Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Cure For Autism? Nah...We love him just the way he is.


                Is Autism a curse or flaw? Well according to some media our there it could be considered that. Does it need to be cured? Also according to some media it does. I have read the wildest theories that have gone as far as a biblical curse attached to a father's sins. To me this is all crap for lack of a better word. There is so much of it you find yourself feeling like you’re covered in it and you need to wash it off so your mind can get back to a clean healthy way of thinking.

                In this entire bad media, that even some parents of autism are pushing, I always wonder what this is doing to children and adults who have the difference. I know when I come across articles about ADD that push it as a difference that needs medical attention such as drugs, I feel a bit sad. If we go on all the hype attached,  we as a society are trying to medicate or treat everyone into a state of conformity so the greater population is comfortable with our being.

                Doc says take this prescription and see if it helps. If that doesn’t do it we will try something else. Your brain chemistry is too different for others to understand so let’s mix it up a bit and see if we can adjust you. I have had ADD as far back as I can remember and I have learned it runs in my family. When I think back do I wish someone would have treated me for it? No, my only wish is that there was an understanding I needed a different approach. One that helped me to understand myself so I wouldn’t feel like I was defective when I did something that didn’t make sense.  Now that I am older I tend to be grateful for some of the chaos that has made life interesting. I wouldn’t change it in any way. We need to understand difference is not a defect and many adults and children accept they way they are. Maybe one day society in general will follow suit and stop spreading information that causes someone who has autism to feel they aren't OK. Not all people with autism are nonverbal and they do have an opinion on how they feel about themselves. Much like nonverbal who just can't share how they feel directly. Hard to believe but some autistics love being autistic! It's who and how they are and we need to allow them to feel that way because there is no reason not to. There are parents who completely accepting of autism another fact that may be hard to believe but yes, it is embraced all the time;)

                If someone knocked on my door right now and offered me a “cure” for my son’s autism, I would escort them off this mountain in a not so pleasant way. I don’t for one second see my son as flawed or diseased. I also don’t, in any way, feel that he needs to conform to make the greater population comfortable. The looks he may get for being active so to speak are not because he is autistic. It’s because people in general don’t accept what they don’t understand. Those raised eyebrows we get are because of what they see about him but I have no doubt those people have some issues that would raise an eyebrow or two if they had to wear their own differences on the outside for all to see.

                If was asked what caused autism in my son, according to all the information out there, my answer would be…I am old, dad is old, we cut the umbilical cord to fast, we are mutants, the government is after my child, I had gestational diabetes, and dad is a sinner. Or I could answer the way I actually see it.

                Who cares! What I am actually thinking about is how to cause progress and an amazing life for him. He wears his difference on the outside when he gets excited or is trying to process. The rest of us are just pushing our differences down inside so no one can see them.  Which one sounds like a healthier way to live to you?

No comments:

Post a Comment