Well as the saying goes the road to hell is paved with good intentions! And my intentions was to write much more frequently that i do so for that I apologize. Since the beginning of the year thing have just been askew---the first week of january was christmas vacation the second week was trying to adjust back to the regular routine by the 3 rd week we had MLK Day{Martin Luther King Day} off 3 half days for testing and then friday off cuz it was then end of the semester-- since then it has been one thing after the other; Living with Autism is a series of routines and schedules; when that is off then the whole house is off
Believe me i am not an organized person or creature of habit but Dakota has changed the way i think about these things. Its really hard for me to do things in an orderly manor in a well thought out plan. When you know that your life and the peace of the house is better when you adhere to these "rules" all of a sudden you make a conscience decision to live by the "sword" for sanity's sake
What puzzles me the most is not the evryday peron who doesnt have to be aware of all these "requirements " but more so the people who study and educate themselves to be in the feild of Autism and they JUST DONT GET IT! I know that they have an interest and a compassion and want to help and maybe its because they dont live with it but sometimes they just dont have a clue. Almost every moment of everyday can be an opportunity to teach someone about autism.
I dont mean to critize or gripe about anyone who is trying and receptive to learning about autism and my son what really get to me are the people who are for instance the pyschologists who try to study or treat Autism or the organizations that provide training to those who come in contact with Autistic individuals and they do stupid things like schedule a conference in the middle of the week on Valentines Day when they know that they are training teachers of kids from elementary to high school who have create a cirriculm specifically to teach them about the social aspects of a day like Valentines. Forgive me if this seems knit-picky but WHAT THE HELL???
These kids have a hard enough time understanding what a holiday is about and why we have some of them off and others we dont why, the banks are closed sometimes or the mail doesnt go and then sometimes it does much less the appropriate behavior on one of these holidays like having a parade ,waving a flag and shooting fireworks for 4 th of july but not for Lincoln's Birthday. Or why we make little hearts and flowers for Valentines but put up a christmas tree for Christmas-- all the subtle nuances that you and i get cuz we are not autistic is the biggest challenge for or kids then we get people who are SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING OR TRAINING OR ANALYZING OR STUDYING and the dont get the CORE meaning of what Autism is all about. I must be fair I do think its an aquired awaremness as you live and grow and learn to understand it from the inside but it is frustrating that on any given day there is a challenge or a road block that no one else gets--
And they even more peculiar thing is that Autistic individuals will sometimes accept the change or transition with little or no re action but on any given day when the stars and moon are not aligned right you will witness an behavior that can knock you on your butt and you will sit back and say where did that come from-- its almost like a water valve that releases pressure sometimes it handles the experience and sometimes the top blows off
I think the one thing i would try to tell someone who is around and autistic individual is that every inner thought and every unspoken action you take will affect that person- they are very literal in their understanding and seek reason for everyaction so when things change even the slighest keeping the communication open is crucial--They might not express back but believe me they hear you and they process.One other thing is to put yourself in their body and try to understand it from that perspective----Its a hrad thing to do. Sights, sounds, textures,smells,actions of others, breaks in routines , things out of their normal place these are all components to them finding order in THEIR WORLD.
