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?

The Nasty Side of Autism...Hitting a Brick Wall.

               The nasty side of autism debate...and yes there is a nasty side that has nothing to do with the difference itself. It’s the debate at large that is a powerful force of anger, debate, and divides people from all corners of the world. People take aim at each other for cure, cause, and methods of treatment. It’s an endless attack on each other and can get pretty dang childish to the point of name calling and blasting each other over the internet for all to see.

                Here is the problem aside from the clear banter people are throwing back and forth at each other.  I personally loose all respect for people who are participating in this ridiculousness. I do understand it’s defending a loved one with a belief a person feels strongly about but there is still autism. Always has been and always will be.

                There are children in need of an education that suits autism and environments outside of home they can engage in without full on sensory overload. There are caregivers and educators in need of training and understanding. There are unaware people who could use some understanding of the difference. There are adults who have lived and are living with autism their whole life. Some of those adults didn’t even know they had a form of autism until they were an adult and faced some huge struggles in life trying to adjust for society. There are doctors who are trying to understand and therapists who are working to do the same.  There are parents who are caught in the middle of endless debate while trying to manage the difference at home.  They are desperately seeking advice and support from other parents. Keep in mind parents have to seek support from strangers they have never met and probably never will but I can see from support groups this is an outlet most are grateful for.

                Why are people seeking strangers for support? Because they can’t find it anywhere else. Why are autistic adults reaching out to help? Because they want to help the future of autism to be understood. I assume they have faced a lifetime of being misunderstood and want to ease life for others.

                The nasty side of autism is so negative there is no progress to be made. No matter what an opinion is or how much people banter back and forth adults and children still need resources to move forward with the difference. Argue about cause and cure until you are blue in the face but if your argument ever ends, autism is still waiting. Not waiting to hear how to be changed or what they could have been but waiting society to create options and acceptance. Waiting to read or hear the word autism and feel proud of the difference. Even if they are nonverbal they want to feel good about who they are and what life has given them. Autism should never be a negative word nor have such negative media attached to it. It should be respected as every difference on earth because we all have one, labeled or not.

                Positive interaction for a common cause…not negative interaction over something no one has an answer to. That is comparable to two people with two opinions running full speed into a brick wall. Both are going to get knocked right on their backside wondering why they couldn’t knock the wall down. Autism is standing on the other side and they didn’t even feel the impact.

If Only We Could Diagnose Ignorance!

                 I pay attention to all of the info that pops up on facebook regarding autism. All of the networks post information and stories all day long, including me. Some of it I look at and don’t take it too seriously if I don’t agree and some of it actually makes me a bit ill to know so many people are reading it and taking it to heart.

                Yesterday I came across a post from a facebook page called Reversing Autism and really I am not too fond of the title alone. For the first time I was actually completely offended by a post and had a very hard time holding back a response. The post was a shabby chart with statistics on the rise of autism. I believe it was the state of Texas and showed the rise from the year 2000 to now. Yes the chart showed a huge difference and how quickly the numbers had gone up but the chart was not what offended me. It was this statement above the chart that made me want to respond with a few choice and not so classy words. “This is such an epidemic and the news don’t even mention it!! With these numbers the WHOLE COUNTRY SHOULD BE PANICKING!!!”

                I actually had to read that a couple times to make sure I was reading it correctly. Does this person realize the message they are sending all across facebook to people regarding autism? Do they realize there are autistic adults and teens that see that and wonder why the way they are is a reason for our country to panic?

                This is how that statement translated to me as a mother of a child who has autism gifts.  A woman comes into my home and says she is not going to have kids because she is scared it would end up like mine.  Then I toss her out the front door like rag doll for taking a personal shot at my child.

                Here is what the whole country should be panicking about. Poverty, the disgusting state our economy is in. The fact that we spend more money on prisons then education and it shows. Finding an education plan for a autistic child is extremely hard but I can't say the average American child is getting a decent education either.  A generation of kids being raised not knowing how to communicate because being plugged in is easier. The fact people are more inclined to video tape someone being harmed then to step in and stop madness. Child abuse because children are being treated like unwanted dogs in some homes. Half of our country being on some form of welfare and kids are being raised to believe this is the way to live, because it's easier then doing something with their life.  I could really go on and on about what we should panic about but autism is certainly not one of those things. In fact and maybe I have childish views but I tend to think someone with a form of autism could turn it all around for our country. Sometimes it seems like autism is the only form of logic walking this planet.

               Shame on anyone who creates fear and panic in regard to autism and one more thing comes to mind our country should be panicking about.....ignorance because that is clearly rising faster than any other neurological difference known to man. There is no chart to show us how quickly it has taken hold but if there was a way to have it diagnosed I am more then posative it would blow any other statistic right out of the water.

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