On a Positive Note

Sometimes when you post on a blog and especially when you talk about living with something like Autism {which it is NOT exclusive to that diagnosis}it is difficult to find positive things to write about---
Its always about the strife of dealing with either an agency or and individual or the "system" much less the demons that your child fights every day!

But today and for the past few weeks I have had a few moments where I felt good, saw progress and can even say was hopeful.

Specifically with Autism you hear over and over about early intervention and how important it is to get these kids started because with Autism there is a huge amount of "fodder" about them loosing skills or never attaining skills if you don't hit them hard early on. Also the other lament you hear quite frequently is that from puberty on there has been lots of documentation about our kids loosing or reversing much of their progress. So as those young adult years approach I think most of us watch with a keen eye to identify any losses and do whatever we can to halt it--

I can honestly say that pretty much every night I pray for miracles --If not miracles then even baby steps that continue to show improvement and/or growth. So far; knock on wood Dakota has continued to grow and improve on many levels--Look its no miracle but its improvement--AND it does render peace in my heart to know he is continuing to work his brain and learn things that others take for granted.

 To highlight the most recent "baby steps"
He used the word  MONOTONOUS correctly in a sentence----

He was watching a news feed where a lady was standing in front of a school reporting a story and a partial view of the school mascot was on the wall behind her and he said "look Mom there's a Jaguar"
He picked up on the word Philanthropy and he started to pronounce it a couple of times and then said "whats philanthropy?" I about fell out of my chair-- so I spelled  and I gave him a rough definition and he listened intently and acknowledged me--

now whether he has any use for any of these things I don't know BUT  the simple fact that he continues to pull these things out of his head tells me he is still growing and learning and that gives me HOPE!

You Can't Put a Cast on His Head!

I think the title says it all--- over the course of this journey thoughts fill my head probably on an hourly basis-- getting to the computer and posting them is another battle in and of itself. This is one of those thoughts I have  had probably a hundred times; just never got the time to write about it.

Years ago, Dakota broke his leg and we struggled with all the ramifications about it including it happening at school and he didn't want to go back , the fear that he would break his other leg , the scars from the surgery,the ambulance and hospital  etc. etc. Ultimatley the end result was that his leg would mend and he would be 'ALMOST" AS GOOD AS NEW. That being said the end result was less than perfect but it served the purpose a leg was designed to do on the human body.

The leg was pretty much a mess; a compound fracture which required surgery and rods and pins and a CAST. When a person who has a cast on goes out in public it evokes mostly positive empathetic / compassionate responses--people see it and they respond by either sharing their own experience or with well wishes for their temporary disability -----------
When a person walks out in public with an intellectual or developmental disability----It is a different story--the looks, the jeers, the judgement the lack of acceptance.
Personally I don't get the difference but its probably  because I live in a world where Autism is present every minute of every day. I see it being no different than a broken leg in one way--neither malady was intended.

When some one suffers a mental disorder most the world has a hard time accepting it; treating it the same way as a broken leg-- Look I CANNOT PUT A CAST ON HIS HEAD! Mental,Intellectual or Developmental disabilities are viewed as taboo. People are scared of them and in many cultures it is an embarrassment or often considered a curse--Those people who suffer with those types of disorders are kept behind closed doors, institutionalized or worse even abandoned or killed.
We cannot ask a doctor to drill into the brain and fix it--true it is an area we don't how to handle or what to do. Fhere has been 100's of years of study about mental disorders but it remains in my opinion the most difficult to diagnose and certainly the one most illusive to fix or even repair. Short of therapy {for those who can participate} and DRUGS  we cannot go in an transplant a brain , we cant remove the affected area {like slicing off a part of a liver and letting it regenerate } and most of all we CANNOT PUT A CAST ON THE "broken part of the brain".

It will be light years and most certainly long after Dak and I  have left this existence before there will be any solutions to things I have written about; I can only hope that my continued griping about awareness and acceptance will filter thru to at least a few. To plant the seed that Autism and many other mental disorders are not the fault of the person and that they are like any other human living on this earth.  All they want is to be loved and accepted as a part of the patchwork in any Family and/or community.  

Stop and think before you make a judgement -- remember you have your own "warts" and maybe the person you are making an opinion on, needs a CAST OF THEIR HEAD!