing them up in the air one at a time laughing. One day he is going to tell me what he sees when is carefully inspecting his toys. He will tell me what is like to be autistic after he tells all about what it is like to be Phillip as an individual. One day he is going to say I love you mom and that will be the most important piece of information I come across through this entire adventure.

I can see it in his eyes and it is 100% true and without a doubt the only thing that matters.